Narrow win for Bangor against Derry

With the sun shining and the pitch in superb condition, Bangor took to the field sporting their new shirts for the 2019-20 season. Although the material has changed dramatically over the years, the design reverted to the same layout as had been used back in 1969 in homage to that significant year. With a few changes to the starting line-up – most notably the first appearance of new signing Logan Norman – Bangor kicked off with the wind playing mostly across the pitch, but also slightly in their faces. An early fumble by Derry, immediately returned possession to the advancing Bangor players, who took advantage of the resulting confusion. It was clear to see that Bangor’s handling was much improved from last week’s game, and this allowed the forwards to move steadily towards the Derry line. As play moved across towards the right hand side, Phil Whyte surged forward, but was brought down short of the line. However, as he fell, he managed to pop the ball up to Logan Norman who then managed to stretch over the line despite being tackled by a couple of Derry defenders. The touchline conversion was attempted by Mark Widdowson, but this wasn’t a day for kickers as the wind pushed the ball wide of the posts. However, being 5-0 up after just 2 minutes was a great start, although Whyte’s game was over having suffered a hip injury in the process.

Derry looked like they had just got off their bus, but Bangor had their tails up and were immediately back on the attack. A great break started by Mike Aspley was carried on through Mark Widdowson and David Bradford before setting Desi Fusco free on the right wing. Powerful running saw Fusco clear the defenders to touch down in the corner. The conversion was unsuccessful, but Bangor were now 10-0 ahead with 12 minutes played.

With the game moving towards the end of the first quarter, Derry began to find their form and eventually let Bangor know that they weren’t going to have it all their own way. In earlier meetings, Derry have shown their danger when attacking down the wings, and today was no different. A quick break down the right hand side drew the Bangor defence, and when the ball was then moved smartly across their backs, it came to Simon Logue who finished off the move with a try in the left hand corner. Derry’s kicker, Neil Burns, was having the same problems with the wind, as his conversion attempt drifted wide. However, just a few minutes later, Derry were awarded a penalty in front of the Bangor posts, and this simple kick was successful. Suddenly Derry were right back in the game at 10-8.

On the balance of play so far, this was an unlikely scoreline, but Bangor stuck to their game and were soon back in Derry’s red zone. A characteristically nippy move by Ally Lockhart looked to have been successful, but was actually held up on the Derry line. However, from the resulting 5 metre scrum Mike Weir picked up at number 8 and charged forward. As he was tackled, the ball came back to Lockhart who found front row Charlie Clegg on his right hand side. Clegg put his head down and went for the line. He found not only physical, but family support as Jamie Clegg added his weight and together they powered over for the score. Another missed conversion made the score now 15-8.
At scrum half, Lockhart was causing the Derry defence repeated problems, winning penalties as a result. With the clock ticking down, one of these was given to Widdowson whose firm kick finally found its mark, making the half time score 18-8, perhaps not as big a margin as Bangor might have expected given their opening performance, but it was a good lead to take into the second half.

The start of the second half was almost a repeat of the first, with the receiving side not collecting the kick, and losing possession as a result. Now it was Derry who sensed a lack of composure in their opponents and immediately pinned Bangor down inside their own twenty two. As they looked to move the ball to their wingers, a deliberate knock-on by Bangor gave the visitors a penalty in front of the posts. Whether it was a miss-hit or the swirling wind, but the ball hit the right hand post and bounced back into play. Thankfully, Widdowson was alert to this and cleared the ball into touch. If Derry were feeling hard done by, they were to feel worse just a few minutes later. Although on the attack once again, a Derry pass in the centre was intercepted by Aspley who broke through the advancing Derry line before passing to Davy Charles in space on the right wing. Although being tracked by the retreating Derry defence, Charles had the pace to clear the Derry players and touch down for Bangor’s bonus point try. Widdowson followed up his previous good kick with an even better one to add the conversion and stretch Bangor’s lead to 25-8 after 7 minutes of the second half.

While the touchline supporters may have felt that perhaps this would see Bangor move even further ahead and win by a comfortable margin, in reality this was as good as it was to get, as a resurgent Derry picked off Bangor’s repeated mistakes to make the game a much tighter affair. Derry struck back after 14 minutes through their captain David Graham whose quick and well-taken score went some way to repaying his earlier yellow card in the first half. Just 5 minutes after this, winger Tom Cole added another unconverted try. Bangor looked rattled now, suffering the added ignominy of failing to kick the restart the requisite distance. Somehow Bangor managed to stem the flow of attacks and held the visitors at bay. However, when Derry won a kickable penalty in front of the Bangor posts with just 10 minutes to play, their intentions were clear as they opted to take the scrum. Although Bangor managed to turn the ball over, they were unable to either play or kick themselves out of danger. With such loose play, Derry soon regained possession and were rewarded for their endeavour with a try in the left hand corner by substitute Ross Harkin. Burns had the conversion to draw the sides level, but his difficulties with the boot continued and the chance was gone. With the score now 25-23, and just a couple of minutes left on the clock, it was a nail-biting finish as both sides looked for the one score that would ensure victory for their team. Although not able to add another score, it was Bangor who managed to hold on to their narrow lead and deny Derry any further meaningful opportunity.

The final whistle was greeted with a mixture of delight and relief by the home support. Despite the slender margin of victory, it was an important win on an equally significant day at Upritchard Park. No doubt the coaching team will have strong words for their players, but there was much to take encouragement from, especially given last weekend’s poor performance. With no fixture scheduled for next weekend, the break will provide much needed time to work on the areas of concern, in readiness for a difficult game against Division 1B side Armagh the following Saturday.