Convincing Towns Cup win against City of Derry

With conditions very soft underfoot at Upritchard Park, the decision was made to play at the Bangor Grammar School’s new pitch nearby. It was hoped that the firmer ground and better than expected weather would give both sides a good opportunity to play to their respective strengths. As City of Derry 2nds were the current holders of the Towns Cup, and having brought a strong team to defend that position, Bangor were expecting a tough contest.

The visitors kicked off with a slight wind advantage, and pushed forward into Bangor’s twenty two. However, after 7 minutes of play, Bangor produced a fine break through crisp handling and good support that involved several players, before the ball came to Darren Kelly. With 10 metres to go, he powered through the Derry defence to score to the left of the posts. Neil Cuthbertson’s conversion was successful, getting the home side off to a great 7-0 start.

Shortly afterwards, another good combination between forwards and backs saw the ball come to Jason Morgan who seemed sure to score, but the ball somehow slipped from his grasp within sight of the Derry line. From the resulting scrum, Derry won the ball and cleared their lines by kicking for touch. The Bangor lineout was taken cleanly by Kelly, and Bangor picked off where they had left off moments earlier. This time it was Jamie Clegg who made the break before passing outside to Mark Widdowson on the left wing. Although he had to juggle the ball before controlling it, he still managed to squeeze in at the corner for Bangor’s second try. The touchline kick was missed making the score now 12-0 with 14 minutes gone.

City of Derry settled themselves and within 10 minutes were applying sustained pressure in Bangor’s twenty two. Having drawn in Bangor players to a ruck, they quickly passed the ball across their backs to find just enough room to score in the left hand corner. The kick was missed, but the gap had now closed to 12-5.

From Mark Thompson’s restart kick, the ball was knocked on by the City of Derry receiver. The Bangor scrum on the half way line was secured by Clegg before passing to Mike Aspley who accelerated through a gap in the centre, shook off a number of tackles and looked to be through for a score. However, with the City of Derry full back in front of him, Aspley unselfishly passed inside to Morgan who made the last few metres to score under the posts. Cuthberton’s simple kick made the score 19-5.

Most of the attacking play was now coming from the home side, prompting some desperate defending by the visitors. With 35 minutes gone, Derry were penalised for a deliberate knock on within their twenty two. The penalty was kicked to touch, and the subsequent lineout was again taken cleanly, this time by Adam Rushe. In a reversal of the previous try, Morgan took the ball forward before returning the compliment to Aspley to score close to the posts. The conversion brought the score to 26-5.

With the first half drawing to a close, Bangor kept up their pressure, forcing Derry to concede another penalty. From Bangor’s chosen scrum, the ball came to Morgan who, although wrapped up in defenders, managed to off-load to James Henly who made good ground before passing outside to Cuthbertson on the right wing who scored in the corner. His subsequent kick hit the upright and bounced out, but Bangor’s lead as the referee blew for half time was now 31-5.

City of Derry’s half time talk appeared to be paying dividends, as they started the second half with renewed vigour and eventually turned over a Bangor scrum. Having won the ball, they moved it wide to their right wing to score in the corner. Although the kick was missed, they were now in double figures at 31-10, with just a few minutes of the half gone.

Unfortunately, the Derry men were unable to build further from this promising start. On the 15 minute mark, Widdowson took a pass above his head, before side stepping the last defender to dive over in the left hand corner for his second try. A great kick by Cuthbertson made the score 38-10.

Several minutes later, Aspley had another good run, but this time was stopped short of the line. Undeterred, from the Bangor ruck, Andrew Jackson got the ball and, having pushed forward and brought play back into the centre, passed outside to Kelly who powered over from a couple of metres out to score his second try. The kick was missed, making the score 43-10.

With the contest all but over, and waiting for the final whistle, another Bangor attack saw Clegg push through before passing to Widdowson on his left. With defenders in front of him, and with little room to work with, Widdowson chipped over the defence and set off in pursuit. The ball didn’t bounce kindly for him, but did for the supporting Phil Whyte who gathered it well and dived over for a well-deserved try. For the second time in the game, Cuthbertson’s conversion hit the upright, making the final score 48-10.

This was another excellent Bangor performance that has brought a return to the kind of form shown at the start of the season. The timing couldn’t be better as the next game is away to league leaders Clogher Valley, who themselves are enjoying a great run of results.

Bangor side: P Whyte, A Jackson, J Harrison (J Leary), A Rushe, D Kelly, J Henly, R Latimer, J Clegg (c), C Harper, M Thompson, M Widdowson, M Aspley, J Morgan (G Caughey), N Cuthbertson, D Charles

Subs: J Leary, G Caughey

Bangor scores: D Kelly (2T), M Widdowson (2T), J Morgan (1T), M Aspley (1T), N Cuthbertson (1T, 4C), P Whyte (1T)