Another great result puts Bangor on top
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With Ballyclare not playing and Enniskillen only managing a draw, Bangor took their opportunity to go top of the league with another bonus point victory, this time against Larne.
In perfect playing conditions at Upritchard Park, and with little or no wind to benefit either side, Bangor got proceedings underway. The first quarter of the game was a cagey affair, with both sides kicking for territory, but neither taking an attacking initiative through their backs. The deadlock was broken when the ball was dropped by Larne in the middle of the pitch, and Chris Morgan quickly booted it forward. In the ensuing chase, the ball was kicked forward again for Jamie Foulkes to pounce on just ahead of the retreating Larne defenders to score to the left of the posts. Keith Rossan was unsuccessful with the conversion, but Bangor were off the mark by 5-0.
From the restart, Curtis Stewart went off on another of his barn-storming runs, knocking Larne players over as he charged into their territory. Although he was finally stopped and a scrum was conceded, such was the strength of the Bangor pack that they wheeled Larne of their own put-in, winning the scrum for themselves. The controlled Bangor scrum provided Ricky Armstrong an easy pass to Matt Leebody who saw a gap in the Larne defence and ran in unhindered to score under the posts. Rossan’s conversion was successful, putting Bangor 12-0 ahead.
Within minutes, Bangor were on the attack again. Having won their scrum in their own twenty two, the ball was quickly passed from Armstrong to Morgan and then to Davy Charles who sprinted down the right hand touchline before cutting in past the Larne full-back to score under the posts. Rossan added the extras bringing the score to 19-0.
With 27 minutes gone, Bangor looked to be in control of the game, and were now pushing for their bonus point try. However, despite having further scoring chances over the following 10 minutes, this fourth try eluded them. It was then that Larne, with their first real attacking back line move, made the most of a bit of luck. As they moved the ball across the backs, it was accidentally knocked forward. The referee didn’t pick up on this, but Larne wisely played on, continuing to move the ball to their winger who finally squeezed over in the left hand corner. The testing kick was successful, and the gap had been cut to 19-7. Unfortunately, Nick Hatton suffered a nasty cut to the head during this passage of play and had to retire injured, reducing the home side to 14 men with over half the game remaining.
With the first half deep into injury time, a missed tackle in the centre of the pitch was just enough for the rejuvenated Larne attack to split the Bangor defence and get their second try, this time in the right hand corner. The kick was missed, and the referee blew for half time with the score now 19-12.
As Larne got the second half underway, their anxiety to maintain the comeback from the end of the first half led to them conceding a penalty on Bangor’s twenty two. Rossan produced a great kick to fine touch deep in Larne’s half. Bangor’s lineout was functioning better this week and, having won the ball from the throw in, produced another textbook drive by the pack to rumble over for a try by Matty Coey in the right hand corner. With Rossan’s kick, and the bonus point now secured, the score had moved on to 26-12.
This important score so soon in the second half was both a set-back to Larne and an encouragement to the home side who continued to press forward. Just 10 minutes later, a simple but well executed back line move between Armstrong, Rossan and Morgan led to the next try. As Morgan received the ball at speed, it appeared to slip from his grasp, but he managed to juggle it back safely while fending off the Larne defenders. With Davy Charles in close support, he just managed to get over for the score. The touchline conversion was missed, but the lead had been extended to 31-12.
Bangor continued to press forward, and were rewarded for their efforts after another 10 minutes when prop Jake Harrison bulldozed over from 5 metres to score his first senior try for the club. Rossan’s kick was the icing on what was a well-deserved try, even though it was a long time coming.
Bangor were denied further try scoring chances by the hard working Larne defence. Then, with just 10 minutes remaining and somewhat against the run of play, Larne surprised the home side with a sudden injection in pace to score their best try of the game, having started the move deep within their own half.
However, Bangor had the last word a few minutes later when their 7 man scrum pushed Larne off their own put-in. The ball came to Rossan who was held up short of the line, but managed to slip the ball to Darren Lyttle who made no mistake and touched down beside the right hand upright. The simple kick brought the score to 45-17.
The game had been played in good nature by both sides, however within the final minute of the game Curtis Stewart was yellow carded for an off the ball incident. Although regrettable, it didn’t take the shine off what was an excellent team performance. Bangor coach Rupert Preston picked out Matty Coey as his Man of the Match in recognition of his sustained work-rate, culminating in his bonus point try. With no game next week, Bangor will hope this short break will allow time for injuries to recover before the testing visit to Omagh in 2 weeks time.
Bangor team: C Schofield, P Dornan, J Harrison, D Lyttle, S Gilliland, N Hatton, M Coey, C Stewart, R Armstrong (c), K Rossan, J Foulkes, M Aspley, M Leebody, D Charles, C Morgan
Bangor scores: J Foulkes (1T), M Leebody (1T), D Charles (1T), M Coey (1T), C Morgan (1T), J Harrison (1T), D Lyttle (1T), K Rossan (5C)
