Bangor 10 vs 11 Enniskillen
Playing into a strong wind, Bangor worked hard to lead 7-6 at half time. Although this was extended to 10-6, poor tackling allowed Enniskillen to score the winning try in the last few minutes of the game to finish 10-11.
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In cold but dry conditions, Bangor hosted Enniskillen at Upritchard Park. Having worked hard against a strong breeze, Bangor led 7-6 at half time. Although going further ahead through a penalty kick, Bangor were unable to build on their first half performance and succumbed once more to a combination of poor handling and missed tackles, allowing the visitors to snatch the victory by 10-11 with a late try.
Enniskillen got the game underway, playing with a strong wind at their backs. Bangor knew that they would have to play a running game in the first half and, to their credit, they showed both patience and enterprise from the outset, repeatedly pushing the visitors back into their twenty two. On 13 minutes, having enjoyed the majority of possession and attack, Andrew Jackson made a break for the Enniskillen line, only to be held up short, and then penalised for handling in the following ruck. From the penalty, Enniskillen used the wind to now bring the game deep into Bangor’s territory. A Bangor infringement while defending this attack, gave Enniskillen an easy kick in front of the posts which they duly converted to take the lead 0-3.
Undeterred, Bangor resumed their attack, and soon brought play back into the Enniskillen twenty two. With 25 minutes gone, and following a Bangor lineout, the ball came to Curtis Stewart who used his weight and strength to power over the line, despite the attentions of a number of Enniskillen defenders. With Keith Rossan’s successful conversion, Bangor now led 7-3.
Given the windy conditions, Bangor would have been pleased to turn round with the score like this. However, with just 2 minutes of the half remaining, they were guilty of collapsing a ruck right in front of their own posts. Once again, the simple penalty was converted, bringing the half time score to 7-6.
With the wind now at their backs, Bangor now kept play in the Enniskillen half. Despite creating further chances to score, poor passing and repeated handling errors let Enniskillen off the hook. It was not until 25 minutes into the second half that Bangor won a kickable penalty to the left of the posts. Unfortunately this went wide. But just a few minutes later, Rossan had another chance – this time from the right hand side – and this time he was successful, extending Bangor’s lead to 10-6.
With Stewart yellow-carded for repeated penalty infringements, the strong Enniskillen pack took advantage, putting Bangor under pressure at scrums and rucks. They were also finding that their direct running was being met with weak tackling. With only a few minutes of the game remaining, Enniskillen took a quick tap penalty, well within their own half, and decided to run at Bangor once more. This time, Bangor’s inability to make the important tackles proved costly, as the Enniskillen forwards ran around and through the Bangor players to snatch a late try. Although the conversion was missed, Enniskillen had just got their noses in front by 10-11. With little time remaining, Enniskillen simply kept possession in the forwards and eventually held on to secure the win.
After the encouraging performance last week at UUC, this was an altogether more disappointing display. Having worked hard against the elements in the first half, they failed to utilise them to their advantage in the second half. More crucially, the high number of mistakes made either in attack or defence was what ultimately cost them the match. Although Bangor managed to salvage a losing bonus point, it is small consolation for a game that should have been theirs to win.
Bangor team : P Nichol, A Jackson, S Irvine, F Black, R Corbett, R McCausland, I McBurney, C Stewart, R Armstrong (C), K Rossan, M Aspley, J Morgan, C Morris, J Foulkes, J Lemon
Bangor Scores : C Stewart (1T), K Rossan (1C, 1P)
