The semi-final replay of the Northern Bank Ulster Schools’ Subsidiary Shield involving Wallace High School and Bangor Grammar School took place at a rain sodden Ballymacormick Road on Saturday morning.
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The second game was almost as close as the first with both sets of forwards working hard in the opening exchanges to gain dominance. After a lot of overnight rain, the pitch was quite soft and the conditions suited the bigger Wallace High School pack. A constant feature of the first half, which was dominated by the visiting team, was the emphasis of keeping the ball tight amongst their forwards. On numerous occasions they pressurised the Bangor line only to be thwarted by some excellent well organised and disciplined defence by the home team.
This ensured there were no scores in the first period of play despite the Wallace team dominating territory as well as possession. The second half kicked off with the wind slightly behind the Bangor team. An encouraging team talk by the Bangor coaches saw a much more attack minded Bangor team take the game to the Wallace side by displaying a desire to play open attacking rugby. After a few minutes a penalty was awarded to Bangor, and with the kick being successfully converted by Stuart McCloskey, Bangor had taken a 3-0 lead. Encouraged by this kick, the Bangor backline increased the pressure on the Wallace team by continuing to play open attacking rugby and keeping the ball away from the strong Wallace forwards as much as possible. Strong defence by the visiting team enabled them to weather the Bangor pressure and with fifteen minutes left, a series of pick and drives close to the Bangor line saw 5th form replacement player, Zack McCall cross the whitewash for an unconverted try to put the Wallace team into a 5-3 lead. Not to be outdone, Bangor returned to the attack in an effort to regain the lead. Strong defence from the Wallace team kept the Bangor side scoreless until they were awarded a penalty after frequent infringements by the Wallace pack and a stern warning from the referee. Much to the relief of the Bangor team and supporters, Stuart McCloskey calmly slotted over the kick to put Bangor back into the lead with the scoreboard reading 6-5.Try as they might the Wallace High School attack was thwarted by determined Bangor Grammar School defence which ensured the Wallace pressure never really threatened the Bangor line again. When the referee blew the whistle for the no side the Bangor players and supporters celebrated a long overdue return to Ravenhill to play in the final of the Northern Bank Ulster Schools’ Subsidiary Shield against Ballymena Academy on March 24th.
