Having lost narrowly at home in the league, but winning by an equally narrow margin in the Junior Cup final, Bangor travelled to Instonians wanting to carry the momentum of recent victories and extend their lead at the top of QL1. By contrast, Instonians would have been mindful that a win for them was vital if they were to maintain their challenge to retain their league title.

As Bangor kicked off, the conditions underfoot were good despite the adverse weather beforehand, and the wind had dropped to nothing more than a gentle breeze. Early exchanges showed Bangor on the front foot, and this soon produced results when they turned over the ball before kicking over the Instonians defence. Jason Morgan caught the defence flat footed and chased through before touching down in the right hand corner for the first score of the day. Mark Widdowson added the conversion and Bangor were 0-7 ahead.

Looking to keep the scoreboard turning over, Bangor elected to take a kick for goal when awarded a penalty on the Instonians 10 metre line. Although Gareth Millar’s kick had the direction, it fell short allowing Instonians to clear the danger. Another penalty opportunity followed soon afterwards when Bangor’s scrum took control, but Widdowson’s kick was miss-hit and another chance had gone. Instonians, on the other hand, make no mistake when they were awarded a penalty, narrowing the score to 3-7 with 16 minutes gone.

However, Bangor’s intensity and line speed was still causing problems for the home side, forcing them to make uncharacteristic mistakes both in handling and decision-making. When this led to another penalty for Bangor, close to the half way line, a quickly taken tap-and-go gave Jason Guthrie the opportunity to slip through the Instonians tackles and dive over for a great individual try. Millar’s conversion attempt was missed but Bangor’s lead had stretched to 3-12. With the last play of the first half Bangor were awarded another penalty. There was no time to kick for touch and take a lineout, so Millar attempted the long range kick but was again unsuccessful. As the sides turned round at half time, it was Bangor who appeared to be in the driving seat, with Instonians not really making much in the way of scoring opportunities.

However, as the second half got underway, it was clear that Instonians had other ideas. It was as if there was a role reversal between the two sides, with Instonians raising their tempo and Bangor making mistakes. Throughout the first half, the home side’s kicking game, especially from the base of rucks, looked predictable and not particularly dangerous. However, a combination of increased pace by Instonians and a slightly relaxed clearance by Bangor resulted in a charge down which put Instonians on the attack, and kept play in Bangor’s red zone. Repeated drives on the Bangor line were repelled, but patience eventually earned the home side their first try and added conversion making the score 10-12 after just 3 minutes of the second half.

As Instonians continued to ramp up their game, so Bangor were forced to concede penalties. However, although Bangor had won the majority of penalties in the first half, they were towards the touchline or a long distance from goal. By contrast, the penalties that Instonians won were within Bangor’s twenty two and in towards the middle of the posts. It was therefore no surprise that Instonians were able to successfully convert their chances, putting them further ahead by 16-12 as the game entered its final quarter.

Still just one score behind, Bangor continued trying to run and pass their way out of danger and create opportunities as a result. Unfortunately, a loose pass on their own twenty two was easily intercepted by Instonians, giving them a clear run to score under the posts. With the simple conversion, they were now well ahead by 23-12 and, with just 5 minutes remaining, Bangor were not only looking like finishing second, but also missing out on a losing bonus point.

It’s only fair to say that Bangor haven’t reached their top league position by giving up what appear to be lost causes. Within minutes of the restart, their belief in running rugby was restored when, following some crisp passing from the right, the ball came to Davy Charles who set off at pace. The resulting race to the line between himself and the final defender was close, but his momentum carried him over for the score despite being tackled 5 metres from the line. Although another conversion was missed, the score was now 23-17 and back in losing bonus point territory, and still within a chance of snatching victory.

Time, however, was not on Bangor’s side and their earlier mistakes which had yielded many soft points had left them a mountain to climb. In the end, despite a spirited Bangor fightback, the home side closed out the game to record an important victory.

Instonians are to be commended for the way in which they turned the game around at half time. For Bangor’s part, there will need to be some carefully considered reflection on what went wrong and what now needs to be done to avoid further disappointments like this. At least league pressures can be temporarily put to one side, as their next game is against Ballymena 2nds in the second round of the Powerade Towns Cup. When these two sides met in the early stages of the Junior Cup, it was a close affair which Bangor only clinched with the last play of the game, paving the way to ultimate success in that competition. Bangor will no doubt be hoping that history will repeat itself and that they can enjoy further success.

Bangor team: J Leary, P Whyte, M Ferguson, D Kelly, C Burton, J Clegg (c), D Bradford, D Caughey, J Guthrie, G Millar, M Widdowson, J Morgan, R Gamble, D Charles, R McCloskey

Subs: A Jackson, A McCusker

Bangor scorers: J Morgan (1T), J Guthrie (1T), D Charles (1T), M Widdowson (1C)