If Bangor were thinking it would a soft landing after dropping out of the All Ireland League, they were in for an uncomfortable shock. Having chalked up an encouraging win at Ballina last weekend, confidence was high going into the first group game in the Junior Cup. Despite the unavailability of some regular players, Bangor were still able to field a strong side and, with the Upritchard Park pitch in pristine condition, the scene was set for what would hopefully be a competitive encounter.

Bangor started promisingly, enjoying most of the early possession. Concerted pressure soon earned Bangor a penalty in front of the Portadown posts. However the kickable option was turned down in favour of a lineout just outside the twenty two. The hard work on the training ground was immediately evident as Patrick Dobie secured possession which was then taken on by Blair Morgan. Although his charge was stopped short of the line, Jacob Cavanagh was on hand to follow up and dive over for the opening try. Gareth Millar’s conversion attempt bounced back off the upright, but Bangor had got 5 points on the scoreboard first.

Portadown’s reply came 14 minutes later with an unconverted try in the right hand corner. Prior to this Bangor’s new centre Cameron Gillanders suffered an ankle injury and could play no further part. Things then got worse when the other centre, Jacob Cavanagh, was yellow carded. As Bangor tried to readjust, Portadown struck again with a try under the posts.

Undeterred, Bangor came back within a few minutes after Andrew Shaw touched down in almost identical conditions to Cavanagh’s earlier try. The conversion missed the mark again, but Bangor were right back in the mix at 10-12.

Within minutes of the end of the first half, Bangor’s good form continued as they pushed Portadown off their scrum to win a penalty. However the referee wasn’t happy with Bangor’s reaction to their show of dominance and duly reversed his decision. Portadown took full advantage of their good fortune and once again found space on the wing from which they ran through to score in the corner. The conversion was missed, but as the referee blew for half time, and the score now 10-17, Bangor were left to rue their mistake.

Unfortunately, rather than fix their mistakes and fight back into contention, Bangor’s game didn’t improve and was simply taken apart by a well organised and reinvigorated Portadown. A converted penalty followed by four more tries from the visitors, combined with another yellow card for Bangor, sealed Bangor’s fate as they slumped to a disappointing 10-46 defeat.

With the Championship 1 league competition starting next weekend against Ballymoney, Bangor have much to work on if they are to avoid further embarrassment and produce a performance in keeping with their potential.