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Coleraine - 3, ENNISKILLEN - 0

In somewhat difficult conditions underfoot Enniskillen fell just short of ending their season on a high note, falling to the only score of the game with fifteen minutes remaining.

Credit must go to both sides as they tried to play an expansive game of rugby, but the pitch put paid to any chance of this being an entertaining game.

Enniskillen thought they might get an early breakthrough, when Alan Wilkinson pounced on an error in the Coleraine midfield, but the referee was very quick with his whistle, not allowing any advantage, when Wilkinson was in the clear.

Coleraine held a territorial advantage in the opening quarter and came very close to opening their account with twenty-four minutes played. The ball was being re-cycled quickly and the forwards were showing some good pace, but ‘Skins defence held firm, and an outstanding tackle on the line from Raymond Savage knocked the ball loose, and with it the chance was gone.

The game suffered a lengthy stoppage when the hosts scrum half was forced to leave the field with a neck injury following a hard tackle from ‘Skins winger Keith Armstrong. When the game restarted Enniskillen took the game by the scruff of the neck, but despite some good interplay between the forwards, they couldn’t break the Coleraine defence, and when the half ended the score was level at 0 – 0.

The game was nip and tuck the whole way, with perhaps Enniskillen guilty of giving away possession cheaply in the contact. On the whole the defence was sound with only a few missed tackles, but one of these was punished when fullback Nick Finlay was forced to put in a last ditch tackle on Coleraine’s second row. From the ruck Enniskillen were penalised and Coleraine took the three points that sealed the victory.

A good team performance especially in defence with the only blight being the two or three penalty opportunities passed over that might have changed the final scoreline. As it was the bonus point gained lifted ‘Skins eleven points off the automatic relegation spot, something no one would have dared hoped for earlier in the season when the side were languishing at the bottom.

It was hard to pick out many individuals, but Gareth Beatty, Kyle Shaw and Johnny Wright would all have vied for man of the match. The match was also a poignant one with popular “kiwi” David “Macca” McDonald playing his last game for the club before returning home, via Europe. But, on this last Saturday of the season, he will be remembered for forgetting to put the team kit on the bus!! Good Luck for the future Macca!

ENNISKILLEN – 19 Ballymoney – 17

Enniskillen secured their Section One status for next season with perhaps their best win of the season, seeing off a Ballymoney side who have had a good year on their return to the top flight of junior rugby.

The match got off to a great start with Enniskillen recovering their own opening kick-off and immediately taking the game to the visitors, with the opening score coming with barely five minutes played. Keith Armstrong cut a great inside line on halfway, and sprinted clear of the defence to score a super individual try between the posts. Nick Finlay added the conversion, although there was some doubt from both touch judges.

Ballymoney came straight back and camped themselves in ‘Skins “22” for a long period, but some great defence kept the visitors at bay and the tackling at close quarters was excellent, with Jimmy Moore and Neal Carleton to the fore. Ballymoney tried to grind down the defence through their forwards, but this phase of the game ended when the home pack won a scrum against the head to ease the pressure.

The visitors came closest to scoring after twenty-five minutes, when a missed tackle in midfield allowed the centre into space, but a knock-on ended the scoring chance. The remainder of the first half was fairly evenly balanced with little further scoring opportunities for either side, but Ballymoney did get on the scoreboard with a penalty in the final minute, leaving the halftime score 7 – 3.

The second half got off to a bad start for ‘Skins, when Ballymoney’s centre again broke through the tackle, and went clear to score a converted try.

The lead was short lived however when Enniskillen found themselves with a three man overlap. David Buchanon drew the last man before feeding Keith Armstrong, who despite being caught showed great strength and determination to cross for his second try. The conversion was missed in the strong breeze and ‘Skins had regained the lead 12 – 10.

Straight from the restart Enniskillen produced a great counter attack with Gareth Beatty to the fore, but the try didn’t come, with the ball held up over the line. Ballymoney were then penalised for a high tackle, but the kick was pushed wide before Enniskillen extended their lead after twenty-two minutes. The scorer this time was Chris Bruce, with arguably the try of the game. Bruce took the ball well outside the “22”, and beat his man before racing into space, where he again beat two more defenders, lining them up and knocking them over, forcing his way over the line. Finlay made amends for his earlier penalty miss by adding the conversion, stretching the lead to 19 – 10.

Enniskillen looked comfortable at this point, but things were to change when Jamie Johnston was somewhat harshly shown the yellow card after half-an-hour, and from the next phase Ballymoney made the extra man count, scoring their second try with the conversion reducing ‘Skins lead to just two points.

Enniskillen however hung on magnificently controlling possession and snuffing out Ballymoney’s resistance, to take the win to secure their place for next season.

A good display from all seventeen, but especially from Jack Harte, who certainly took his opportunity with a tenacious display. Also Fergal Nolan was bright when he came on as a late substitute, and with the number of players in their late-teens and early twenties who have played First XV rugby this season, the future can only look bright for rugby in Fermanagh.

