Bangor fielded a similar side to the one that was narrowly beaten at Instonians last week. The most notable changes were Neil Cuthbertson coming in on the wing in place of the unavailable Davy Charles, and Conor McEvoy making his debut at hooker in place of Phil Whyte who moves across to play at prop. The chat from some of the Ballymena supporters was that this was possibly their strongest 2nd XV of the season, and their intention was to reverse the narrow defeat by Bangor at Eaton Park at the start of the Junior Cup competition. For Bangor, it was important that the mistakes and disappointment of last weekend’s defeat were put behind them and they could bounce back with another good cup run.

Ballymena kicked off with the considerable breeze at their backs and within 2 minutes of concerted attacks, won a penalty which was converted giving the visitors an early 0-3 lead. Bangor were finding it hard to escape from their own half, as the sustained Ballymena pressure combined with the headwind kept them pinned down in their own half for lengthy periods. As Ballymena set up their attacking platform, it was clear that this was a stronger and better drilled side than Bangor had met earlier. However, despite several slick backline moves that got the ball to their fast wingers, Ballymena were unable to breech a solid and well-organised Bangor defence. Although thwarted in their attempts to score tries, Ballymena had scoring opportunities in the form of kickable penalties, but these drifted wide of the posts. Having enjoyed the bulk of possession, but not converting this into points, Ballymena resorted to attempting a drop goal, but again this was off target.

As the ball hung in the headwind from the resulting drop-out on Bangor’s twenty two, Dave Bradford set off in pursuit, but as the Ballymena receiver took the ball he stooped, resulting in Bradford’s arms coming round his neck as opposed to his chest. This was judged to be dangerous which resulted in a penalty to Ballymena and a yellow card for Bradford. However, just 6 minutes later, it was Ballymena who were guilty of a yellow card offence following a dangerous tackle by their scrum half when trying to stop a Bangor counter-attack.

In contrast to Ballymena’s growing frustration at not being able to stretch their lead before half time, there was a growing sense of optimism in the Bangor camp. A good surge by the pack saw Phil Whyte come very close to scoring, and this was closely followed by some great speed and control by Mike Weir as he chased a loose ball and set up another good scoring opportunity. As the half came to a close, it was Bangor who were in the ascendancy and Ballymena’s slender 3 point lead was starting to look shaky.

Now playing with the wind at their backs, Bangor started the second half as they finished the first. In fact, it was now Ballymena who found themselves pinned down in their own twenty two, and finding it hard to make any headway back towards Bangor’s half. It took just 8 more minutes for Bangor to make the vital breakthrough. A high kick down the left wing was not taken cleanly by the Ballymena defender. In the ensuing tackle and ruck, the ball came out to Mark Widdowson. Although his route to the Ballymena line was blocked, he passed the ball inside to Whyte, coming up on his right hand shoulder, who had a clear run to touch down under the posts. Neil Cuthbertson kicked the conversion, which now put the home side ahead for the first time, by 7-3.

For the next 20 minutes or so, play was fairly evenly matched, with neither side able to add to their scores. However, it was now Ballymena who were conceding penalties as their players began to suffer the consequences of their exertions in such an intense first half. Having missed a penalty opportunity after 31 minutes, Jason Morgan made no mistake with his next chance just 5 minutes later, putting Bangor ahead by 10-3. In addition, the Ballymena full back received a yellow card for his part in conceding the penalty. With just 4 minutes remaining, Bangor not only contained their opposition but also came close to scoring again through Mark Widdowson and Rob Gamble. In the end, Bangor were happy to take the win by 10-3 and progress to the third round of the competition.

As the Bangor players left the field, there was little outward show of triumph or jubilation – perhaps they were just relieved to be back to winning ways. However, in beating last year’s finalist in this competition and one of the favourites for this year, this was a big scalp to take. The manner in which they defended against an almost constant Ballymena barrage in the first half, then came out and turned it around in the second was a remarkable spectacle which was recognised and applauded by the large crowd of Bangor supporters. Performances like this should now bolster Bangor’s confidence not only in going all the way to Ravenhill in this competition, but also in their goal to finish at the top of the league table. It is the latter objective that now occupies the attention as local rivals Ards visit Upritchard Park next Saturday in what should be another entertaining game.

Bangor team: O McIlmurry, C McEvoy, P Whyte, M Ferguson, D Kelly, C Burton, D Bradford, J Clegg (c), J Guthrie, J Morgan, M Widdowson, M Weir, R McCloskey, N Cuthbertson, A McCusker

Subs: D Caughey, R Gamble

Bangor scorers: P Whyte (1T), N Cuthbertson (1C), J Morgan (1P)