Moral victories were two a penny in the aftermath of Saturday's contest on the back pitch at Lansdowne Road but it is the tangible reward of two points that will give Lansdowne coach Michael Cosgrave the ultimate satisfaction. An overview of the match was a matter of perspective, particularly given the diversity of opinion offered by Cosgrave and his Ballymena counterpart Andre Bester.
Arbitrating upon which team was the more unfortunate in terms of chances spurned would be a close-run affair but suffice is to mention that Ballymena facility for hara-kiri was perhaps the more potent. Right wing Sheldon Coulter completed all the hard work with considerable aplomb, seizing upon Lansdowne fullback Rory Kearns mistake, collecting his chip head and crossing the line, the only drawback, Coulter's failure to ground the ball.
In mitigation Brian Glennon's all-enveloping tackle and the manner in which he turned the Ballymena player onto his back, forcing the fumble, proved crucial. The Ulster side will also bemoan the fact that James Topping needed only complete a reasonably straight forward pass to Shane Stewart to send the latter over unopposed midway through the second half: the ball failed to go to hand.
The final bugbear for the Ulster team was the fact that Simon Mason, probably the best goalkicker in the Northern Hemisphere, missed what proved a costly conversion following prop Rab Irwin's try. He would not miss it again if offered 100 chances. The common thread through all three cameos is that the wound was self-inflicted.
Ballymena, utterly dominant in the scrum, suffered badly from the wayward throwing of hooker Steven Ritchie, often coughing up promising field position, a fact coach Bester bemoaned: "We gave them three turnovers inside their 22. We made too many basic errors and had no cutting edge. It has been very difficult for the players to pick themselves up after the European Cup triumph and retain the hunger and desire.
"In fairness, it hasn't been for lack of effort. But some of the players have been stale mentally. We have a saying in South Africa that `pressure produces players'. I honestly thought that we had worked well this week and that things were going to come right. It's not far off and we won't be giving in."
Lansdowne managed to squeak a win primarily because of the remarkable work-rate of their front row, Ollie Ennis, Cormac Egan and Enda Bohan, who individually and collectively were excellent. Despite the hardship they endured in the set scrum, the trio carried the ball superbly, punching holes remorselessly. Stephen O'Connor and Gabriel Fulcher were equally diligent workers and they provided Lansdowne with a superb platform out of touch, something their opponents could only look upon enviously.
Behind the scrum the excellent Shane Horgan and a sharp-looking Marcus Dillon provided a cutting edge that Ballymena lacked. Horgan ran strongly but crucially displayed a great awareness of what was going on around him. Every time Dillon received possession he beat the first up tackler. Once outhalf Barry Everitt had finally absorbed Cosgrave's direction not to kick the ball, Lansdowne played with great fluency.
This was not until the second half but it proved a timely change of direction. The pack picked and drove through the heart of the Ballymena eight and Horgan ran strongly to create for those outside. But it was only in the final 20 minutes that Lansdowne maintained their ascendancy. Prior to that the game ebbed and flowed with both teams enjoying temporary superiority.
In terms of the spectacle it was very entertaining fare from the moment that Everitt's reverse flick - a Connacht patent at this stage - allowed Dillon to race over between the posts with Kearns converting. Earlier Mason had kicked a penalty and Everitt a neat drop goal.
Two further Mason penalties closed the deficit to 10-9 at the interval. Kearns kicked a penalty, Mason dropped a superb goal before Ballymena prop Rab Irwin grabbed a try, after been driven over from a lineout close to the Lansdowne line. Mason amazingly missed the conversion.
Lansdowne's reply was swift with a Kearns try which he converted and another from Ennis, taking them eight points clear. Everitt's foolish chip inside his own 22, charged down by Irwin allowed James Topping to score under the posts.
Scoring sequence: 3 mins: Mason penalty, 03; 6: Everitt drop goal, 3-3; 20: Dillon try, Kearns, 10-3; 23: Mason penalty, 10-6; 25: Mason penalty, 10-9. Half-time: 10-9. 52: Kearns penalty, 13-9; 53: Mason drop goal, 13-12; 62: Irwin try, 13-17; 66: Kearns try, Kearns conversion, 20-17; 73: Ennis try, 25-17; 83: J Topping try, Mason conversion, 25-24.
LANSDOWNE: R Kearns; M Dillon, S Horgan, K McQuilkin, B Glennon; B Everitt, D O'Mahony; O Ennis, C Egan, E Bohan; S O'Connor, G Fulcher; S McEntee, C McEntee, L Toland.
BALLYMENA: S Stewart; S Coulter, J Topping, D Topping, D Macartney; S Mason, A Matchett; N McKernan, S Ritchie, R Irwin; M Blair, G Longwell; J Andrews, T McWhirter, C McCarey. Replacements: A Graham for Andrews 47 mins; D McAleese for Macartney 62 mins.
Referee: J Fleming (Scotland)
