Depleted Bangor come close at Derry

Former captain Jamie Clegg’s nuptials certainly caused several selection problems for Bangor as they travelled to City of Derry for the opening round of SONI Premiership games in Division 2, leaving gaps in the front and back rows of the pack, and also across the back line. Indeed, those players who were able to make the journey must also have been thinking about the wedding festivities in Donegal, as Derry pounced on two lapses of concentration in the first 5 minutes to run in two tries from wingers Colm Campbell and Paddy Blanerhasset, together with a conversion from Conal Gill. There were also early signs that the weakened Bangor pack would come under pressure. However, Bangor managed to hold onto their scrums – albeit going backwards – but their lineouts were poor, with many being stolen by Derry as the ball repeatedly missed its target. As for the backs, it was good to see the return of Lewis Brett at scrum half, and on his first run out for the club, Declan Maguire showed some good running and handling skills in the out half position. As the first half progressed, Bangor began to settle and started to play themselves back into the game, with lengthy periods of possession in the Derry half. Sustained Bangor pressure was rewarded when one of Derry’s many penalties for offside was kicked to touch deep inside the Derry twenty two and the subsequent lineout was won cleanly by Matt Nesbitt. The Bangor pack steadily worked the ball forwards, but were repelled a couple of times before the ball was passed to Maguire who made for the goal line. Although stopped just short, he managed to pop the ball up to Brett in support who crashed over from close distance to score just to the left Derry posts. With Maguire’s successful conversion, Derry’s lead had been cut to 12-7. However, just a few minutes later, a missed tackle left the Bangor back line exposed, and Derry’s scrum half was on hand to take advantage by drifting through the gap and adding another converted try, taking the score to 19-7. With just a couple of minutes of the first half remaining, James Stewart put in a great tackle which forced the Derry player to concede another penalty, in front of the posts but some distance out. Maguire stepped up for the kick, but the headwind pushed the ball just wide and the chance was gone. The half time score of 19-7 was disappointing, but not insurmountable given the advantage Bangor would have in the second half with the wind now at their backs.

From the second half kick-off, Bangor won the ball but were quickly turned over while still inside their own twenty two. Good offloads and passing saw the ball moved wide to Blanerhasset on the left wing who, despite being tackled on the touchline, somehow managed to get the ball down without actually going into touch. The difficult conversion was missed, but Derry had now secured their bonus point try within the first two minutes of the half.

With the score now at 24-7, the game seemed to have swung away from Bangor, but the visitors looked stronger as the game went on. Despite still coming under pressure in the set pieces, the Bangor forwards were becoming increasingly dominant in the loose play. Another Derry offside infringement led to Bangor kicking for a lineout just 5 metres from the opposition line. The Derry forwards didn’t contest the actual lineout put in, preferring to concentrate on defence. However, the Bangor pack produced a textbook rolling maul that drove forwards and towards the posts, and which was finally finished off by hooker Thomas Boyd. Nathan Graham judged the conversion well, adding the extras and making the score now 24-14, with 15 minutes of play remaining.

Despite Derry’s efforts to respond, Bangor managed to sustain their pressure and played with growing confidence as good passing and support saw them once again inside the Derry red zone. Again, the forwards took on the attack and, although repeatedly held short by the Derry defence, showed patience until the moment arrived when Mike Ferguson, supported by Mike Weir, drove through a gap to score. Graham was successful again with the conversion, narrowing the score to 24-21 with just 6 minutes left. The worried Derry players sensibly played for possession now, and denied Bangor any more meaningful attacking opportunities, holding on until the final whistle and taking the victory.

From Bangor’s point of view, this was a game of ‘what might have been’ if either the opening 5 minutes could have been handled better, or another 5 minutes could have been played. However, given the circumstances, they can feel pleased with how they fought back to produce a respectable loss (if there is such a thing) after what possibly could have turned into a heavier defeat. Although most of the unavailable players will be in the mix for the next game, things will not be any easier as they travel to Armagh in the opening round of the Ulster Senior Cup next Saturday.