Good performance but no cigar at Clogher Valley

Still smarting from last weekend’s last minute defeat to Galwegians, Bangor were looking to put that disappointment behind them and keep trying to bring everything together and get the win they badly need to ease their league pressures. However, it wasn’t going to be easy travelling to the home of the current league leaders who have been emulating the formidable performances of last year’s league winners, Instonians.

After both teams observed a minute’s silence to mark the sad and sudden passing of former player Gareth Caughey, Bangor kicked off into the breeze and got the game underway. One of Bangor’s recent improvements has been their ability to get into gear from the word go, and this game was no exception. As the forwards put pressure on the scrum and lineout set pieces, the backs soon got in on the act with a sweeping cross field move that was finished off strongly by Craig Gilroy who touched down in the right hand corner for the opening score of the game. Although the tricky conversion was missed, Clogher Valley looked surprised to be behind by 0-5 after just 6 minutes.

The home side looked rattled and, as the penalties against them mounted up, Bangor had an opportunity soon afterwards to go further ahead from a long range penalty. Although Gareth Millar’s kick had the length, the wind pushed it just wide of the posts. Clogher Valley started to settle and were soon using the wind to good advantage, putting in long positional kicks to keep Bangor pinned down inside their own twenty two. As the pressure mounted, Bangor defence finally creaked as they encroached offside in front of their own posts. This was a double blow as not only did Clogher kick the easy penalty, but Bangor also suffered a yellow card.

Although down a man, Bangor didn’t look it as they responded with more incisive running which saw them get over the Clogher goal line, but the ball was held up by the determined defence. Undeterred, Bangor kept asking the questions and, as the penalty count continued against Clogher, they were rewarded with a penalty which Millar converted to make the score 3-8.

As the first half entered its last 10 minutes, Clogher had a lineout close to Bangor’s twenty two. The situation initially didn’t look that dangerous but, as the ball came out to the Clogher back line, the speed and handling of the attack as it swept from right to left created enough space for the winger to run through for a try in the left hand corner. With the addition of the conversion, the home side had just got their noses in front by 10-8, and this is how it remained until half time.

It must have been an interesting half time pep talk for the Clogher players, as they came out of the blocks with a new-found determination at the start of the second half. It only took 3 minutes for the Clogher forwards to utilise their catch and drive from a lineout to force their way over for another converted try, and stretch their lead to 17-8. By contrast, Bangor weren’t looking quite as sharp as they were in the first half, and Clogher took advantage once again after 15 minutes with another try, this time unconverted, which took their tally to 22-8.

The game was in danger of slipping beyond Bangor’s reach, but a rash tackle by Clogher on Millar resulted in a red card, and Bangor had been thrown an unexpected lifeline. Within 3 minutes of this card, there was a feeling of justice being served as Millar completed a good period of attack by driving over the line close to the Clogher posts. With Rhys Larmour adding the simple conversion, Bangor were right back in the mix at 22-15.

This would have been a satisfactory outcome for Bangor, both by picking up a losing bonus point and preventing Clogher from gaining a try-scoring bonus point. Unfortunately, with 5 minutes left to play, Clogher proved to be the more determined to retain their run of bonus point victories as once again they used their workmanlike pick and drive technique to good effect to add their fourth try and dash Bangor’s hopes of a losing bonus point into the bargain, ending the game 29-14 ahead.

This was another bitter pill for Bangor as they continue to languish at the foot of the league table. However, this was by no means a poor performance. On the contrary, Bangor have shown over the past few fixtures that they can compete with the top three sides in the league. As they enter a rest week, they can confidently prepare for a crucial return to Upritchard Park in two weeks’ time when they host old foes Omagh who are also in the lower half of the table. With a good record against the Tyrone men, the hope is that this will end their winning drought and set them up for the second half of the season.