Sat 16th Nov, 2:30pm. Kukri Qualifying 1. Bangor 32 – 10 U.U.C.
Bonus point run continues against UUC
by Roger Corbett
Bangor returned to winning ways by recording another bonus point win by 32-10 against UUC at Upritchard Park, which keeps them firmly in the hunt at the top end of the league.
CLICK HERE for the album of pictures from this game
Thankfully the weather forecasters had got it wrong, and the playing conditions were perfect. Bangor got the game underway and immediately put UUC under pressure. Unable to clear their lines, UUC soon gave away possession. The attack was taken on by Ricky Armstrong, Curtis Stewart and Jason Morgan, before the ball came wide to Mark Widdowson who had room on the left wing to score in the corner. Although the difficult conversion was missed, Bangor were ahead by 5-0 with just 2 minutes of play gone.
Bangor looked sharp and keen to keep the ball moving. Although they conceded a penalty which UUC kicked towards touch, Richard Corbett leapt to palm the ball back into play. This presented an opportunity through Armstrong and Davy Charles which brought play right back into UUC territory. Shortly afterwards, Armstrong made another break and again passed inside to Charles. This time Charles slipped the defenders’ tackles to score to the left of the posts. Morgan’s kick was unsuccessful, bringing the score to 10-0 after 12 minutes.
Despite a missed penalty opportunity for UUC a few minutes later, the momentum was still very much with Bangor. After 25 minutes, Stewart won his lineout ball cleanly and this was quickly passed into the centre where Morgan collected and ran through the tackles to score under the posts. The simple conversion kick brought the score to 17-0.
Bangor’s power and dominance in the centre of play was obvious with several strong breaks by Mike Aspley. On the 30 minute mark, one of these resulted in a penalty to Bangor. A good kick to touch by Morgan gave Bangor an attacking lineout on the UUC 5 metre line. The ball was won cleanly by Corbett, and the resulting rolling maul was too powerful for UUC to withstand, resulting in captain Jamie Clegg driving over for the all important bonus point try. Again the conversion was wide, but Bangor were now comfortably ahead by 22-0.
UUC managed to open their account with a penalty kick 5 minutes later, but from the restart Bangor nearly produced the move of the game. Morgan’s restart kick had good height and direction. This was seized upon by Clegg who leapt high to collect the ball at pace, then running on into the UUC twenty two. As he was tackled he managed to off-load to Ryan Latimer who made a charge for the line. Although caught just short of the line, he still had one chance to stretch over but the ball slipped from his grasp and the opportunity was gone. However, Bangor still kept the pressure on and were rewarded a couple of minutes later when Neil Cuthbertson on the right wing managed to squeeze in at the corner for another try, again unconverted. As the first half came to an end shortly afterwards, Bangor were looking in total control, and leading by 27-3.
Unfortunately, the second half was a disappointing affair, with few scores and punctuated with many stoppages for injury and infringements. Whether Bangor were sitting back on their lead, or UUC were picking themselves up, the game appeared to be a much more even contest. Bangor’s handling was not slick as it normally is, and a couple of good scoring chances just went to ground at the crucial times. UUC on the other hand, were throwing the ball wide at every opportunity and taking the game to Bangor. With 23 minutes of the half gone, and Bangor on the attack deep in UUC’s twenty two, the visitors conceded another penalty. A quick tap ball by Armstrong was passed to Aspley who did the hard work by breaking the UUC line before passing outside to fellow centre Mike Weir who had an easy run in to score on the left hand side. It obviously wasn’t a good day for conversion kicks, as this was also wide of the mark, but the lead had been extended to 32-3.
Once again, the play became disjointed with further stoppages, and this seemed to affect Bangor’s concentration more than UUC’s. As the game entered the final 5 minutes, a dropped pass by Bangor was picked up by UUC deep in their own half, who then started to run the ball back. Some poor Bangor tackling allowed UUC to slip through and score under the posts. With the added conversion, this brought the score to 32-10.
With just 2 minutes of play remaining, the gloss on Bangor’s overall performance was slightly dulled when Jake Harrison was rather harshly yellow carded for not getting back from a ruck. However, with the final whistle coming soon afterwards, Bangor can be pleased with a solid result after a 2 week break from competition. Man of the Match was awarded to Jamie Clegg who produced another captain’s performance, leading by example and topping it off with a well taken try.
Unfortunately, Bangor now have a 3 week break until their next scheduled league game, away to Donaghadee on 7th December. Hopefully the coaches and squad can maintain their concentration and prepare accordingly for this eagerly anticipated encounter to contest the Rodney Gray Cup.
Bangor side: P Whyte, A Jackson, J Harrison, C Stewart, R Corbett, R Latimer, G Coughey, J Clegg (c), R Armstrong, J Morgan, M Widdowson, M Aspley, M Weir, N Cuthbertson, D Charles
Subs: F Black, M Coey
Bangor scores: M Widdowson (1T), D Charles (1T), J Morgan (1T, 1C), J Clegg (1T), N Cuthbertson (1T), M Weir (1T)
