Having come through the earlier rounds of the Powerade Towns Cup against Lisburn, Ballymena 2nds, Donaghadee and Omagh, Bangor now faced an Enniskillen side that had upset the form book by beating Clogher Valley in the semi-final to earn their day at the Kingspan Stadium. Having brought a large contingent of vocal supporters to the final, Enniskillen were hoping to continue their good run and spoil Bangor’s party as they pushed for the final piece of their treble jigsaw.

Playing conditions were good, with a firm pitch that would suit running rugby. Bangor kicked off and looked sharp from the outset. Within the first minute, Mike Weir set off in attack but found himself crowded by some of his other team mates, resulting in a crossing movement that gave Enniskillen an early shot at goal. Although in front of the posts, the kick was from close to the half way line and, despite a good effort, it fell short and was subsequently cleared. The compliment was returned 7 minutes later when Enniskillen infringed at a ruck, giving Neil Cuthbertson his first attempt at goal. The kick looked to be on target, but drifted away before bouncing back off the upright and then being gathered safely by Enniskillen.

However, by now Bangor were starting to gather momentum and most of the attacking play was now in the Enniskillen half. A good positional kick from Jason Morgan a few minutes later found touch deep inside the opposition twenty two. The resulting Enniskillen lineout was disrupted and the ball fell loose, only to be kicked forward by the ever alert David Bradford who then dived over to score the opening try. Cuthbertson judged his conversion kick well, adding the extra points to put Bangor ahead by 7-0 after 10 minutes.

Further good play by Bangor created another scoring opportunity when the forwards were driving towards the Enniskillen line, but somehow they lost possession, only to see the Enniskillen out-half give the ball an almighty kick downfield that bounced into touch inside Bangor’s twenty two. However, Bangor are also expert in counter attacking and, from the resulting lineout, they got the ball clear before passing it back towards the forwards where prop Phil Whyte was on hand to take up the running. Enniskillen had been caught cold as they expected the ball to be moved across the back line, and Whyte set off on a charge not far from the half way line. As he sprinted towards the left hand corner it looked like he might just make it, but the quicker Enniskillen defence managed to get across and forced him out of play within touching distance of the goal line.

There now followed a spell of alternating attacks, but with neither side being able to make a meaningful breakthrough. However, as the game entered the final 10 minutes of the first half, Bangor upped the tempo and were soon rewarded with a 5 metre scrum that was well controlled before Curtis Stewart at number 8 picked up and charged over for the try. With the conversion going wide, Bangor’s score had moved on to 12-0. A few minutes later Enniskillen had another chance to get points on the board when they were awarded a penalty for Bangor collapsing a scrum – a strange decision given Bangor’s apparent strength in this department so far. However, the kick was again wide of the mark.

Relieved by this let-off, and with the first half drawing to a close, Bangor mounted another attack, this time started by Mike Weir who broke down the right hand side, before the move was taken on by Whyte and Leary. The quickly recycled ball was passed inside to Jason Morgan who took the ball at speed and continued through the Enniskillen defence to score under the posts. Cuthbertson’s simple conversion marked the last play of the half, with Bangor now leading by the more comfortable margin of 19-0.

Enniskillen got the second half going and, just like in the first half, were awarded a penalty within the first minute. The straightforward kick from in front of Bangor’s posts was successfully converted and got the Enniskillen men on the scoreboard at 19-3. This just looked like a temporary set-back when, after 10 minutes of play, clever work by Mike Weir and Jason Guthrie in the centre of the pitch created an opening for Bradford to cut through and run in un-impeded to score under the posts. With the addition of his nonchalant and now trade mark drop-kick conversion, Bangor now had a 23 point lead which, under normal circumstances, might have marked the end for some opposing teams. However, a lapse in concentration within a minute of the restart, saw the Enniskillen winger go over in the left hand corner and continue his run around the Bangor defence to touch down under the posts giving his kicker the simple conversion, and hence reduce Bangor’s lead to 26-10.

