Omagh 3’s 31- Bangor 2nds 7
Omagh 3’s hosted Bangor 2nds on Saturday with one clear goal. A win at all costs. With Captain Todd picking one of the strongest sides in weeks it was clear from the outset that Bangor were never going to be in the match. Huge tackles from Keith Givens, Richard Harpur and Sheldon Monteith rattled the visitors early on and they never recovered. Omagh took possession and marshalled by dean mcconnell the forwards had a series of drives through the middle of the Bangor defence. Under pressure the penalties came Omagh’s way and quick thinking from Andrew Armstrong saw him break down the blindside to feed the supporting Scott McClenaghan to crash over in the corner. James Irwin slotted the conversion from outwide. Omagh were not done yet, from the resulting kick off they crashed through the middle again, with Bangor getting nowhere in the lineout and the scrum of McLaughlin, Monteith and Todd giving the visitors no end of trouble it wasn’t long until Simon Monteith grabbed his try under the posts after some great pick and drives. Leading 14-0 Omagh where in a good position but a mistake at kick off gifted possession and Omagh then showed true grit to hold the visitors for a full 20 minutes until half time when the Bangor side sneaked a questionable try in the far corner. Bolstered by reminders that leaving opportunities behind them can hurt the Omagh team sprang into action in the second half. Squeezing and frustrating the Bangor side that clearly had nowhere to go. Joe Reid and Sheldon Monteith tackled every runner Bangor sent at them and the mistakes came. Another disrupted scrum put the Bangor scrum half under pressure who panicked and threw the ball to the waiting Andrew Armstrong who gladly accepted this present on his birthday and ran under the posts to score. From the resulting kick off Omagh again put Bangor under pressure a rolling mall from the lineout allowed the backs the freedom to run with Andrew Armstrong taking his second try when his opposite number slipped the tackle. It was to sum up the match when Omagh again returned to the Bangor line with Joe Reid unlucky to get turned over, the resulting kick away by Bangor was fielded by James Irwin who ran hard into the defence crashing through two players before the game was stopped when it was clear one of those players had unfortunately gotten his head the wrong side of the tackle and was out cold on the floor. Omagh were then awarded the scrum, using the blindside dean mcconnell broke wide and fed the returning Jason Gallen who crashed over would be tacklers to score. 31-7 up the game finished with the only Bangor attack of the game which was eventually turned over. A great win against a side that are sitting at the top of Section 3, Omagh will take great confidence heading in to their cup match next week.
Omagh 1 33 vs 12 Randalstown
“Three for BJ as Accies claim bonus point win”
CLICK HERE – 200+ Shots
Omagh returned to winning ways with a comfortable 33-12 victory over a plucky Randalstown outfit with Mark “BJ” Smyth the hat trick hero with a trio of tries from close in. Despite Omagh securing the bonus point on the half hour mark, the visitors rallied, refused to submit, and put plenty of pressure on the home defence in the second period as the weather steadily worsened at Thomas Mellon Playing Fields.
“We played well for 60 minutes instead of the 20 minutes last week”, commented Accies coach, phil marshall after the game. “The attitude today was better, we played a smarted game and got our phases of play established early on which led to a couple of quick scores and eventually the bonus point”, he added.
Omagh welcomed back their regular starting front row, making considerable difference at the set piece and while Smyth gets the credit for a three try performance, the addition of kyle alexander at prop and Adam Pollock at hooker added bulk and strength, though winger Andy McFarland was terrific, especially in a first half performance when he left defenders for dead and made huge inroads in the Co. Antrim sides’ defence.
McFarland opened the scoring after 5 minutes finishing off a neat move involving David Ward and Jonny Giboney with a lovely show and go. Ward drew the defender and popped to McFarland with the pacy winder making no mistake from 10 metres out. Ward missed the difficult conversion.
Omagh fielded the ball well from the re-start, something that was poor last week. Pollock called and caught cleanly with captain, Mervyn Edgar hitting the line on the hoof. When he was eventually brought down, Stuart McCain released his backs and aimed to up the tempo, something they attempted to do all afternoon until conditions declined.
