Braidmen beaten by Shannon in penultimate AIL fixture
With little to play for after their own promotion hopes ended, Ritchie McMaster’s early penalty put Ballymena ahead.
But it was a short-lived lead as within two minutes Shannon winger Richie Mullane went in for a try out wide which David O’Donovan was unable to convert.
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Hide AdIan Sherwin’s home side missed a couple of scoring opportunities with a foot in touch and a missed penalty from Tadhg Bennett, and a second three-pointer from McMaster saw the Braidmen leading 6-5 at the break.
Shannon resumed in fine fettle, though, taking the game to the visitors with Bennett splitting the posts five minutes in and replacement Niall Horan touching down after a bout of forward pressure in the 55th minute.
Ballymena hit back with an unconverted effort from centre Paddy James, only for Shannon to have the final say with a decisive penalty from Bennett nine minutes from the end.
Ballymena travel to face Dungannon in the Ulster Championship League this Saturday,