With Ballyclare in Towns Cup action, this was the first opportunity for Bangor to take over at the top of QL2. They didn’t disappoint, winning with a bonus point by 10-45 and going clear at the top with a game in hand.
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Limavady must have been one of the few places in Northern Ireland on Saturday where playing conditions were excellent. With a few team changes brought about through player injury, Andrew Jackson returned as hooker and Dougie Gordon stepped back into the out half position, allowing Jason Morgan to move to full back and Chris Morgan moving from full back to the wing. Nonetheless, this was a familiar and strong set-up which had produced the goods on earlier occasions.
Bangor kicked off towards the clubhouse end, and despite some good pick and drives from Limavady, no sooner than the home side got into Bangor’s half, the ball was turned over and the boot of Jason Morgan found a good touch deep inside their opponents twenty two. Although Limavady had the put-in at the lineout, they knocked the ball on, giving Bangor an attacking scrum just 5 metres from the goal line. Bangor’s pack has been awesome in set plays like this, and once Darren Lyttle had the ball at his feet at the back of the scrum, the pack rumbled forward until the ever alert Ricky Armstrong dived on the ball as it crossed the line. Chris Morgan’s conversion attempt was unsuccessful, but Bangor had got off the mark by 0-5, with just 5 minutes played.
Although off to a flying start, the Bangor players seemed impatient for their next score, but this urgency led to a number of handling errors that otherwise might have brought success. However, after a further 15 minutes, the Bangor backs got on the score sheet. With Gordon moving the ball quickly from the breakdown, Jason Morgan came into the back line and made one of his characteristic breaks before switching to Davy Charles on the right wing. The pacey Charles left the Limavady defenders in his wake, before running in behind the posts for a good score. Chris Morgan’s conversion attempt was successful, bringing the score to 0-12.
Shortly afterwards, Limavady found themselves in Bangor’s twenty two, thanks to the accurate kicking of their out-half. However, this visit was short-lived as Bangor regained possession from the lineout and started the ball across their backs once more. Jason Morgan broke away from his own twenty two and, although tackled, managed to get into the Limavady half with both Chris Morgan and Matt Leebody outside him. The obvious option was to pass the ball wide. However, Chris Morgan cleverly cut back behind Jason to receive an inside ball, immediately catching the Limavady defence cold and leaving a clear run to score under the posts. With the simple conversion, the score had now moved on to 0-19.
Limavady finished the first half strongly, coming very close through their winger who was only prevented from scoring by a good defensive tackle from Davy Charles. However, they did manage to open their account with a penalty kick which marked the final play of the half, with the score 3-19.
Limavady got the second half underway, anxious to maintain their momentum from the latter part of the first period. However, it was Bangor who struck first, after just 2 minutes. From a turnover ball, Jake Harrison made a break before passing to Jason Morgan, who then passed on to Nicky Hatton. Hatton turned on the speed, and accelerated through the Limavady defence with only the goal line in his sight. Despite being closed down by a couple of defenders, his speed and strength carried him over in the left hand corner for Bangor’s all important bonus point try. The difficult conversion was missed, making the score 3-24.
Bangor have learned that maintaining focus throughout the whole 80 minutes of a game is vital, and this continued to be the case today. After a further 8 minutes, Davy Charles set off on another strong run down the right wing, only to be tackled a few metres short of the Limavady line. The supporting players ensured that possession was retained, before popping the ball to Jake Harrison who crashed through the Limavady defence to score in the right hand corner. This time, Chris Morgan converted the difficult kick, putting Bangor well clear on 3-31.
From a Bangor point of view, the day was somewhat marred by a questionable yellow card for what was judged to be a high tackle. This didn’t, however, stop Bangor’s relentless attack. Within minutes of being reduced to 14 men, Bangor had a line-out inside their own twenty two. They took it quickly, releasing Jason Morgan who weaved through the Limavady players and looked like he would top off a great performance with a fine individual try. The covering defence denied him the score, but not before off-loading the ball to Freddie Black in close support. A determined run from 10 metres out eventually saw him power over for the score, despite being tackled by 2 Limavady players. The extras were duly added making the score now 3-38, with a quarter of the game remaining.
Limavady manfully continued to take the game to Bangor, and eventually produced a try worthy of their efforts. With play just inside Bangor’s half, the Limavady out-half delivered a perfectly weighted cross-field kick which was met cleanly by their right winger, who had got behind the Bangor defence allowing him a clear run to score under the posts. The conversion was added, giving the home side a more respectable 10 points.
However, the home support’s celebrations were to be very short-lived. From the restart, Bangor won back possession and the ball came to Curtis Stewart. In true forward fashion, he set off on the most direct route towards the Limavady line. His size, pace and power was proving too much for the back-pedalling Limavady defence. With just 5 metres to go, he was finally brought to ground, but this time it was Jason Morgan who was in close support and was able to receive the ball as Stewart went down. Morgan was not going to be denied this time, and withstood the last gasp tackles before touching down to the right of the posts. Chris Morgan kicked the conversion to restore the difference to 10-45.
At this point, although there were still several minutes of play available, a quick look from both captains to the referee indicated that the contest was over and proceedings were brought to a close.
Despite being many points behind the early league leaders Ballyclare, Bangor have successfully converted their games in hand, many of which with bonus points that could eventually determine the final positions. Now 2 points ahead at the top of the table, and with still one more game in hand, Bangor are now in the driving seat, and will be hoping to extend their lead when they travel to Grosvenor next weekend.
Bangor team: P Dornan, A Jackson, J Harrison, F Black, C Stewart, N Hatton, J Clegg, D Lyttle, R Armstrong (c), D Gordon, C Morgan, M Aspley, M Leebody, D Charles, J Morgan
Bangor scores: R Armstrong (1T), D Charles (1T), C Morgan (1T, 5C), N Hatton (1T), J Harrison (1T), F Black (1T), J Morgan (1T)
