Bangor grind out a draw at Omagh

Although there had been plenty of wind and rain the night before, conditions at Thomas Mellon Playing Fields were good, with a clear sky and little to no breeze. However, the playing surface was heavy with some particularly wet patches here and there. Bangor fielded a largely familiar line-up, the most notable changes being the unavailability of Jack Cooke and the return after a lengthy injury of Jamie Clegg. Omagh’s return to senior rugby after a 17 year absence has started well and, with just one point separating them from Bangor at the start of this match, this was certainly going to be a tough match with no quarter given by either side.

From the kick-off, it was Bangor who appeared to start the more brightly, with good forward pressure combined with confident passing through the backs. After just 10 minutes, this early pressure earned Bangor a penalty when Omagh strayed offside. The kick by Nathan Graham was well struck from between Omagh’s twenty two and 10 metre line. However, although the distance was OK, the direction was just off, and the chance was gone.

This brief breather for Omagh allowed them to regroup and come back from the resulting drop-out with renewed purpose. Both sides now enjoyed good periods of continuity, but neither could capitalise on the few chances that arose. However, after 23 minutes, Omagh’s Eoin Murnaghan successfully converted a penalty from just to the left of Bangor’s posts to get the first points on the board and lead by 3-0.

Towards the end of the first half, play was disrupted for a while following a suspected broken leg sustained by Omagh’s second row forward Jamie Sproule. We wish him a speedy and full recovery.

Despite this setback, Omagh continued to press forward and soon forced another kickable penalty, from almost the same position as before, but this time Murnaghan pushed his kick wide of the posts and Bangor could turn around at half time with just a 3-0 deficit to make up.
In similar fashion to the start of the first half, Bangor started with gusto and, again, were quickly rewarded with a penalty. This time Graham’s kick was on target and the scores were now level at 3-3 after just 2 minutes of play. However, Bangor were unable to repeat their early surge and almost immediately were on the back foot following a quick attack through the Omagh backs. A tackle on the collar of an Omagh player resulted in another penalty, but this time, although within kickable range, Omagh opted for the kick to touch. Bangor were fortunate to see Omagh’s throw-in go crooked, winning them the scrum and relieving the pressure. However, a rare mistake by Bangor’s pack allowed Omagh to disrupt and win the scrum and go on the attack again. Bangor’s desperate defending within metres of their own goal line soon saw them concede another penalty, this time right in front of the posts. This time the straightforward kick was successfully converted to put the home side ahead again by 6-3.

It’s probably fair to say that Omagh were now playing the better rugby, but this was in no small part helped by some poor decision-making by Bangor when building their own attacks. Eventually Bangor regained some of their composure and, with more patient ball retention, soon forced a penalty, although quite a distance from the Omagh posts. Undeterred, Graham stepped up and slotted home the kick to level the scores once again at 6-6, with just over a quarter of the match remaining.

This last quarter saw Omagh throw everything into attack. Although Bangor have one of the better defences in this league, they made things a lot more difficult for themselves by trying to execute risky moves so close to their own goal line. Bangor’s problems grew further when, after having to repeatedly defend 5 metre scrums, Lewis Stevenson was shown a yellow card for one infringement too many at the breakdown. If Omagh thought this was the breakthrough they needed, Bangor had other ideas. A remarkably determined period of play saw the besieged visitors defend strongly and eventually clear the danger with a good kick to touch. However, despite keeping Omagh at bay until Stevenson’s return 10 minutes later, Bangor were repeatedly guilty of losing the ball both in contact and in rucks, while poor positional kicking simply relinquished possession and gave the opposition another attacking opportunity.

Omagh’s erratic kicking continued when, after 30 minutes, a penalty from the right hand side was missed. However, the danger for Bangor wasn’t over. A couple of dubious penalty decisions against Bangor in the final minutes of the game saw them pegged back into their own twenty two once more. Even when they thought the danger was gone when a quickly taken tap penalty was fumbled, the referee allowed the home side another bite at the cherry. With this final play of the game, Omagh moved the ball into the narrow, left hand side. The final pass, had it gone to hand, would have seen the winger run through for the winning score, but the pass was loose and flew directly into touch. The referee’s final whistle brought this hard-fought game to a close, with what was probably a better result for Bangor than for Omagh.

The home side will undoubtedly be rueing their missed opportunities, while Bangor will be relieved to pick up 2 points away from home after putting in a far from perfect performance. With no match scheduled for next weekend, there is now time for sore limbs to recover and more work on the training ground to be done. Bangor’s next AIL fixture will be at Upritchard Park on Saturday 25th November when they face Dublin side Bective Rangers. Although Bective have struggled this season and are many places below Bangor in the league standings, this league has shown that current form is no guide to future performance and Bangor should be under no illusions that they will need to be back to their best to win this important fixture.