Having had 3 weeks to recover from their defeat at CIYMS, Bangor were hoping to put that missed opportunity behind them and try to extend their run in the Towns Cup. Ongoing injury and availability issues forced some changes to Bangor’s line-up, with Bryn Watson starting in the centre, Ethan McGrogan on the wing, and Ross Maxwell at wing forward.

Bangor kicked off in cold, but dry conditions, and with little wind to benefit either side. From the outset, Bangor looked to be getting into their stride quickly, with good running and ball handling clearly evident. Ballymena, on the other hand, were much more uncertain and Bangor took full advantage by stealing a lineout just inside their own half. Thomas Boyd made the first break, forcing his way through the first wave of tackles before off-loading to fellow forward Mike Weir. Suddenly Weir found himself in space and set off for the goal line. His strong running and ability to shrug off the desperate Ballymena tackling saw him run through from 40 metres to score in the left hand corner. Rhys Larmour was on target with the tricky conversion to bring the score to 7-0 with just 4 minutes having been played.

Unfortunately, a ruck infringement shortly afterwards gave Ballymena a penalty in front of Bangor’s posts. Surprisingly, the kick was off target and Bangor maybe thought luck was going to be on their side. However, as the game proceeded, Ballymena put their slow start behind them and started to apply more pressure which was soon rewarded with a try that showcased both Ballymena’s nippy backs and Bangor’s poor tackling. Again the Ballymena kicker missed the chance to add the conversion, making the score 7-5 after 19 minutes.

Mike Weir had another good attack shortly afterwards, but this proved to be the best that Bangor could muster as the penalty count against them mounted up. For most of the remainder of the first half, play was scrappy, but Ballymena made the most of their forward power with their second try coming from repeated drives for the Bangor line. This time the conversion was good, and Ballymena had moved into the lead for the first time by 7-12. It looked like the scoreboard would stay this way at half time, but a long range penalty from Larmour in the last play of the half narrowed the scores to 10-12, and all to play for in the second half.

Unfortunately, this was as good it was to get for Bangor as Ballymena simply kept on the pressure while Bangor succumbed to it. Playing with both control and discipline, Ballymena added another two converted tries and a penalty to put the game beyond Bangor’s reach and take the well-deserved 10-29 victory. With a difficult league fixture at Portadown next weekend, who will be looking to avenge their shock defeat earlier in the season, Bangor will need to regain their composure if they are to rediscover their previous good form.

There were better outcomes for both the 2nds against Harlequins (last weekend) and 3rds at home against CIYMS in their respective leagues. The 2nds racked up a convincing 41-15 win to give them a much-needed confidence boost, while the 3rds recorded a convincing 26-7 win despite being reduced to 13 men for a large part of the second half of their game.