Emphatic comeback secures bonus point victory
by Roger Corbett
In the battle of the seaside teams, it was Bangor who looked to have left their bucket and spade at home, as Coleraine eased to a 17-0 lead. However the tide turned in Bangor’s favour as they fought back to finish with a bonus point victory of 17-37.
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With an identical line-up to that which beat Clogher Valley last weekend, Bangor would have fancied their chances against a Coleraine side whose victories so far against less powerful opposition had been close affairs. So, as Bangor kicked off into the breeze, they immediately pressed forward into Coleraine territory. The backs looked good on the ball, and the forwards were providing good support. It was no surprise, therefore, that after just 6 minutes, a good backline move saw the ball come to James Henly who powered towards the Coleraine line. Somehow, the home defence managed to stop him just inches from scoring, but Bangor’s intent was clear. Minutes later, Bangor were awarded a penalty which Mark Thompson attempted to kick, but this was wide and short of the posts. The next set-back followed shortly when Number 8 Curtis Stewart had to be replaced by Gareth Coughey after sustaining an ankle injury.
These various disappointments obviously affected the Bangor men, as they then tried to force the game, making numerous handling and decision making mistakes as a result. To compound the misery, Coleraine’s first real attack after 12 minutes of play led to a poor clearance kick which was run straight back and led to a score on the right hand side. The conversion was successful giving the home side a 7-0 lead.
No panic at this stage – this was just a fortuitous score. Or was it? Shortly afterwards, more poor Bangor play gave away a penalty on their own twenty two, which was duly converted giving Coleraine a 10-0 lead. Bangor anxiety resulted in the restart kick not going 10 metres, handing back possession to Coleraine. To make matters worse, in attempting to attack the resulting scrum, they conceded another penalty. This was taken quickly, with the Coleraine attackers evading some half-hearted tackles to score again. With the successful kick, Coleraine now had a sizeable and justifiable 17-0 lead with just a quarter of the game played.
With half an hour gone, Coleraine could have added to this when they were awarded another penalty, but this time the kick went wide. However, the signs were bad. Bangor continued to knock-on the ball both in passing and in tackles, whereas the Coleraine men seemed to have glue on their hands and then managed to knock the ball backwards if they lost it in a tackle.
Despite their mistakes, Bangor looked dangerous on the attack. They also knew that they could play better than they were doing so far. The simple factor of ‘belief’ plays a large part in any side’s success, and this came to the fore as the first half drew to a close. From a Bangor penalty, the line-out was cleanly won by Freddie Black. This was quickly passed to Jason Morgan in the centre whose strength and determination saw him ride the Coleraine tackles to score to the left of the posts. Mark Thompson’s kick was wide but Bangor were now off the mark at 17-5 and could feel, as they turned around at half time, that there was still plenty to play for.
With strong words said and the comfort of the breeze at their backs, Bangor received the restart with renewed vigour. While obviously disappointed at not being on the score sheet as much as he would like, Davy Charles has developed into a strong team player who can create clear scoring opportunities for others. So it was within the first minute of the second half when he produced a great run to make just enough ground and space before passing to Morgan who ran from the Coleraine twenty two to score his second try. His kick was unsuccessful, but Coleraine’s lead had been quickly cut to 17-10.
Coleraine were shaken but by no means undeterred. They continued to take the game to Bangor and just 5 minutes later won a penalty for their efforts. The quick tap was well covered by a more focussed Bangor defence. In the resulting ruck, Bangor turned the ball over, releasing Morgan who passed to Mark Widdowson. Mark is a quick winger, however flanker James Henly proved to be just as quick as he received the pass on the half way line and set off down the left wing. His pace and strength were too much for the covering Coleraine tacklers, resulting in an excellent try just to the left of the posts. This time Morgan’s conversion was good, and the scores were level at 17-17.
If Coleraine hadn’t felt it earlier, they were now starting to show signs of pressure. A further Henly attack came close shortly afterwards, but resulted in another ankle injury, which led to his replacement by Andrew Jackson.
The momentum was now with Bangor, and they continued to push forward, keeping play in Coleraine’s half for long periods of play. Following a tense 15 minutes, Bangor made another good move across their backs – this time bringing in full-back Mike Weir. His route to Coleraine’s line was blocked, but good vision picked out Mark Thompson who made the final yards to score Bangor’s bonus point try. Although the conversion was missed, Bangor were now in front for the first time in the game by 17-22.
With only one score in it, the game was still finely balanced. Coleraine, however, were now having to try and force the game, and they consequently fell victim to the same problems Bangor had suffered in the first half. For Bangor’s part, their confidence and improved handling led to their next score. Another Bangor turn-over – a major improvement on earlier games – saw Gareth Coughey break down the right hand side. Although surrounded by Coleraine players, he provided a great off-load to Richard Corbett whose pace from the Coleraine twenty two proved decisive, resulting in another try, this time close to the Coleraine posts. Thompson’s kick was good, and Bangor’s lead was more comfortable at 17-29.
With just 10 minutes of normal time remaining, Bangor were looking good for the win, but Coleraine knew that bonus points were still available to them if they could score again. To their credit, they started to force Bangor back and were soon laying siege to the Bangor line. They spurned penalty opportunities to kick for goal, and elected to go for the line-out and subsequent drive. However, Bangor’s defence was solid, forcing Coleraine to lose possession and hence relieve the pressure. With normal time almost gone, and on one such Coleraine attack, Bangor produced another great turn-over which saw the ball come to Morgan on his own twenty two. Having made the line break, he passed outside to Mark Widdowson whose speed cleared the Coleraine defence to strike a killer blow to Coleraine’s comeback chances.
With Mark Thompson adding a long range penalty kick shortly afterwards, the game was duly closed out, and the referee brought proceedings to a close with Bangor winning by 17-37.
What a turn-around in fortune. Although the first half was painful to watch (from the Bangor perspective), the way the coaches and players set about rectifying their poor play was proof of their determination to put their mark on this league competition, and now puts Bangor in a strong position as they continue their campaign away to Dromore next week.
Bangor side: P Dornan, P Whyte, J Harrison, F Black, R Corbett, J Henly (A Jackson), J Clegg (c), C Stewart (G Coughey), R Armstrong, M Thompson, M Widdowson, M Aspley, J Morgan, D Charles, M Weir
Subs: G Coughey, A Jackson
Bangor scores: J Morgan (2T, 1C), J Henly (1T), M Thompson (1T, 1C, 1P), R Corbett (1T), M Widdowson (1T)
