Mistakes matter at Midleton

Although Bangor travelled to Midleton with a couple of their regular players missing through unavailability, and still waiting for the return of those recovering from long-term injuries, their spirits and confidence were high, following two emphatic wins in their opening two AIL fixtures. They knew that facing Midleton at home, also unbeaten in the league and just ahead of Bangor at the top of the table on points difference, would be a tough encounter, especially given the poor weather which was forecast for the weekend. However, in their last two meetings at Midleton, it was Bangor who came out on top, so hopes were high that this good record could be continued. It was particularly encouraging to see a good number of travelling supporters – some having come from the other side of the world!

It was the home side that kicked off, with the breeze blowing diagonally across the pitch, and favouring Bangor in the opening half. The big Midleton forwards were quickly up to the ball as it hung in the wind, tapping it back towards the rest of the pack. Their initial rolling maul was soon stopped, but they quickly reset and started again, trundling deep into Bangor’s twenty two. Unfortunately it looked like a return of Bangor’s old malaise of not being switched on quickly enough, as Midleton simply kept moving forward until their second row John Gardiner fell over the line for the opening score. Stuart Lee’s conversion attempt was pushed wide of the posts, but the home side were 5-0 ahead within the opening minute of the game.

The touchline supporters may have been worried at such a dominant start by Midleton, but the Bangor players seemed unperturbed, and began to play themselves back into the game with good periods of possession and attack. It also became evident quite quickly that despite the size of the Midleton pack, it was Bangor who were dominant in the scrums. This provided a solid attacking platform from which Liam Preston could release his backs. For most of the first quarter, play was camped inside the Midleton half. With all the momentum now with them, and just 5 metres from the Midleton line, they chose to tap and go from a penalty on the left hand side. Andrew Shaw got close, but was stopped short. Having recycled the ball from the ensuing ruck, Preston spun the ball to his right and, after the centres had done likewise, the ball eventually came to Nathan Graham on the right wing who slid over to score in the corner. The conversion was missed, but Bangor had levelled the scores at 5-5 after 25 minutes of play.

Bangor’s scrum was now in control and was beginning to force penalties from the opposing pack. On the half hour mark, Declan Maguire had a shot at goal, but the kick was wide. However, an even more emphatic scrum which pushed the Midleton pack off their own ball, yielded another penalty which was successfully kicked, putting Bangor ahead by 5-8 at the half way mark. Given their dominance throughout the first half, Bangor may have felt they should be further ahead, but the hope was that they could maintain the pressure and build more attacking moves, while denying the opposition any meaningful opportunities.

Unfortunately, Preston would play no part in the second half due to a recurring hamstring niggle, forcing a reshuffle in the Bangor back line. This in itself wouldn’t be a major problem, as Mark Widdowson can slip easily into the scrum half position. However, the half time team talk within the Midleton huddle must have struck a chord with their players, as they quickly regained control of the game through another quick try, this time by their outside centre Benji Cottle. With another missed conversion, the score was now 10-8, and the game was still within the grasp of either side.

However, instead of responding as they had done in the first half, Bangor were struggling to complete their moves as the errors started to creep into their game. As is so often the case, one side’s errors are the other side’s scoring opportunities, and this was the case at the end of the third quarter when full back Daniel Murray took advantage of Bangor’s stretched defence, scoring in the left hand corner. This time, Lee judged his conversion well, and shortly afterwards he added another three points following a successful penalty, putting his side further ahead by 20-8.

It was hard to watch as the usually safe Bangor hands and boots, repeatedly let them down – kicks not finding touch, and knock-ons when under no immediate pressure. In fact it was a poor clearance kick that led to Midleton’s bonus point try. Having collected the ball in space, Midleton counter-attacked as they ran back at Bangor. A clever grubber kick wasn’t gathered by the Bangor defence, allowing Lee to benefit with the touch down and subsequent conversion.

With just 6 minutes remaining, and now trailing by 27-8, Bangor looked down and out. Now it was just a case of playing the game out without leaking any more points. However, in their efforts to keep the ball in hand and run it back at Midleton, they succumbed to another handling error which was gratefully accepted by winger Maurice Daly who rubbed salt into Bangor’s already open wound by adding another converted try with the final play of the game.

The final scoreline of 34-8 for Midleton will be difficult for Bangor to explain, having controlled the first half and taken a narrow lead into the second. However, all credit to Midleton for efficiently mopping up Bangor’s mistakes and making them count on the scoreboard, scoring 29 unanswered points in the process.

Having now dropped a place to third in the league behind Midleton and Ballina, Bangor will be grateful that they have no game next weekend, and can use the time to fully recover before facing City of Derry at Upritchard Park on Saturday 27th October.