SINCE the arrival of their South African coach, Nelie Smith, Ballymena have enjoyed a marked upswing in their fortunes.

And their success continued on Saturday when they proved superior to a Garryowen side who promised much but achieved little at Eaton Park.

Smith has helped Ballymena to get back to basics and now they find themselves safely in a mid table.

Yet it was Garryowen who took the early initiative, sweeping into the lead after just seven minutes with a Killian Keane penalty.

But Ballymena lost no time in replying. Dean Macartney paved the way for James Topping to go in for a try which Ricky Mcilmoyle converted.

Garryowen, though, launched a counter offensive and Shane Leahy dashed in for a try to which Keane added the points.

Mcilmoyle restored Ballymena's advantage with a dropped goal and a penalty that helped them into a 13-10 interval cushion.

The Garryowen pack worked hard to gain territorial advantage in the second half but found Ballymena in resolute mood. Mcllmoyle stroked over a penalty in the 60th minute and the game really turned the way of the home team when with 12 minutes to go, Colin Wallace barged his way over for what proved to be a crucial try.

From then on Ballymena were the masters and a try from Derek McAleese three minutes from the finish merely emphasised their superiority.