Bangor improve with bonus point against Harlequins

As each week comes around, the availability of players continues to improve, giving the coaches the opportunity to assemble more competitive starting line-ups. Notable additions this week were Stephen Moore, making his debut at wing forward, and the return from injury of Zach Kerr. Elsewhere, head coach Jason Morgan was keeping faith with the players who contested well at Armagh last weekend in a hard cup fixture. It was also good to see more senior players turning out in the afternoon’s earlier game for the 2nds, after lengthy spells recovering from injury.

As the 2nds returned to the clubhouse to celebrate their convincing 43-5 win, the 1sts took to the pitch hoping to maintain the Upritchard Park momentum. Unfortunately, things didn’t start well for Bangor as first their kick-off didn’t go the mandatory 10 metres, then to compound their mistake, they conceded a penalty at the following scrum. The visitors seized on this early period of unsteadiness, eventually benefitting from another penalty in front of the Bangor posts which they converted through the boot of Timmy Emerson to take an early lead of 0-3.

In fact, for most of the opening 15 minutes, Harlequins kept Bangor pinned down inside their own twenty two, but were repeatedly denied any scoring opportunities by a well-managed Bangor defence. Eventually Bangor managed to break free and brought play back into their opponents half. It was now the visitors who started to concede penalties and, as a result, Bangor worked their way into the Harlequins twenty two. The forwards repeatedly surged for the line but were stopped short. However, patience paid off when the ball was passed wide to Nathan Graham on the left wing, and he finished off the move with a powerful dive in the corner to score the try. The touchline conversion attempt by Declan Maguire was just wide, but Bangor had now moved ahead by 5-3 after 17 minutes of play.

Unfortunately, this lead was to be short-lived. A darting run by Harlequins out-half Emerson just 3 minutes later seemed to bamboozle the Bangor defence as his dummies and slipped tackles allowed him to cut through and touch down between the posts, giving him a simple conversion to move Harlequins back into the lead by 5-10. Despite this set-back Bangor’s gameplay, especially in the lineouts, was improving and as the end of the first half approached, they would have been happy to turn around just 5 points behind. However, another series of missed tackles proved to be their undoing as winger James McConnell took full advantage, running round the Bangor backline to touch down between the posts, giving Harlequins a somewhat flattering half time lead of 5-17.

No doubt determined to try and put things right at the start of the second half, Bangor went on the attack straight from Harlequins kick-off. With the ball caught by Mike Weir, the ball then came to Declan Maguire who set off at pace, taking play back into the Harlequins half. Seeing his route blocked, he passed inside to Nathan Graham. Using a combination of strength and pace, he shrugged off several tackles before breaking free and scoring his second try on the right hand side. Maguire’s conversion attempt was wide of the mark, but Bangor were right back in the game at 10-17, with just 2 minutes of the second half gone.

With the majority of play taking place inside the Harlequins half, Bangor looked the more likely side to score next. However, a late tackle led to a penalty for Harlequins which they kicked for touch deep inside Bangor’s twenty two. From the ensuing lineout, they brought play infield and towards the Bangor posts, before substitute Paul Jackson drove over from close distance to score and, with the addition of another Emerson conversion, Harlequins had regained their 14 point lead at 10-24.

As the game moved into the final quarter, it was beginning to look like Bangor were to be denied anything for their efforts. However, they remained focussed and, from a turnover inside their own twenty two, the ball was popped up for Zach Kerr to run onto. As the Harlequins players looked on, Kerr broke through and sprinted for the line. His pace proved too much for the Harlequins defenders, allowing him to run clear and touch down between the posts, giving Maguire a simple conversion to bring the score back to 17-24.

With play now mostly taking place inside the Harlequins half, and with Bangor forcing mistakes and frustration from their opponents, there was a real possibility that the home side could score again. However, time was running out and, when Harlequins regained possession, they relieved the pressure through some good positional kicking. It was therefore something of a surprise when, as the final play approached, and within sight of the Bangor line, they opted to kick the ball into touch bringing the game to an end, rather than make an attempt for their bonus point try, settling for the 17-24 victory.

For Bangor’s part, earning a losing bonus point against a team from a higher division, sweetens the pill of losing the game. With no fixture scheduled for next weekend, and with yet more key players expected to become available for selection, the prospect of travelling to Rainey in 2 weeks’ time is maybe not as daunting as it might have been earlier. This will be Bangor’s last game before embarking on their All Ireland League campaign against Malahide on the 29th September.