Enniskillen 1st XV 15 Armagh 2nd XV 14

Enniskillen 1st XV had yet another tense win last weekend as they ground out a 15-14 victory in challenging conditions against visitors Armagh 2nd XV to progress through to the next round of the Towns’ Cup.

Skins faced plenty of adversity with an injury to Matthew Dane in the warm-up forcing a reshuffle, which had promising new back row forward Andrew Johnston Martin forced to start on the right wing in the backs.

Still, the young Skins side started well, piling pressure on through their forward pack with some excellent carrying displays from Oisín Timoney and Michael Rooney; claiming a penalty early on Daire Hill slotted the points to take the lead 0-3.

Skins worked well from the restart with Jack Rutledge solid under the high ball, and good use of territory from halfbacks Finlay and Hill had Skins set up a lineout deep in the Armagh half after 30 minutes.

Peter Read threw excellently with his first start at hooker to set Skins up with a maul that ended with Read himself getting over the line, 8-0 for a confident first half.

Armagh responded a few moments later with an impressive counter attack against a very scattered kick chase that left space down the wing for a pacy Armagh winger, who had it all too easy to gain a converted score, 8-7.

Good work from Rooney off the restart gave Skins a foothold in the Armagh half and they began to push for a score before half time.

A series of carries near the five-metre line ended with Gavin Warrington getting the score to end the half at 15-7.

The second half was a frustrating affair for Skins, who couldn’t get a foothold in the game.

Armagh kicked cleverly with the wind at their backs, and piled a heap of pressure on the Skins’ back three while the forward pack began to tire in defence, while attack was an arduous job in the wet conditions.

Another fairly soft Armagh try came from similar defensive lapses and put the home side under a lot of pressure for the remainder of the game.

Skins had opportunities in the Armagh half, but attacked very narrowly in the conditions against a bigger pack, and came away from the opposition half without the spoils all too often.

The defensive grit was there, however, and Skins finished the game 15-14 to keep themselves alive in all cup competitions after two tough weeks.

Big games continue for Skins, who host Cooke this Saturday in the league, hoping to make their league standings match their cup form.