Enniskillen 1XV 17 CIYMS 1XV 24

Enniskillen 1st XV had a disappointing start to their league campaign last Saturday with a home defeat to CIYMS.
The Belfast side looked up for the contest and gained confidence as the fixture went on as some indiscipline and unforced errors made it difficult for Skins to build momentum or play in the right area of the pitch.
Enniskillen looked the more comfortable of the sides though and were defending the CI attack well, Andrew Johnston Martin making some stellar tackles along with a physical Oisín Timoney. 
Against the run of play, CI were first on the scoreboard as they managed to shift the ball out wide, exploiting the overlap to run in a score.
Skins responded shortly afterwards as the forwards battered the visitors’ line, with Neil Rutledge eventually forcing his way over, converted by Eddie Keys to go even at 7-7.
The game remained fairly even, but indiscipline from CI allowed Keys to put Skins in the lead, 10-7. 
CI were to level before the half, however, as Skins repeatedly crept offside at the ruck and eventually yielded an opportunity in front of the posts, 10-10 at the half.
The Skins’ attack looked formidable now as the back three of Balfour, O’Shea and Foster continued to threaten while the pack continued to gain yard. 
Execution and decision-making could have been better, however, and there were scores left on the pitch in this period.
Eventually, an Eddie Keys crossfield kick to Balfour was gathered and offloaded to Foster, who gave Skins the lead, converted to go 17-10 up.
It seemed like Skins would storm home after this but problems at the set-piece, penalties and pivotal defensive lapses allowed the visitors to get their tails up and led to a huge shift in momentum, leading to two scores in the final quarter to see the visitors take the spoils.
Skins will be disappointed, given CI rarely come away victors at Mullaghmeen, but the visitors to their credit were steady throughout and capitalised on Enniskillen’s errors. 
The comments on the youth of this Skins side are not unwarranted, and it’s great to see the bright, new talent coming through – but the young heads will need to gain experience quickly to grind out wins in this tough league. 
Skins’ Head Coach Stevie Welsh was disappointed with the loss.
“We are disappointed. Yes, we had injuries coming into the game, and young lads coming in, but even at that we could and should have still won the game.
“We started reasonably well but we got turned over at a lineout and they got a score.
“We responded well though and at 17-10 I thought we would kick on, but we made far too many errors.
“Even after they went 24-17 ahead, we had chances and I felt we deserved something out of the game,” he said.
Next up is a derby encounter against a strong Clogher side.
“There is no doubt that things have changed from a couple of years ago and we will go into the game as underdogs, but it is a derby game and anything can happen in them,” said Welsh.