Randalstown hit back and worked their way steadily up the field and were awarded a penalty for offside. They duly converted to reduce the deficit to two points.
McFarland had a big part to play in Omaghs’ next try after 12 minutes. An electrifying burst saw him reach midfield with McCain putting a neat box kick through for Scott Elliot to chase, though the home defence managed to bundle the ball into touch. Omagh won the resulting lineout through John Sproule and moved the ball infield before a succession of pop and go drives proved fruitful with Smyth collecting the ball from McCain and diving over. Ward added the conversion.
A couple of chances went begging before Omagh added their next score. An enterprising move began at the lineout saw McFarland again set off on a mazy run and although Sproule tried to offload, the stretching Lee Warnock couldn’t catch his overhead pass out wide, though the speed of movement and guile to open the home defence up was impressive. Ryan Mitchell also made a poor decision, selecting to take contact instead of moving the ball wide with a 5 on 3 overlap, though the youngster made amends later with a fine score of his own.
Smyth benefitted from another run by both McFarland and Sproule to dive over for his second and his sides third score soon after following another pop pass from close in. Ward added the conversion.
The visitors again responded positively, building momentum through their pack and were rewarded with another penalty as they kept in touch and made sure they took points from every opportunity from inside the Omagh half.
The rain began to come down steadily making handling difficult, though a fine handling movement saw the Accies register their bonus point. The lineout was secured, mauled and McCain spread the ball left through Warnock and centre, Yonga Taleni. Taleni paused and sent out a beautifully timed flat pass that hit the charging Mitchell in full flow. The youngster hit the line at pace, broke through and side stepped the fullback for a well executed score. Ward added the conversion. Score 26-6.
Randalstown added a penalty before the half though they feel aggrieved somewhat after good work had saw them create an overlap only to see a prop appear at first receiver and knock the ball on with the Accies scrambling to cover. The home side would have been relieved at only conceding a penalty which was duly slotted over to leave the score 26-9 at the half.
The visitors used both the hill and conditions well in the second period, putting the ball in behind the Omagh defence and following up with a blanket defence. They played the lines well from open play and penalties and exerted tremendous pressure on the Omagh line early in the second half. Solid Accies defence thwarted a series of pick and go’s and when Andy McFarland broke from his line an intercept and score seemed odds on. The pacy winger couldn’t hold on to the ball and was adjudged to have been offside for which he received an early Christmas present – 10 minutes in the sin – bin. Randalstown opted to kick the resulting penalty, were successful and hung in the game at 26-12.
On the back foot for the first 15 minutes of the second half, the Co. Tyrone men worked their way upfield by playing the lines with successive penalties. They caught drove and moved the ball either way asking questions of the visitors defence before being held up over the line. No. 8 Richard Smyth was at the heart of much of the Accies defence, but seized the opportunity to break openside before that man BJ Smyth was on hand to take a pop pass from McCain to dive over for the hat trick of score with Ward nailing the resulting kick to take the score to 33-12.
The remaining 20 minutes saw Randalstown manfully challenge the Accies but try as they might could not get over for the try their efforts deserved. The weather ensured the game drifted and stalemate became the order of the day, and a scrappy 20 minutes resulted before the referee blew up to leave Omagh the victors by 33 points to 12.
No-one in the Accies camp can afford to rest on their laurels ahead of a massive derby day encounter at Mullaghmeen next week, though in every derby form goes out the window and the better team on the day normally claims bragging rights and the points in these ones. Little festive cheer is expected as the Accies aim to end their year on a high. All support for Phil Marshall’s charges is appreciated by the squad.
Sterner tasks lie ahead but this was a good all round performance from the Accies with innovation, good phases of play, better decision making overall and solid defence from 1- to 15.
Team: David Ward, Scott Elliott, Ryan Mitchell, Yonga Taleni, Andy McFarland, Lee Warnock, Stuart McCain, kyle alexander, Adam Pollock, Mark Smyth, Jonny Giboney, John Sproule, Mervyn Edgar, Andrew Ferguson, Richard Smyth.
