Bangor unlucky at Ballina

The hard slog at Seapoint the week before had shown what Bangor were capable of in terms of playing intensity and forward power. Although missing a few regulars for this game at Ballina, the side still had plenty of firepower to upset the buoyant Ballina side. Unfortunately the weather conditions were about as bad as they could be, with driving wind and heavy rain hampering the players for most of the match. Despite the weather, a large contingent of home supporters crowded the touchline. It was also good to see a good number of Bangor’s ‘pink ladies’ who had made the trip and were doing their best to boost the club’s bar profits!

Bangor got the game started, playing with the wind and rain at their backs. From the outset, they looked sharp and already well into their stride. Early scrums also put down a marker as to their continued dominance in this area of play. With almost all of the early possession and with Ballina camped deep inside their own twenty two, it didn’t take long before this onslaught produced the first score of the game. A series of driving mauls eventually saw Dave Caughey carried over for a try on the left hand side of the pitch. Bangor’s kicking duties fell to Liam Preston this week, but he found the wind difficult to handle and the conversion was pushed wide. However, being 5 points up within 8 minutes was a dream start for the visitors.

Ballina showed some flashes of their good backline play, but Bangor had done their homework and managed to close down any attack with effective tackling and quick line speed. As Bangor turned the screw up front, the Ballina set pieces were repeatedly under pressure and, after 33 minutes, this yielded a penalty opportunity for Preston. The kick was quite a distance out, but with the help of the wind, it was within range. However, once again the kick drifted wide of the posts and the chance to widen the lead was gone.

With most routes to Bangor’s goal line sealed off to the Ballina backs, it called for a combination of speculation and good fortune to break their duck. With their scrum going backwards again, the Ballina scrum half opted to chip over the Bangor players and towards the goal line. As the Bangor defence turned to cover the danger, the ball sat up perfectly for Fergal Tully to run on to and touch down to the right of Bangor’s posts. Kieran Lindsay added the conversion, and with just a couple of minutes to go before the half time whistle, Ballina had snatched an unlikely 7-5 lead.

The second half started in similar fashion to the end of the first, with Ballina benefitting from good footballing skills. With Ballina having knocked the ball on, and Bangor now in possession (albeit deep inside their own twenty two), the referee played the advantage for Bangor to allow them to continue. However, he deemed Bangor’s poor box kick as marking the end of advantage, which immediately allowed Ballina to run right back. Another clever grubber kick cut through Bangor’s defence before being gathered by Neil Moylett who dived over for the try in the left hand corner. The Ballina kicker was on top form as he slotted home the difficult touchline conversion, giving his side an even more comfortable 14-5 lead, with just a couple of minutes of the second half gone.

The large contingent of home supporters urged their players to go on for more scores. With the wind at their backs, they repeatedly put up some long, high kicks in the hope of the slippery ball being mishandled, but it was to Bangor’s credit that their concentration and determination continued to deny the home side any further scoring chances. In fact, although having to deal with a Ballina attack close to their own twenty two, Bangor nearly pulled off a Jacob Stockdale type try when David Bradford intercepted a Ballina pass and cut through with only the Ballina line ahead of him. Unfortunately, the goal line was almost 80 yards away. Under normal circumstances, Bradford would be a good bet to make that distance before being caught. However, as he has yet to regain his full fitness after sustaining a nasty leg fracture towards the latter part of last season, on this occasion the faster Ballina defenders managed to reel him in with just a few yards to go and the ball was eventually cleared.

As the rain kept falling and the ground got heavier, both sides were finding the going tough. However, with the clock running down into the final few minutes, a visibly tired Ballina pack was beginning to crumble under the repeated drives from Bangor. When the inevitable penalty came for pulling down the maul, Bangor opted for the scrum rather than settle for a simple kick from in front of the posts. The hard-working Bangor pack summoned their reserves and, following a series of collapsed scrums close to the goal line, they were awarded a penalty try. With the score now 14-12, and just a couple of minutes remaining, Bangor pushed for another possible penalty opportunity to snatch the win. However, the Ballina defence rallied and they held on to the final whistle.

This was another excellent Bangor performance in difficult conditions, and away from home. The confidence of their early league games is returning and their determination to compete for the full 80 minutes is clear to see. However, undoubtedly they will rue their earlier missed kicks, which could have drawn or even won the game. Missed opportunities with the boot have cost Bangor dearly this season, but hopefully this can be addressed and the team can once again see their kickable chances converted into points on the scoreboard. In the end, it is still no mean feat to travel to the league leaders and come away with a losing bonus point. Bangor continue to add to their league tally of points and are still within reach of the leading pack. Next weekend sees Bangor host Omagh at Upritchard Park in what promises to be another close encounter. A good win then could provide a welcome boost for Bangor as the league reaches its halfway point, and resumes in the New Year. It was obvious how important the touchline support was for Ballina, so it’s vital the Bangor faithful turn out in large numbers to urge their team on.