Once again, the selectors kept faith with the starting side that produced such good results against Midelton and Thomond, and the prospect of scrummaging against former Irish international Mike Ross added extra spice for the confident Bangor pack. The only worrying aspect for the loyal band of supporters who had made the trip was the strong wind that was blowing directly down the length of the pitch. This was the situation at Seapoint where Bangor struggled to a poor defeat. However, on the positive side, this time Bangor were playing into the wind in the first half, with the home side taking the opening kick-off.

Malahide started with vigour, keeping play within Bangor’s half and denying their visitors any meaningful possession. This fierce opening period soon earned Malahide a penalty inside the Bangor twenty two. A quick tap penalty brought play within striking distance of the Bangor line before second row Cameron Ross twisted and turned out of the desperate Bangor tackles to score on the left hand side. Conal Keane judged the wind well as he slotted home the tricky conversion, putting his side ahead by 7-0 after just 5 minutes. There seemed to be no escape for Bangor from the pressure being exerted, and within 4 minutes they conceded another penalty, this time directly in front of the posts, which Keane again successfully converted.

The outlook didn’t look good for Bangor at this point, finding themselves 10-0 down after just 9 minutes of play. However, this seemed to be the spur that Bangor needed to raise their tempo and start to take the game back to their opponents. Given the wind in their faces, Bangor had no option but to run the ball. This they did to good effect, but were ultimately let down by poor handling at key moments. Eventually, after 22 minutes, they won a penalty within a kickable position. Unfortunately, Nathan Graham’s effort was pushed wide and Malahide were able to clear the ball downfield.

Undeterred, Bangor came back with determination and, for most of the remainder of the first half, had most of the possession and were keeping play well within the Malahide half. Despite not being able to make this count in terms of getting on the scoresheet, at the half time whistle there was a feeling that if Bangor could keep this going, and with the wind now at their backs, Malahide’s 10 point lead was certainly within reach of being met and overtaken.

Malahide were obviously aware of this danger and started the second half as they had done the first. Their talented back line passed the ball with confidence and were intent on stretching Bangor’s defence as wide as possible, which was in stark contrast to Bangor’s attack which was trying without success to force through the middle. Nonetheless, Bangor’s defence looked sound and denied the home side on a number of occasions.

After 18 minutes of frustration, Bangor conceded a penalty just outside their twenty two. There didn’t appear to be any immediate danger, given that the wind made a kick at goal difficult, but a lapse in concentration by the Bangor players gave the Malahide scrum half the precious seconds he needed to take a quick tap to himself and charge through the static Bangor defence for a try. Keane added the conversion, and now Bangor were 17-0 behind.

Hopes were raised a few minutes later when Bangor finally got points on the board by way of a well taken try by Lewis Bret and the subsequent conversion by Nathan Graham, making the score 17-7. However, any optimism in the Bangor ranks was short-lived when Malahide surprised Bangor by managing to recover what looked like a lost scrum, then chipping over the defence and finally collecting the ball to run through for their third converted try.

With just over 10 minutes remaining, and the score now standing at 24-7, Bangor’s mission was now two-fold – try to salvage a losing bonus point, while also preventing Malahide from scoring a bonus point try. Unfortunately, as Bangor’s already error-strewn performance continued to deteriorate, they failed on both counts. Malahide obviously weren’t going to take their foot off the pedal until the final whistle and, when another fumbled ball during the last play gifted them possession, the difference between the sides was clearly demonstrated as they simply ran around the Bangor defence to score in the corner. The missed conversion didn’t matter, as the damage had already been done and Bangor were left looking at their biggest league defeat of the season.

Bangor’s performance, especially given the continuity in playing personnel, will be a considerable disappointment to the coaching staff and touchline supporters. While the pack put in another good shift, they were not faultless. It was good to see impressive scrummaging against Malahide’s celebrity prop, but poor handling and erratic put-ins at the lineouts were costly in attacking situations. For long periods of play, the backs looked good defensively, but struggled to move the ball with the speed, accuracy or confidence of their opposite numbers. Certainly the overall performance will give the coaching staff and selectors plenty of food for thought ahead of next Saturday’s home fixture against Bruff, who now lie in second place in the Division 2C league table.