Match report by Geoff Ingham

Donaghadee travelled to Kilraughts Road on Saturday for a league fixture against Ballymoney. They travelled in hope rather than expectation as Ballymoney had put in an excellent display in the reverse fixture a few weeks earlier to register a convincing win. With no changes to the injury list the Dee also had Jack Chesney, Chris Hamilton and Ali Barnes all unavailable for this game. Phil Collins came into the front row, Andy Wright started on the flank, young Will Hopes came into the second row to make his debut for the senior club and Chris Good and Davy Skipp took seats on the bench. With so many games around the country being postponed it was a credit to Ballymoney that their pitch was playable but the Dee supporters, who had enjoyed an excellent lunch in the clubhouse, knew the game would not be a spectacle. Ballymoney kicked off and enjoyed most of the possession and territory for the first 10 minutes. At this point Andy Wright suffered a leg injury and was replaced by Davy Skipp. Ballymoney continued to press and it was only stout defence that kept them at bay, including a great scrum won against the head and a turnover by Skipp just short of the Dee line. The moist conditions were making it difficult for both teams to control the ball so handling errors often ruined good scoring opportunities and it was the sort of day when it was better not to have the ball. When the Dee did get some possession they looked dangerous but strong tackling by the home team kept them from advancing up the field. In the 24th minute Ballymoney kicked a penalty to touch deep inside the Dee22 and from the line out strong driving from several of their forwards resulted in the hooker crossing for the first score. The difficult conversion was successful to put Ballymoney 7-0 ahead. The remainder of the half was played out mostly in the Dee half with the exception of an excellent run from Chris McGivern who then sent Robbie Ingham down the wing before he was bundled in to touch. During this period the Dee’s defence was excellent with both backs and forwards knocking back the Ballymoney attackers time and time again. Prop Ray Dobson typified this commitment when executing a superbly timed hit on the Ballymoney centre. In the last play of the half Ballymoney were awarded a penalty and opted to kick for goal which their fullback slotted over to give them a 10-0 lead at half time.

The second half began at the same time Storm Dennis arrived, the wind picking up and the incessant rain making conditions almost unplayable. To both teams credit they did their best to play good rugby and in the 48th minute Ballymoney increased their lead after a strong rolling maul took play just short of the line and the Dee were penalised for collapsing. A quickly taken penalty and a couple of strong drives allowed one of the forwards to crash over. The try was converted to increase the lead to 17-0. Ballymoney were taking full control at this stage and 5 minutes later scored their 3rd try of the day when their elusive outhalf outwitted the Dee defence and then offloaded to the centre who touched down under the posts giving the excellent Ballymoney kicker the easiest of conversions. At this stage the Dee’s heads could have dropped but to their credit they found another gear and actually enjoyed the majority of the possession at this stage. The forwards were matching their opponents at scrum time and Robert Dugan was finding Sam Ingham and Will Hopes in the line out in difficult conditions. This pressure was rewarded in the 73rd minute when Dee were awarded a penalty 10 metres from the Ballymoney line. Sam Ingham opted to take a quick tap and found the unstoppable Dobson who had come storming through on a great line to crash through the Ballymoney defence to score a well deserved try. Mark Cooper was unlucky with the difficult conversion to leave the score at 24-5 to Ballymoney. The last few minutes of the match was all Ballymoney as they searched for the bonus point try. After several attempts by their backs to score the forwards took it into their own hands and after another rolling maul, which the Dee did well to stop, a number of “pick and go’s ” from the forwards resulted in one of them going over for the score. This time, the strong wind blew the kick wide of the posts to leave the final score 29-5 to Ballymoney.

This was a superb effort from the Dee against an excellent Ballymoney team. They fought to the very end and the commitment and heart was there throughout for all to see. There were several contenders for man of the match including full back Chris McGivern, who fielded the ball well in the atrocious conditions, Will Hopes, who had a very good debut, and Sam Ingham for his all-round display in defence and attack. However, this week the award goes to Davy Skipp who came off the bench after only 10 minutes to play in an unfamiliar position and whose tenacity in defence throughout typified the attitude of the whole team. The Dee now have a week off before they play Lurgan at Donaldson Park on 29th February at 2.30pm.