On a dry spring-like day in Ballymoney, the 2nd XV took on their opponents from Omagh 2s in a Provincial Premier 1 league contest. Omagh are going well this season, sitting in second place in the league, and both their 2s and 3s in the Crawford Cup quarter final, so it was sure to be a tough encounter for the Toon men.

With a few changes in the side such as captain Jason Clyde and scrum-half Stephen McCamphill called up to the 1st XV, there were welcome returns from Matthew McConnaghy at number 8 and Marc Tweed at scrum half to help fill the gaps. And with the 1st XV away at Enniskillen, a good sized crowd came out to see what the 2s had to offer - and they were to enjoy a cracking contest throughout.

Playing away from the club to start with, Ballymoney put some good initial play together to settle in the Omagh 22. But a dropped ball in attack led to a clearance attempt that fell to McCluggage at fullback, around the halfway line. Attempting to break through, his grubber kick ran through to the jinky Omagh fullback inside his own half. Beating a couple of tackles, and then with a couple of offloads, the lively left winger got the ball in space and beat the three attempts at cover tackles to score an early try in the corner.

A nearly immediate second try came along after, with a series of powerful drives around the fringes eventually resulting in a try for the visitors. The conversion was good this time for a 12-0 lead, and an early demonstration of the pace and power that Omagh brought throughout.

But Ballymoney showed they were not going to be easily beaten, getting their hands on the ball and making steady progress up the field.

From a lineout set piece, fly-half Tyler McNeill found Aaron Brown with a super flat pass to put him through the line. Captain for the day Andrew Millar took the inside ball and carried well, offloading then to McConnaghy out the back door for him to charge into the 22. A couple of quick carries to the right from Lowry and Heggarty opened up the field, and then the ball was zipped out to the left, where another piece of skill from Millar put Robbie McNeill away in the corner for a fine team try.

Shortly afterwards Matthew McCluggage went over from fullback in the same corner, this time after a sequence of short carries in the midfield, where Tweed kept the pack moving through Stevenson and McAuley, before opening up out left for McNeill to find the space.

The half drew to a close with Ballymoney behind 10-12 but starting to nudge ahead in the physical contest - the front row were on top in the scrums, but only by a small margin. And with Omagh's tricky wingers showing their threat any time the ball came out wide, the Toon pack couldn't afford to give away any turnover ball.

Playing down the hill with the wind behind in the second half, fly half McNeil played into the corners more. And from an early attacking lineout, and several tight drives by McConnaghy and Stevenson, Matthew Blair powered over around the base of the ruck to take the lead.

Shortly after, Matthew McConnaghy got his reward from a busy day's ball carrying, being on hand to crash over near the posts after a similar setup - a good lineout and maul followed by some hard carries into midfield, creating space for the number 8 to power over. Replacement Gary Pattison took the conversion for a 22-12 lead.

At this point, with around 20 minutes to go, Omagh pressed forwards. Urging the pack on, the lively scrum half worked around the fringes with his experienced back row to create pressure on the fringe defence. And after several phases, the gap was closed to 22-19 with a try near the post and good conversion.

From the restart, Ballymoney put pressure the Omagh team, and a short clearance left an attacking opportunity. A good midfield play was just drawing defenders in, when the away side were penalised on their 22 for offside. Pattison stepped up to convert, extending the lead to 25-19.

The Omagh side are second inthe table for a reason, and they threw everything at the last ten minutes. Some great defensive work from George McAuley putting in solid tackles, and with Adam Bustard and Joel Heggarty getting breakdown turnovers at key moments helped relieve pressure. Subs Jack Alexander and Dan McCord were in the fray by this point, using their fresh legs to hold on to the lead.

For all that defensive work, Omagh still managed to make steady progress up the middle of the pitch. And once the tired Toon defence were sucked in, they opened the play for the right winger to attack from outside the 22. With defenders scrambling, a well timed step inside and a final surge, the Omagh winger went over in the wide channel to make it 25-24. The conversion fell agonisingly just outside the post, and then the final whistle blew shortly after the restart.

It was a sense of relief and satisfaction from the Ballymoney men, achieving a great victory against an excellent opponent. Captain Millar declared "I was proud of how we fought back today - the front row did us proud against a strong opposition, and it was great to see everyone focused on executing the game plan."

Next week the 2s are away to Dungannon 2s. The hosts are also going well after their promotion last year, sitting third in the league, but the Toon men will have some scores to settle having lost the last few times these two sides have met.