Bangor lose to Senior Cup holders Armagh

Travelling to AIL Division 1B side Armagh was always going to be a tall order, but Bangor’s cause wasn’t helped when three players were delayed getting to the ground, arriving just as the referee started the game. Last minute reshuffles certainly weren’t the best way to start, and this was made painfully clear as the home side turned on the style and ran in four tries in the opening quarter to lead by 24-0. However, by this time, Bangor were able to bring on their late arrivals and they were at last able to play as originally planned and on the half hour mark their efforts were rewarded when Declan Maguire sneaked in at the corner for the try, which he also converted. However, this good work was cancelled out just 5 minutes later by another converted Armagh try. Undeterred, Bangor remained focussed and, after an uncharacteristically loose pass across the Armagh back line, James Stewart intercepted the ball and ran through to score, with Maguire adding the extras and bringing the half time score to 31-14.

Despite another good effort by Maguire which saw him cross the line, but unfortunately knock the ball on as he tried to ground it, Bangor were unable to add to their score as Armagh continued to demonstrate why they are three divisions higher in the AIL standings. Another three tries confirmed the home side’s dominance, eventually winning by 50-14. However, despite the heavy defeat, Bangor can take positives from this game, as their preparations continue to build for the start of the All Ireland League at the end of September. With another two games in the SONI Premiership in the next few weeks, and also against teams in higher AIL divisions, Bangor can keep learning from these encounters as eventually their complement of available players also returns to normal. At least next weekend’s game against Harlequins will be at Upritchard Park, so hopefully this home advantage will play its part.