With an eye understandably looking ahead to next week’s All Ireland Junior Cup final, Bangor rested several key players and fielded an unfamiliar but strong line-up. In particular, the pack included 5 changes with a completely new front row. Armagh had recorded an impressive win against QL2 high-fliers Omagh in the first round of this competition and, playing at home, would certainly be tough opponents.

From Armagh’s kick-off, Bangor began to move the ball confidently and after several good phases of play, the ball came to Mark Widdowson on the left wing. With his route to goal blocked, he chipped over the defence and set off in pursuit. Although the ball was gathered by an Armagh defender, he was harried into touch, deep inside the Armagh twenty two. Bangor’s lineouts have been a problem in recent weeks, but today they were looking a lot more secure. From Andrew Jackson’s throw in, the ball was caught cleanly and brought down into a maul, which drove towards the line. Patience and control eventually saw Ryan Latimer carry over for a try in the left hand corner. Widdowson’s conversion attempt was wide, but Bangor had started the scoring and led by 0-5 after 6 minutes.

Unfortunately, this lead was wiped out after conceding two penalties within the next 15 minutes. Then, after a good period of possession, Armagh produced their best attack of the game. Good off-loading by the forwards when tackled allowed Armagh’s left winger to set off down the touchline. As he drifted inside, he drew the Bangor defence, which created an open gap back on the wing for his supporting player to take the pass and run in under the posts for a converted try, and extending the home side’s lead to 13-5.

Bangor responded well, and brought play back into Armagh’s twenty two, laying siege to the line with several surges, but on each occasion they were held short before losing possession and Armagh were able to breathe again. However, having regained possession from the resulting lineout, Bangor broke through the centre and, after what looked like a misunderstanding between the Armagh backs, a clear gap opened up for Davy Charles who set off down the right hand side. Although stopped by the covering defence, the ball came to Gareth Irvine who brought play back inside before passing to Mike Weir who had the simplest of run-ins to score under the posts. With Widdowson’s added conversion, Bangor had reduced Armagh’s lead to 13-12 which, although other opportunities arose, is how it remained until half time.

Bangor came out of the blocks with renewed determination at the start of the second half. From the kick-off, Armagh fumbled the ball, and Bangor were awarded the scrum. As mentioned earlier, the lineouts had been working much better than of late, but even with this unusual mix of forwards, the scrums were just as solid and secure. Once again, the ball was well controlled and was picked up by Jackson, playing at number 8 for a change. He set off on a charge and, although caught by the shirt by the Armagh defence, he continued to drive forward, making great ground. Just before he was eventually swamped by Armagh players, he managed to pass outside to Widdowson who had the pace to out-run the defence and score. With the successful conversion, Bangor were now back in the lead by 13-19.

Unfortunately this didn’t last for long. Just 7 minutes later, a loose pass in the Bangor back line was easily intercepted, allowing Armagh a clear run through open territory to score another converted try, and regain the lead by 20-19. This was followed a few minutes later by another poor Bangor pass that, although not cleanly intercepted, was hacked through by Armagh, losing Bangor the good territory they had earlier worked towards. In the ensuing retreat to gather the ball, Bangor conceded another penalty which the talented Armagh kicker converted to stretch their lead to 23-19.

Bangor continued to look the more dangerous in attack, but were repeatedly let down by a combination of poor decision-making and ball retention at critical moments. For Armagh’s part, they fed off these mistakes, quickly kicking for position and clearing the danger. However, after 25 minutes of the second half, Bangor produced a simple, but well-executed move originating from a lineout on the right hand side. The ball was quickly passed from right to left, missing out players in the process, before it came to Widdowson who avoided a last-ditch Armagh tackle to score in the left hand corner. Although the touchline conversion was missed, Bangor now had their noses ahead by 23-24.

Bangor have been in this position before, and know that possession is key to guarding such a narrow lead. However, instead of tightening things up, they decided to press ahead with more attacks and, when one such attack in the closing minutes of the game was turned over, the quick Armagh counter-attack came into play. Running out of their own twenty two, the Armagh players showed great passing skill, moving the ball inside and out, and setting Bangor on their heels. Having made their way into Bangor’s twenty two, they patiently built a series of rucks until the opening appeared allowing them to dive over for a try. As the conversion was successfully added, the referee blew for full time, giving Armagh the victory by 30-24.

There is no doubt that this was a disappointing result, but there were several positives that the coaching staff and players can take credit for. Of primary importance, no injuries were sustained so there should be a full squad of players to choose from for next week’s big game. Also, the set pieces, and particularly the lineouts, looked solid and, although a couple of errors proved costly in today’s game, the ball handling and passing overall was greatly improved from last week. The players have shown great skill, fitness and determination throughout the season. It’s now time to pull all the elements together for a concerted performance next week against Dundalk. As Bangor take to the pitch as Ulster’s representatives, we hope as many from Bangor, North Down and the rest of the province show their support as the club faces its biggest game for many years.

Bangor side: S Irvine, M Crockford, B Worthington, F Black, G Irvine, R Latimer, D Lynn, A Jackson, M Thompson, K Rosson, D Charles, M Aspley, M Weir, M Widdowson, C Morgan

Subs: M Rodgers, M Kyle

Bangor scores: R Latimer (1T), W Weir (1T), M Widdowson (2T, 2C)