Bonus point win is 'Crescent' surprise

John Andrews' side followed up last week's bonus point win at Midleton with a repeat prescription, as they saw off the challenge of Old Crescent by 31 points to three at Eaton Park.

"We have made a very good start and things are looking positive," skipper Darrell O'Kane told Times Sport.

"We had targeted two wins from our opening two games but to pick up a bonus point in each was probably beyond our expectations.

"This is going to be a tough league to get out of and every extra point we can manage makes the job that wee bit easier.

"We took the wind in the first half after noticing how strong it was during the warm-up but we only turned around 14 points up at half-time and we wondered if it would be enough."

Those points came from a try by tight-head prop Andrew Warwick try, after O'Kane had stolen an injury time lineout, on top of three penalties from Luke Marshall, whose all-round display earned him the man-of-the-match accolade.

"It's fantastic to have guys like Luke and the other players from the Ulster Academy and Development squads available to us – they add that wee bit of spark, a bit of extra zip in training and on matchdays which gives all the boost an extra incentive to up their own performances," said Darrell.

After the break, against the wind, Ballymena put in a dogged defensive performance and also made the most of the opportunities that presented themselves with three more tries.

An excellent break from Roger McBurney, who galloped three-quarters of the length of the pitch, providing the groundwork for John Burns to score in the corner and then Tommy Seymour showed the Crescent defence a clean pair of heels to put the finishing touch to a flowing move.

Andy Kerr added a fourth try, from a short penalty, to clinch that vital bonus point and Luke Marshall converted to complete the scoring.

The only down side was an injury to Burns, who suffered a suspected dislocated shoulder and is likely to be sidelined for some time.

THIS WEEK

The AIL takes a back seat this Saturday as Ballymena begin their quest for Senior Cup glory against old foes Dungannon.

Having had a first round bye, Ballymena landed the toughest draw possible against the highest-ranked Ulster club in the AIL structure.

"It maybe wasn't the kindest draw but we will have to beat the likes of Dungannon at some stage if we're to have aspirations of winning the cup," said skipper O'Kane.

"There's a good chance we'll have changes because we will probably lose some guys to commitments with Ulster Ravens and an Irish under-20 camp but it's an opportunity for others to put their hands up and show what they can do," added Darrell.

Saturday's match kicks off at Eaton Park at 2.30pm.