Enniskillen – 0 Armagh – 39

Enniskillen suffered a heavy defeat at the hands of Armagh in their Towns Cup semi-final meeting, but the three tries in the final five minutes made the scoreline harsh on the Enniskillen players who stuck to their task until the final whistle.

The writing was on the wall from the start for ‘Skins, with Armagh converting a simple penalty after just three minutes. Enniskillen’s tackling was again the cause of some concern and this was realised after thirteen minutes when Armagh scored their first try. Missed tackles in midfield set up excellent field position from which Armagh shifted their backline left and scored in the corner. The successful conversion made the score 10 – 0.

Armagh’s centre was causing the hosts problems all afternoon and a strong run brought play close to Enniskillen’s line with twenty-five minutes played. Once he was finally stopped, Keith Armstrong was rather harshly shown the yellow card and from the penalty Armagh elected to go to touch, where they scored from the resulting catch and drive. Again the conversion bisected the posts giving the visitors a 17 – 0 lead, which they maintained until halftime.

Enniskillen had a great chance to reduce the arrears early in the second half when Alan Wilkinson broke wide, but rather than going for the line himself he unselfishly tried to find Gary Hall in space, but the pass did not go to hand. Had the try been scored then who knows what would have transpired, as it was, Armagh controlled the game and when their fullback broke free after twenty minutes a try followed after the ball had been recycled twice, taking the score to 22 – 0.

The game suffered a lengthy stoppage following injury to one of the Armagh backline, which necessitated the player being ambulanced to hospital. When the game resumed Armagh sealed victory with those three late tries to confirm their dominance.

With two league games left, Enniskillen now have a break from action during which the players will gain some valuable rest and recuperation. The young side have battled hard this season and have given their all, and they must now remain focused, although their league status could be confirmed before they play again.

Limavady – 3, ENNISKILLEN – 15

Enniskillen put in a gutsy, hard working performance, in difficult conditions, to grind out a crucial victory on the road, which not only maintains their momentum but also ensures that no matter what happens they cannot finish bottom of the league table come the season’s end.

The game was played in difficult conditions, with a wind blowing across the pitch, bringing with it intermittent showers. This led to plenty of mistakes from both sides, particularly early in the game, with handling difficult, and it didn’t improve much as time wore on.

Enniskillen hit a five minute purple patch with just over half of the first period gone, when they put Limavady under severe pressure. Neil Carleton had already missed a penalty attempt, before he was successful after twenty-three minutes. The miss was unfortunate, and some help from the referee, when Limavady looked to charge his kick down, would have been helpful!

The first try followed four minutes later and was again the result of great pressure blocking the Limavady out-half’s attempted clearance. As the ball spun viciously toward the hosts’ line, Kyle Shaw reacted quickest, to pick the ball up and dive over for the try. Carleton then judged his conversion from the sideline into the breeze to perfection to increase the lead to 10 – 0.

The remainder of the half was slugged out mostly in midfield, with the handling errors mounting, but Enniskillen did start to build their game to the dominance they would have in the second half.

Enniskillen enjoyed the territorial advantage during the second period and only for some cynical tactics among the Limavady forwards, killing the ball repeatedly in the rucks, could have gone on to build a better lead. As it was the referee was very lenient, and only produced what seemed an inevitable yellow card with less than ten minutes remaining.

Enniskillen passed up the opportunity to increase their lead on a number of occasions, and when they did decide to try their luck in the eighteenth minute Carleton hit the post and from the resulting drop-out Limavady almost caught Enniskillen napping, but this was only one of two occasions the hosts managed to get into ‘Skins territory, the second ending with a penalty after half-an-hour. In between ‘Skins hammered on the door a number of times, but on a number of occasions the halfbacks failed to release the ball quickly enough to their backline and these questionable decisions and the handling errors looked to be costing them dear as each opportunity went by.

The forwards kept up the pressure on the hosts and twice the outhalf saw his kicks charged down inside his “22”, but each time a Limavady just got to the ball first.

With time running out, ‘Skins again elected to take a quick penalty and following some good ball retention at close quarters Alan Wilkinson forced his way over for the try that sealed the victory, with the referee’s final whistle coming immediately after, much to the delight of the players and small band of resilient ‘Skins supporters.

With three wins in their last four outings, Enniskillen are finding out what is like to be winning again, and winning does become a habit. This performance did not reach that of the previous three home matches, but the forwards continued to control the ball better than in the past, with the scrums and lineouts working well.

Armagh visit Mullaghmeen this weekend in the semi-final of the Towns Cup, having recorded a league victory there just three weeks ago. Hard work will be needed on the training field and nothing short of a 100% performance will do if a Cup Final place is to be their destiny.

ENNISKILLEN - 25, Bangor - 17

Enniskillen battled to overcome a plucky Bangor side and reach another Towns Cup semi-final.

The action started immediately with Enniskillen opening the scoring inside the first 20 seconds of the match. The kick off was gathered by ‘Skins, and first last week’s man of the match Jimmy Moore broke through the centre, followed by Clive Donaldson. Donaldson’s pass went to ground, but some deft footwork by Keith Armstrong brought him possession, from which he scored the opening try.

