Bangor do the double over Queens
With no fixture for the 1sts, it was down to Bangor 2nds and 3rds to provide the entertainment in a double header against Queens at Upritchard Park.
The current wave of positive Bangor performances continued on Saturday when the 2nds took on Queens 3rds and the Gryphons faced Queens 4ths.
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While quite different in both style and scoreline, both home sides came away with deserving victories – the 2nds by a convincing 43-5, and the 3rds with a much tighter 10-9 – to keep them ahead of Queens, and still in the hunt in their respective league competitions.
For more details of the 2nds game, see the separate match report below
Bangor 2nds 43 vs 5 QUB 3rds
Students given a hard lesson
On a bright but cold afternoon at Upritchard Park, Bangor 2nds took on Queens 3rds in their Junior League game. Having fallen behind early in the game, the home side came back strongly to win by a convincing 43-5 margin.
Queens got the match underway and very soon made clear that they wanted to run the ball through the backs, and get the ball to their wingers. They looked assured, and their flowing moves had the Bangor defence scurrying to cover each attack. There was a certain feeling of inevitability when Queens managed to split the Bangor defence and cross the line for the first score of the day. Although the conversion was missed, it looked like there could be more of the same to follow.
However, although Queens continued their game plan, the Bangor pack started to get into gear and took the direct route into their opponent’s territory. After a number of surges, Pete Nicol was stopped just short of the line, right in front of the posts. From the ensuing ruck, the ball was quickly passed wide to Ryan Meeke who came charging down the left wing to score, and level the game.
Shortly afterwards, Phil Neill made a strong run down the right hand side, and looked like he could go all the way. Although he got caught by the covering defence, he just managed to off-load the ball to Pete Gray in the nick of time who, despite the close attention of some Queens players, managed to stretch for the line and score in the right hand corner. The difficult kick was successful, putting Bangor now 12-5 ahead, and this is how things stayed until the whistle went for half time.
With the breeze now behind them, and a clearer picture of their opponents’ style of play, Bangor kicked off for the second half, hoping to build on their slender lead. Within a few minutes of the restart, Bangor took a scrum close to the Queens twenty two. The ball was picked up by Andrew Jackson, playing uncharacteristically at number 8, who saw a gap and darted through to score under the posts. With the simple conversion, Bangor were now starting to look more comfortable at 19-5.
Queens continued to have chances to come back, but poor handling at crucial moments proved costly. By contrast, Bangor’s game was improving all the time, with the forwards pushing forward at every opportunity. Several minutes later, in a move similar to Bangor’s opening try, Ryan Meeke scored again, this time in the right hand corner.
Bangor’s next try was a fine example of support play. Having started the move in the centre, Dave Miller passed to Phil Neill, who then off-loaded to Pete Gray. Although Gray got caught, from the resulting ruck, Miller was back in the thick of it and started off again. He saw Neil Cuthbertson on his shoulder just in time to slip the ball to him. Gray was back on his feet and now in close support, calling for the ball once more. However Cuthbertson backed himself over the 20 metres he had to cover, and managed to ride the covering tackles before scoring on the left hand side.
Bangor were now rampant, and the dejected Queens side added to their downfall when, a further 7 minutes later, they failed to tidy up a loose ball that had been kicked through towards their line. Although the favourites to collect and clear this situation, the ball slipped from the Queens players’ grasp and the harrying Jason Morgan was there to gather and score.
By now the game was safe with Bangor leading by 38-5, with about 15 minutes remaining. However, just 5 minutes later, Stephen Addy got in on the act with a fine try in the right hand corner, after another break by Morgan through the centre. Queens put on a late push for a consolation try, but were met by a resolute defence which managed to hold their line until the referee brought proceedings to a close, with the final score of 43-5.
This was a very good team performance, where many players stepped up to the mark and put themselves in contention for first team places. It was also good to have players returning from injury, which will prove vital next week when Bangor field all three teams in important games away from home. The 1sts and 2nds travel to Omagh in crucial league games, and the 3rds start their McCambley Cup campaign at Ballynahinch. All travelling support would be greatly appreciated by the coaches and players alike.
