Ladies produce five-star display to see off Omagh

Ballymena were first to test their opponents defence though and were unlucky not to score in the 18th minute from a short corner.

Omagh countered a few minutes later and a punishing shot tested Emma Leslie to the limit and although she managed to keep them out for a time her luck eventually ran out and the visitors opened the scoring.

A few minutes later Ballymena came right back at them with Natalie McMullan and Jessica Duncan carving out acres of space in mid field. The dynamic duo worked the ball into the circle where Becky Reynolds found the roof of the net one on one with the Omagh keeper.

In the 29th minute Omagh again pressed the Ballymena defense and, from a penalty corner, they almost edged ahead only to be denied by the lightening reactions of Becky Reynolds on the line.

Again Omagh tested the host’s defense and this time their efforts paid off when they scored from a penalty corner.

Ballymena’s counter was no less effective and in the 33rd minute Susanne Morrison’s shot was deflected into the Omagh goal from an inch perfect pass from Beckey Reynolds to restore parity just before half time.

After only a few minutes of the second half, Sara Allen pounced on a rebound to score Ballymena’s third goal 3-2.

A well rehearsed set piece from a penalty corner reaped further reward for Ballymena and when the initial attempt, from Susanne Morrison, was saved, Lauren Kennedy was on hand to slot it home to afford the hosts a 2 goal cushion.

Ballymena battled, jostled and harried the beleaguered Omagh defense right to the final whistle but not before they snatched a final goal from a penalty corner 5-2 when a strike from Susanne Morrison was cleverly deflected into the Omagh goal.

Ballymena II 3, Omagh II 0

Ballymena meant business from the start with great passing and team work and were rewarded for their superb play with a goal from Aimee Logan just minutes into the game.

It was a goal mouth scramble but Aimee Logan came out on top when she put the ball in the back of the net giving Ballymena the upper hand.

Ballymena continued to press the Omagh defence and were rewarded for their hard work with a penalty corner. Vicky Hogg stepped up with a superb straight strike which the keeper had no chance of saving.

In the second half, Omagh began to test the Ballymena defence with continuous flows of attacking play but all threats were dealt with easily from young Ballymena keeper Lauren Hanna who was determined to keep her clean sheet.

The game looked like it was going to finish 2-0 but Ballymena had other ideas.

The ball was hammered into the circle from Lorna Murphy where Stephanie Storey was waiting and she calmly slotted the ball into the net to round off a convincing display from Ballymena.

Seconds: Lauren Hanna, Ashleigh Harbinson, Nicola Greer, Kirsty McMaster, Kathryn Kealey, Sarah Cundell, Vicky Hogg, Lyndsey McClintock, Stephanie Storey, Aimee Logan, Lorna Murphy, Rebecca McPeake and Laura Logan.

Joint player of match - Vicky Hogg and Lauren Hanna.

MEN

Ballymena II 1, South Antrim V 2: Ballymena struggled for much of the first half to get to grips with their youthful opponents’ movement and pace.

Throughout the half Ballymena’s midfield worked hard to stay on terms with their opposite numbers, particularly David Wenban and Andy McKelvey, with Jack Gibson leading the attack. James Birrell too was on hand to make several saves throughout the match to keep his side in with a chance.

However, against the play it was Ballymena who scored first from a long corner worked out to Hanna who played in Brendan Wenban, whose sliced shot neatly fell to Ken Murphy for a dream start 1-0!

The match continued to ebb and flow till the break, where South got a short corner awarded with minutes to go, which they duly despatched to level the game at 1-1 at halftime.

In the second half Ballymena had much more command of the game, pushing forward on numerous occasions but neither Moody nor Murphy could convert their chances. However a second short to South was again converted to give them a 2-1 lead with fifteen to go.

Seconds: J. Birrell(GK) D. McDowell, D. Bradley, P. McDowell, A. Hanna(C) D. Wenban, W. Barr, K. Murphy, E. Hampton, A. McKelvey, P. Moody, B. Wenban, J. Gibson.