Dromore left frustrated by home draw

Dromore entertained Ballymoney at Barban Hill on Saturday in an eagerly awaited Qualifying League 1 clash.

Dromore welcomed back Frazer Mulholland at hooker and William Herron at centre, both having recovered from injury, Adam McGregor captained the side from flanker.

Dromore started off at pace and McDonald raced clear in the opening exchanges to touch down in the corner but a covering tackle obscured the referee and no try was awarded, Cobb opened the scoring for the home side with an easy penalty. Cleland then had three quick penalty opportunities for the Ballymoney men which he uncharacteristically missed before Tom Finn pounced on loose ball to gather and sprint over under the sticks, Cobb converted and Dromore took a 10-3 lead into half time.

McCandless was injured and replaced by Mathew Russell which saw a reshuffle in the Dromore backline, with Stewart moving into the centre. The Ballymoney pack started well after the break, Cleland converted a penalty to reduce Ballymoney’s arrears before Dromore hit an attacking vein. Blair McDonald again raced clear from halfway to put Cobb in space, he outsprinted the defence and dived for the corner, again the referee was unsighted and unable to confirm the score, awarding a line out. From the clearance kick Blair McDonald fielded the ball and cut the Ballymoney defence to ribbons before sending Cobb clear, this time on the opposite flank, Cobb made sure of the score.

Ballymoney then pounded the Domore line in search of a try, Pepper, then Mulholland were yellow carded for infringements in defence, Ballymoney’s pressure finally told when lock Graham launched himself towards the Dromore line. The conversion was added to leave the scores tied at 15 -15 with 5 minutes to play.

Dromore kept trying to play running rugby and they created the chance of the match with an overlap out wide, Dromore opting to kick and chase rather than putting the ball through the hands saw the chance disappear.

A penalty was awarded to Dromore within kicking distance, but it was missed and the final whistle sounded to end a frustrating day for both teams.