Larne 1st XV 12 Enniskillen 1st XV 13

Enniskillen 1st XV leapfrogged opponents Larne into third place in Qualifying League Two with a hard fought 13-12 away win on Saturday.
The Skins have returned to form in recent weeks and coach Norman Richmond has targeted a bonus point win this week when they face bottom side Grosvenor at Mullaghmeen.
“We need to firstly ensure the win but more importantly look for the bonus point win which will see us closing the gap further on Carrick and Coleraine; this has all the hallmarks of an exciting second half of the season, especially as there appears to be a desire and hunger from a team that had a blip in December,” he said.
And he has been delighted with the positive attitude of his squad since the start of the year, something that continued against Larne.
“I was very pleased at the way we approached this game. The attitude amongst the players has been positive from the start of the year, a strong performance against Rainey last week and this game against Larne has reaffirmed to me the players’ commitment and hunger to push on now as we enter the second half of the season. 
“The game was difficult on Saturday, The Glynn is never an easy place to go and get a result but the players dug in and in dreadful pitch conditions weathered the storm from Larne who were relentless for the 80 minutes. 
“Consistent ball retention was going to be crucial for the winning team and we held out,” he commented.
Accurate kicks had kept Skins pinned back in the early stages on Saturday but they displayed patience in dealing with this onslaught and were able to clear their lines on each occasion.
The counter attack of the Larne full back was another threat presented by the home side but was well dealt with by the Enniskillen defence and the like for like counter attack of the Skins back three of Charlton, Finlay and O’Shea helped the territorial battle. 
The penalty count for Skins however, continued to be high as in past weeks and presented Larne with a life line throughout, the home side taking the first points in the fixture to go 3-0 up. 
The condition of the pitch made it a real battle for territory, but good mauling from the pack off the line out and carries from David Buchanan and Ricky Lee made good ground throughout. 
The pressure from Skins finally paid off when they collected the ball at the back of the line out just inside the Larne 22 and carried to the line where Lendrum eventually gave a beautifully weighted pass to Ashley Finlay to go over in the corner for an unconverted try. 
Enniskillen had their tails up now and they added a penalty from Lendrum but another infringement saw Larne land a penalty of their own to leave it 8-6 at half time.
The second half was mainly played in the middle of the pitch and a break finally came for Enniskillen as they touched down for their second try of the game. 
A return kick from well inside the Skins half was ruthlessly pursued by the Enniskillen forwards and prop Gavin Warrington was first up to turn over the receiving Larne fullback. The ball was then shifted wide to Richie Johnston who crossed in the corner to extend the lead to 13-6. 
Larne to their credit were patient and eventually forced another penalty to leave it 13-9 and another penalty soon after reduced the deficit to a point, 13-12.
Skins, now realising that despite their tenacious defensive efforts they were only leading by a mere point, began to tighten up their discipline and focused on seeing out the contest. 
The final minutes were tense for Enniskillen while holding off Larne inside their own half but their determined press up in defence eventually forced a knock on to end the contest with a 13-12 victory to Skins.