As is so often the case when playing the 2nd XV of a senior club in any cup competition, you’re never quite sure what to expect and previous form tends to play little part in these knock-out games. As both sides ran out, it was already obvious that Ballymena had considerable size and strength in their forwards. However, the Bangor back line looked equally strong, so an interesting contest was eagerly anticipated.

In perfect playing conditions, with a slight breeze blowing across the pitch, Ballymena kicked off. From the outset, Bangor played with intensity and control, and were unlucky not to have scored within the first couple of minutes. Ballymena cleared their lines and counter-attacked via a kick and chase approach into Bangor’s twenty two. However, the ball was picked up by Davy Charles who then cut through the approaching Ballymena players, taking play back into Ballymena’s half. A well-timed pass as he was tackled, released Mark Widdowson who sprinted down the left wing to open the scoring with a try in the corner and put Bangor ahead by 0-5 with just 4 minutes on the clock.

Ballymena’s game play was becoming apparent as they kicked for length and position at every opportunity. From such a strategy, they benefitted from the unpredictable bounce giving Bangor’s defence difficulties and, having followed up on the kick, they forced Bangor to carry over into their goal area, resulting in an attacking scrum. From this, the Ballymena pack produced a strong shove from which the ball was picked up and driven over for a converted try, putting them ahead by 7-5.

From the restart, Ballymena fumbled the ball giving Bangor the scrum. This then resulted in a penalty to Bangor after the Ballymena front row collapsed. Ballymena’s show of dissent saw the referee march them back a further 5 metres, making the kick for goal more straightforward. Widdowson duly obliged, putting Bangor back in front by 7-8, with 13 minutes gone.

Some 5 minutes later, the speedy Bangor backs punished another long Ballymena kick. This time it was Widdowson who gathered and made the initial run, taking the ball through the centre before passing outside to Adam McCusker who had come up in support from full back. His immediate injection of pace split the Ballymena defence and, having avoided a last ditch tackle, ran through to score under the posts. With Widdowson’s conversion, Bangor’s lead had stretched to 7-15, and they were starting to look more in control.

However, another mistake from the restart by Bangor saw them first knock the ball on, then suffer a penalty for off-side when the player in front gathered the ball. Ballymena’s kick for goal was good, and the Bangor’s lead had been cut to 10-15.
The remainder of the first half was an evenly matched affair, but it was becoming obvious that Bangor’s set pieces were starting to come under pressure as Ballymena persisted with their positional kicking. As the end of the half approached, some missed tackles by Bangor provided Ballymena’s quick winger a great chance as he ran towards the left hand corner. Only a fantastic covering tackle by Widdowson, prevented what looked like a certain score, and the danger was cleared as the referee blew for half time.

As the second half got underway, it was the home side that started with more purpose. However, just as quickly as Ballymena pressed down their left wing, Bangor managed to turn the ball over and set Davy Charles free to produce a superb individual run down the same wing to score, extending Bangor’s lead to 10-20 with just 2 minutes of the second half played.

Instead of now building on their good attacking platform, Bangor literally took their eyes off their opponents, missing tackles and conceding penalties inside their own twenty two. As Ballymena’s set pieces had looked secure all afternoon, successive kicks for touch and the subsequent line-outs provided the necessary tools for them to score another converted try just 5 minutes later, putting them right back in contention at 17-20. The game then see-sawed back towards Bangor after Mike Weir made a good run down the right wing before the forwards recycled the ball to Phil Whyte who showed considerable strength and determination to power over despite the attention of a couple of Ballymena defenders. The kick by Jason Morgan was unsuccessful, but once again Bangor had improved their slender lead to 17-25.

Just when it looked like Bangor might try to control the game from this point, instead they came under sustained pressure, both through repeated penalties and scrums close to their own line. Eventually Ballymena’s pressure proved too much and they nipped over in the left hand corner for an unconverted try, making the score 22-25 after 17 minutes.

Although Bangor’s scrum was being given a hard time, their backs always looked dangerous when they kept the ball in hand. As they began to settle the ship, Bangor moved up a gear and were rewarded for the efforts with a penalty in front of the Ballymena posts. Morgan took the kick to make the score now 22-28 with just 10 minutes left to play.

In keeping with what had been happening throughout the game so far, Ballymena fought back and took advantage of Bangor’s half-hearted tackling to cut through for a simple try under the posts which, when converted, put the home side ahead by 29-28.
The plan now was for Ballymena to keep possession and deny their opponents the chance to attack. Not only were they able to hold on to the ball, but they then won another penalty with just a couple of minutes to play. However, the kick that would undoubtedly have closed out the game drifted wide, and Bangor were left with a lifeline. That lifeline was then gratefully accepted when they managed to turn over the ball following some determined rucking in the centre of the pitch. Quick passing then got the ball to Charles who, with just one man to beat, made the most of the two on one advantage by passing outside to Widdowson who made the final sprint down the touchline to score on the stroke of full time. Morgan’s kick, although missed, didn’t matter, and Bangor had just managed to scrape an important win that sees them go through to the next round of the Junior Cup.

Given the agonising one-point defeat last weekend, it was vital that Bangor return to winning ways as soon as possible, no matter how it came about. Although entertaining to the impartial spectator, this was a frustrating performance by Bangor who squandered the opportunity to secure the win much earlier in the game. However, it was encouraging to see the players maintain their concentration right up to the final whistle, and reap their reward in the process. It goes without saying that there is much to improve upon before the next big challenge which is at home against Clondalkin in the opening round of the All Ireland Junior Cup.

Bangor team: M Ferguson, D Bradford, P Whyte, C Burton, D Caughey, M Aspley, J Clegg (c), C Stewart, D Kennedy, J Morgan, M Widdowson, M Weir, R Gamble, D Charles, A McCusker

Subs: F Black, P Nicol

Bangor scorers: M Widdowson (2T, 1P, 1C), A McCusker (1T), D Charles (1T), P Whyte (1T), J Morgan (1P)