Bangor through to Towns Cup semi-final

Despite the postponement of last Saturday’s scheduled meeting at Donaghadee, the conditions underfoot were no better on Wednesday evening and, with pressure mounting to complete this cup fixture and continuing issues with Donaghadee’s pitch, the decision was made to play at Upritchard Park which was in considerably better shape. Local derbies are always an intriguing occasion and, with a Towns Cup semi-final place for the winner, the stakes were higher than usual. Having had the previous weekend off, the players were well recovered from their difficult game at Dromore and were also boosted by the return of Curtis Stewart after a lengthy lay-off following a shoulder injury. A large crowd of spectators from both camps lined the pitch and, with the weather starting to look up, the stage was set.

As Bangor got the game underway, it was clear that they were wanting to set the tempo and immediately set about stamping their authority on proceedings. The scrums were powerful yet controlled, and were giving the Donaghadee back row difficulties in securing their own ball. In fact, the Bangor forwards looked to be on top in open play as well as, after 8 minutes of play, sustained pressure saw Jamie Clegg’s initial drive followed up by David Bradford who powered over in the right hand corner for the first try of the day. Kicking into the cross-wing, Mark Widdowson’s difficult conversion attempt had the right direction but not quite the distance as it bounced off the crossbar.

Bangor looked to build quickly on this early advantage, but they let several chances slip through poor handling at critical moments. There was a sense of over-eagerness as Bangor took quick throw-ins at lineouts, tap-and-go penalties in their own twenty two, and some individual runs that would perhaps have been better rewarded if early passes had released players better placed to score. However, despite Bangor’s mistakes, Donaghadee were unable to produce many significant attacks but made ground mostly through good positional kicks and sensible use of the slight wind advantage.

Eventually, Bangor’s persistence paid off with another good move started by Curtis Stewart, then carried forward through Darren Kelly and Mike Ferguson. As the ball came to Jason Morgan, he passed inside to Craig Burton who broke through, finally managing to get the ball down despite being tackled as he got to the line. Widdowson was again unlucky with the conversion as the ball blew off the tee as he made his run-up. However, Bangor had now doubled their lead to 10-0 with 23 minutes played.

Instead of steadying the Bangor attack, the frenetic pace and associated handling mistakes persisted, much to the dismay of those on the touchline. By contrast, Donaghadee were steadily building in confidence and enjoyed a good period of attack which kept Bangor busy in defence. However, Bangor have repeatedly shown themselves to be masters of the counter-attack, and were unlucky not to add to their score following good breaks by Mike Weir and Rob Gamble. Bangor’s intensity at the rucks, however, proved costly when Bradford received a yellow card for an illegal tackle around the fringes. Bangor’s frustration was compounded when Donaghadee successfully kicked a penalty after 34 minutes to narrow the lead to 10-3, which remained until the half time whistle.

As Donaghadee got the second half underway, Bangor picked off where they left off and went back on the offensive. With just 3 minutes played, Widdowson ran a line from his wing through the Donaghadee backs gathering the ball and leaving the defence flat-footed. Although chased to the line, his initial pace had put him well clear allowing him an easy score to the left of the posts. This time his conversion was successful, making the score 17-3.

Bangor were now playing more patient rugby, building the phases to set up the best scoring chances. An attacking 5 metre scrum was cleanly won, but the following attacks were held up by determined defending. Undeterred, Bangor set the ruck and tried again. On the third attempt, some crisp passing got the ball to Widdowson in clear space on the left wing, giving him a simple run in at the corner for his second try of the day. A well-taken kick into the wind cleared the posts and Bangor were now 24-3 ahead and looking in control.

As the game entered its final quarter, Bangor appeared to up the pressure on the tiring Donaghadee forwards. Having turned over possession in the centre of play, fast and secure passing through the Bangor back line saw the ball come to Ross McCloskey coming into the line on the right hand wing, and squeezing over in the corner for a try. Having hit the cross-bar in the first half, Widdowson was now denied a successful conversion by the upright, but Bangor were still well ahead by 29-3.

It was probably around this point that the combination of a buoyant Bangor and despondent Donaghadee resulted in a rush of scores that underlined the difference between the two teams. Just 2 minutes after McCloskey’s score, a determined break by Bradford saw him shake off his tackler before running in unhindered to not only score under the posts but also convert his try with a successful drop kick.

A similar period had elapsed before more good Bangor handling got the ball to Davy Charles on the right wing. Although having Donaghadee men beside and in front of him, Charles managed to evade the tackles and outrun the defence for another try under the posts. In similar fashion to Bradford, he also successfully drop-kicked the conversion.

Within minutes, Bangor were on the move again, hoping to capitalise further on their visibly tiring opponents. Another move started in the centre, got to McCloskey who made good ground down the left hand side before off-loading to Widdowson in the tackle. With little room to manoeuvre, Widdowson wisely passed inside to Darren Kelly who finished off the move with a well-taken try. The touchline conversion was unsuccessful, but at that point the referee brought proceedings to an early close, with Bangor winning by a convincing 48-3 margin.

While Bangor can now celebrate reaching another semi-final in cup competitions this season, they have to quickly return to league duties with a rescheduled fixture on Tuesday (23rd) evening against Omagh, which will be closely followed by another league game against CIYMS the following Saturday. Although almost back to full strength again, this is a heavy schedule for the senior squad as they juggle on-going cup successes with outstanding league commitments brought about by earlier weather disruptions. Continued support from the touchline is essential to give the players all the encouragement they need in their quest for further success.

Bangor team: O McIlmurray, P Whyte, M Ferguson, D Kelly, C Burton, M Weir, J Clegg (c), D Bradford, J Guthrie, J Morgan, M Widdowson, R Gamble, R McCloskey, D Charles, A McCusker

Subs: C Stewart, J McMullan

Bangor scorers: D Bradford (2T, 1C), C Burton (1T), M Widdowson (2T, 2C), R McCloskey (1T), D Charles (1T, 1C), D Kelly (1T)