Bangor set about steadying the ship, but as they came under renewed pressure, another penalty was conceded in front of their posts gifting Enniskillen another 3 points to narrow the difference to 26-13. Bangor responded immediately when, from the restart, they won the ball back and moved it between several players before passing to Mark Widdowson, coming into the line from full-back and adopting his more familiar role on the wing. With little room to work in, he just managed to skirt around the defence before diving over in the left hand corner to restore Bangor’s more comfortable advantage at 31-13 with just less than a quarter of the match remaining.

As the clock ticked down, the Bangor supporters were beginning to feel that the victory would surely be theirs. However, the Enniskillen supporters got behind their players with tremendous vocal encouragement, cheering on their every tackle and attack. As the game now entered its final 10 minutes, Bangor looked to be feeling the effects of their hectic fixture schedule over the preceding weeks. With a number of their earlier games not going the full 80 minutes, this final was going to test both their physical and mental reserves. This was brought into uncomfortable focus when Enniskillen scored a relatively straightforward try from a scrum on the right hand side and, although the conversion was missed, they had moved closer to Bangor by 31-18. With the full force of their supporters behind them, Enniskillen moved up a gear and, within 2 minutes of Bangor’s restart, produced a flowing back line move that capitalised on some poor Bangor tackling, resulting in another well taken try which was touched down under the posts. With the added conversion, the 31-25 scoreline meant that there was now just a converted try between the two sides, and with 8 minutes left to play.

Once again, Bangor had to dig deep to halt Enniskillen’s advance. They received a life-line 5 minutes later when Enniskillen were penalised for hands in the ruck. With Bangor’s regular kicker Cuthbertson feeling the effects of a recent injury, Jason Morgan stepped up from close to the left hand touchline, but his effort fell short and the chance was gone. However, having won the ball back soon afterwards, Bangor did the sensible thing by holding onto the ball and denying Enniskillen any opportunity to mount a final attack. As the clock counted down, it eventually fell to Jason Guthrie to bring matters to a close by booting the ball high into the stand, and the celebrations could start.

This game was another credit to junior rugby in Ulster, with both sides producing outstanding performances that both thrilled and entertained the large crowd of spectators. Enniskillen can feel justifiably proud of what they achieved, and are to be commended for the gracious manner in which they accepted defeat – something Bangor captain Jamie Clegg publicly acknowledged from the winners’ platform. From the reaction of some of the Bangor players, it looked like the enormity of the occasion hadn’t sunk in, such was the intensity and close outcome of the game. However, when the realisation of having achieved the domestic treble for the first time since 1995, this moment will undoubtedly live with many of them for years to come.

Bangor’s incredible journey continues in just another 5 days when they host Connacht champions Westport – who have also just achieved a treble this season – in the first round of play-off games to determine who will be promoted to the senior leagues. The coaching team will no doubt be looking to fix the mistakes that crept into their game, and continue their run of big wins that will bring a return to senior status after many years away. The importance of the touchline support was clearly evident for Enniskillen. This game against Westport is Bangor’s only home fixture in the play-offs, so it is vital that everybody associated with Bangor Rugby Club comes along and provides the extra support and encouragement needed to get this campaign off to the perfect start.

Bangor team: M Ferguson, C McEvoy, P Whyte, D Kelly, C Burton, M Aspley, D Bradford, J Clegg (c), J Guthrie, G Millar, D Fusco, M Weir, J Morgan, N Cuthbertson, M Widdowson

Subs: O McIlmurray, J Leary, D Caughey, C Stewart, R Gamble

Bangor scorers: D Bradford (2T, 1C), C Stewart (1T), J Morgan (1T), M Widdowson (1T), N Cuthbertson (2C)

NOTE: If you are a registered member of Bangor Rugby Club's website, there is an 'afterwards' photo album which you can view. It can be found under the Videos and Photos tab on the home page.