Determined Bangor grab vital win against Ballyclare
In difficult playing conditions, it was Bangor who dominated and took their opportunities to win by 13-3, and close the gap to their rivals in this thrilling league contest.
At last the waiting was over and the two contenders for this season’s league title finally got to face up to each other in this crucial game for both sides. In difficult conditions, it was Bangor who took their opportunities to win by 13-3, and close the gap to their rivals to 3 points, with 2 games in hand.
CLICK HERE for official Bangor RFC Shots
CLICK HERE for Intouch Rugby Shots
With both sides fielding strong teams, and the internet pundits split on which way they reckoned the game would go, this was the pick of the QL2 fixtures with no clear favourite. Obviously home advantage would play its part, but the cold and wet weather coupled with a heavy pitch would add to the complexity of the situation.
Ballyclare got the game underway, playing into the breeze. From the outset, the home side were determined not to let Ballyclare get a foothold. Sensible, close quarter play saw Bangor move into the Ballyclare half and remain there for much of first half. However, Ballyclare’s defence, when called upon, was sound and withstood everything that was thrown at them. The eagerly awaited battle of the packs did not disappoint, with Ballyclare holding the normally rampant Bangor driving maul. However, the early indications were that Bangor had the upper hand in the scrums, having turned and disrupted them on Ballyclare’s put-in on a number of occasions.
The first score came mid-way through the half, when Chris Morgan converted a penalty from far out on the right hand side, making it 3-0.
Shortly afterwards, on 28 minutes, the Ballyclare hooker suffered a bad ankle injury and had to leave the field of play. Losing any player in a QL2 game is a major set-back, however it could be argued that this might have been worse for Ballyclare. With no hooker, the remainder of the game would be played with uncontested scrums, thus ensuring good possession for Ballyclare in this area – something that had been missing up to this point.
As the referee blew for half time, and with the score still at 3-0 for Bangor, there were anxious faces on the touchline, worried that this would not be enough of a lead when now playing into the wind.
Thankfully this worry appeared to be confined to the touchline, as Bangor restarted the second half in the same vein as the first. They were rewarded with another penalty after just 5 minutes, this time in front of the posts which Morgan again converted, doubling the lead to 6-0.
Just 7 minutes later, Ballyclare were awarded a penalty – in front of the posts, but quite a distance out. The well-taken kick just carried enough distance to go over, and reduce the deficit to 6-3.
Although the rain had all but stopped, and the wind eased, the players were all now suffering from the cold, resulting in many handling mistakes for both sides. However, it is testament to the fitness of both sides that the game never appeared to be running out of steam, and anything could happen before it was all over.
With just 2 minutes of normal playing time remaining, the constant harrying by the Bangor forwards finally forced the handling error in the Ballyclare line that provided the game’s decisive moment. Pouncing on a loose Ballyclare ball, Bangor prop Chris Schofield booted the ball through and set off in pursuit. The stunned Ballyclare defence was wrong footed, allowing Schofield, showing a tidy turn of speed, to touch down under the Ballyclare posts. Morgan’s simple conversion added the extras, extending Bangor’s lead to 13-3 and thus, more importantly, depriving Ballyclare of a losing bonus point which, up to this time had looked the likely outcome.
Although Ballyclare hurried back to try and add to their points tally, sensible positional play from Bangor, especially by out-half Jason Morgan, kept Ballyclare in their own half and denied them any further realistic opportunities. As the referee blew for full time, Bangor knew that their league destiny was now in their own hands.
Although this was a highly significant victory, there are still a number of testing games ahead, before playing the return away fixture against Ballyclare at the close of the league competition. Ballyclare may feel disappointed by the result, but all is not lost for them, especially as they contest the Towns Cup semi-final next week, and have fewer, more straightforward games left in their closing run in the league.
Bangor team: C Schofield, P Dornan, J Harrison, F Black, D Lyttle, N Hatton, J Clegg, C Stewart. R Armstrong (c), J Morgan, S Addy, M Aspley, M Leebody, D Charles, C Morgan
Bangor scores: C Schofield (1T), C Morgan (2P, 1C)
