Accies Continue Perfect Start

Omagh Accies 35
Carrickfergus 5
OMAGH Accies continued their perfect start to the season with a fifth straight win in all competitions after a stylish second half performance saw them ease past Carrickfergus by 35-5 in the Junior Cup.
A stuttering start to proceedings allowed the visitors to take the lead at the Thomas Mellon Playing Fields when A Kincaid touched down, but that was about as good as it got for Carrick.
Omagh upped the ante from the 20 minute mark on and with outhalf Lee Murphy in impreious form - he registerd 16 unanswered points before the break - the home side looked odds on to progress.
Their chances of reaching the next round shortened further in the second period as Carrick's discipline slipped - R Marsden was shown only a yellow card for an apprarent punch on Mervyn Edgar, while C Rodgers should have been at least similarly punished following an altercation with Stewart McCain.
After that there was only one team in it as Omagh raced home thanks to another Murphy penalty before he converted tries from Yonga Taleni and. Mervyn Edgar. Ryan Mitchell scored the final try of the game with four minutes remaining, which went unconverted by Neil Mellon.
Following the kick-off, which saw Omagh steal a Carrick lineout in the opposition 22, a knock-on close to the line saw an early chance disappear.
Carrick punished that mistake by exploiting another error when Kincaid raced through a static Accies defence following a quick tap penalty to score an unconverted try.
The home side grew into the game after that, although it took time as a few handling errors and a malfunctioning lineout saw them struggle to make good ground in the Carrick half.
However, once they ironed out the creases, Murphy soon had them ahead with a darting run through a gap following good pressure from a scrum to touchdown next to the posts before adding the extras.
By the interval the hosts led 13-5 as Murphy kicked two unanswered penalties and by 51 minutes the game was all but over as a contest as he flashed over and excellent three pointer before Carrick's R Marsden was yellow carded for a late tackle on Mitchell.
With the extra man advantage once again, Omagh scored their second try of the game when Taleni followed Murphy's lead by darting through a gap in the Carrick defence to touchdown next to the posts for another seven points.
Four minutes later and it was 28-5 when a great work on the left by McCain and Edgar opened the door for Alistair Beckett to sprint through only to be held up on the line. The quick thinking fullback was alert enough, however, to pop the ball up to the advancing Edgar who threw himself over the line for a try, expertly converted from the left touchline by Murphy.
The final telling action of the game came in the 76th minute when a shocking defensive kick from Carrick sailed straight into McCain's arms 20 metres from the try line. The scrumhalf fed Murphy who unselfishly passed left to Mitchell who raced home in the corner to seal the 35-5 victory.
Omagh Accies: S Lyons; M Edgar; M Smyth (cpt); J Giboney; M Miller; D Porter; R Harper; A Ferguson; S McCain; L Murphy; R Mitchell; Y Taleni; M Gibson; N Brown; A Beckett. Replacements: G Sherrard; N Mellon.
Carrickfergus: A Gibney; R Williams; M Smylie; C Rodgers; A Kincaid; C Ferris; R Marsden; C Rea; G Picken; J Sheriff; P Simpson; J Wadey; J Cullen (cpt); M Gilmore; A McKinney. Replacements: R Crymble; G McKeown.
Referee: P Baxter.