Enniskillen went on the dominate the first quarter, and should have added to their lead when they had a lengthy period of pressure on the visitors’ line, but their stubborn resistance paid off. The second did arrive on twenty-eight minutes, and this was slightly against the run of play. Bangor had started to make inroads into ‘Skins defensive line, with a number of missed tackles costing them dear. David McDonald recovered a Bangor knock-on and kicked ahead into acres of open space, where Ally Duncan used his pace to reach the ball, beat the last man and score under the bar. Donaldson added the extra for a 12 – 0 lead.
(PS only for the intervention of others, "Big wood" would have credited this try to someone else, anyone else, for the abuse meted out by Duncan afterward!!!)

Credit to Bangor, they didn’t waver and reduced the lead on the half hour. Their first effort was held up on the line, but from the resulting scrum their inside centre broke through to score between the posts, making the conversion a formality. Bangor then went on to dominate the remainder of the half, with their tails up, and their offloading was keeping Enniskillen guessing. Eventually they drew level with an unconverted try, when despite the best efforts of Duncan and Moore they managed to squeeze over in the corner, with the whistle coming immediately after.

Enniskillen started the second half like the first, throwing everything at the visitors, and were rewarded when Donaldson confirmed his position as the club’s top try scorer after eight minutes. The move started from a poor scrum by ‘Skins, but Duncan gathered the ball and went on a strong run before feeding Donaldson, who showed terrific pace and strength to go over for the try, regaining the lead.

The enigma that is scrumming saw Enniskillen turn things around. The scrum had been creaking at various points, but great work by the front row, saw Steve Welsh take his second strike “against the head”, leading to a penalty, which Neil Carleton converted after seventeen minutes, stretching the lead to 20 – 12.

Again Bangor came back, and again missed tackles led to another Bangor try to reduce the lead to just three points. Bangor then enjoyed a period of dominance, but Enniskillen showed great desire and commitment in defence to keep them at bay, and then increased their lead when Armstrong scored his second try after thirty-four minutes. Slick passing saw the ball reach Armstrong, and he showed his pace and strength to beat his opponent on the outside for a good try. Again the conversion was missed but the scoreline of 25 – 17, was one Bangor could not peg back.

Enniskillen having endured a difficult season can now look forward to a semi-final spot, and hopefully take the confidence winning gives into their final three league matches in the coming weeks. There will be some hard work needed on the training field, but the commitment and will to win is there, and the elimination of some basic errors will only lead to improved performances.

ENNISKILLEN - 17, Armagh - 27

Enniskillen fell to another defeat, and unfortunately could not secure a losing bonus as Armagh snatched it from their grasp in the final minute.

Armagh took the lead after a relatively quiet opening fifteen minutes, the result of their dominance in the scrum. Having already won a penalty against the ‘Skins front row, Armagh elected to have another set piece, and this time drove over for a converted try.

There then followed a frenetic four minutes, during which Enniskillen got back on level terms, and then fell behind again. Following the restart Alan Wilkinson charged down a clearing kick and gathered to score a try that Ruairi Fee converted. Then some poor tackling, or lack of, allowed Armagh to regain the lead with another converted try. 7 – 14, and nineteen minutes gone.

Enniskillen put together a nice period of possession which led to a penalty from Fee just short of the half hour to reduce the visitors’ lead, but then the home fans had to watch a player taken off to hospital for the second match running. This time it was Ruairi Fee who was the victim, the result of late and needless tackle.

Despite the setback, and the necessary reshuffling, Enniskillen rallied to take the lead before halftime. Neil Carleton missed a penalty attempt, but great following up led to Enniskillen recovering the ball in a dangerous area, and after two phases, Carleton himself sliced through the defence with ease to score, and add the conversion himself, and make the scoreboard read 17 – 14.

Despite some pressure on their line, Enniskillen defended manfully to see them through to the halftime break.

Enniskillen then suffered another setback when fullback Rory Ferguson had to leave the field with a hamstring injury, meaning yet another re-shuffle, with two forwards now pressed into service in the backline. Armagh didn’t take long to take the lead again when they managed to score an unconverted try after 46 minutes, again through the forwards and their strong scrimmaging, to make the score 17 –19.

Enniskillen tried hard but could not make any inroads into the visitors’ defence, and entering the final quarter their tackling again let them down as Armagh waltzed through for their fourth, and bonus point try, 17 – 24.

Despite this setback, Enniskillen were clinging onto a bonus point but then saw this cruelly taken away with forty minutes played, when a silly penalty was easily converted taking the lead out to ten points.

There was still time, and deep into injury time Carleton did manage to get behind the Armagh defence with a beautiful break from outhalf, to set up a last ditch attack. A penalty came as a result, but from a difficult angle, and with the team’s first choice kicker in hospital, the decision was taken to run the ball, and the attack fizzled out.

Despite shipping tries, Enniskillen did manage to retain possession for longer periods than has been the norm this season, but the cutting edge is not there. However this performance against last season’s league winners was commendable in parts, and there are a lot of positives to be taken into next week’s Town’s Cup clash with Bangor at Mullaghmeen.


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