Bangor’s winning habit continues against Monkstown
After a slow start, Bangor picked up their tempo and overcame Monkstown by 38-16 to progress to the semi-finals of the All Ireland Junior Cup.
It was a pleasure to welcome Monkstown to Upritchard Park – there has been a close and hospitable relationship between the two clubs going back to the days when both enjoyed senior status, so to meet again several years later in another All Ireland competition was eagerly anticipated. For the second time in this competition, Bangor’s opponents both played in blue and gold, so again it was greatly appreciated that Bangor Grammar School were able to make their jerseys available as an alternative for the home side. Perhaps the youthful enthusiasm of school rugby would rub off on some of the players…..
Unfortunately, as Monkstown kicked off, it was obvious that this was not the case, with the visitors making most of the early running. While the Bangor set pieces looked sound, possession was repeatedly lost through forced passes being dropped and turnover ball being conceded in the loose play. It was therefore somewhat against the run of play that, after 13 minutes, Bangor took the lead. David Bradford made a break and, seeing free space behind the approaching Monkstown players, kicked through into the visitors’ twenty two. Both he and Jason Guthrie set off in pursuit and, although beaten to the ball by the Monkstown full-back, harried the defender into touch just 5 metres from the goal line. The resulting Bangor line-out and drive proved too much for Monkstown to withstand, with Andrew Jackson making the final move to score close to the corner flag. Mark Widdowson was unable to convert, but Bangor had struck first and were 5-0 ahead……… full report & shots on >> http://www.pitchero.com/clubs/bangorrfc/teams/35649/match-centre/0-3189688
