Another costly defeat

As the Division 2C season reached its half way point, and with Tullamore sitting in the group of teams in the lower end of the league table, Bangor were hoping to pick up some much needed points and give a timely boost when fixtures resume in the New Year. However, Bangor’s record against Tullamore hasn’t been convincing in the past and with the unfortunate absence of Craig Gilroy, Conor Lusty and Connor Scollan in the backs and Ethan Murray and Jamie Thallon in the forwards through injury or return to play protocols, this fixture was unlikely to be much different.

Tullamore got the game started and, with the wind blowing across the pitch, neither side had any advantage from the prevailing conditions. However it took just 5 minutes for Tullamore to get on the scoreboard after kicking a penalty to touch, then following up the lineout with a well drilled drive which resulted in a converted try. A few minutes later Rhys Larmour cut the deficit to 3-7 with a successfully converted penalty. Another penalty for Tullamore close to Bangor’s twenty two was quickly tapped and passed wide for their second converted try which stretched their lead to 3-14.

From the restart, Tullamore secured possession and looked to build another attack from a ruck just outside their own twenty two. However, a concerted effort by Bangor’s forwards saw the ball turned over and after some good movement across the backs, the ball came to Danny Young on the left hand touchline who dived over in the corner for a well-taken try. Larmour was on form again with the difficult kick, which brought the score to 10-14 after 16 minutes of the first half.

This score, and the way in which they manufactured it, seemed to spur Bangor on. With much of the attacking play now coming from the home side, Tullamore were confined to their own half for much of the next 10 minutes. Eventually Bangor were rewarded for their efforts when Gareth Millar sent a long penalty kick deep into the Tullamore twenty two. The resulting lineout and drive was executed perfectly, with Andrew Jackson getting the ball down for Bangor’s second try. The conversion attempt into the breeze was pushed off target, but for the first time in the match, Bangor had their noses in front by 15-14.

Bangor now looked to be more in control and, but for some poor handling issues, could have moved further ahead. However, Tullamore failed to take advantage and were themselves guilty of more penalty offences, one of which Larmour converted to put Bangor 18-14 ahead, with 5 minutes left before half time.

With Tullamore anxious to regain the lead and pushing hard, Bangor conceded a penalty close to their twenty two. Tullamore took a quick tap but Jacob Cavanagh was guilty of not retreating before tackling the ball-carrier, and was yellow carded as a result. Instead of taking the relatively easy 3 points from the resulting penalty, Tullamore kicked for the corner in the hope of more points from a possible try. However, Bangor’s defence was up to the job and thwarted that plan.

All good so far, and with just over a minute remaining before half time, a penalty to Bangor while inside their own twenty two provided the opportunity to clear their lines with a kick to touch. However, the unnecessarily hurried kick didn’t reach its target and Tullamore took the unexpected opportunity to run the ball right back at their opponents. The Bangor defence was caught off guard and, as the Tullamore shrugged off the weak tackles, they surged through for a gifted try close to the posts which, when converted, brought the score to 18-21 as the referee blew for half time.

Thankfully, Bangor put this upset behind them and started the second half with extra vigour. After just 3 minutes, Thomas Boyd went on a determined break from half way, fending off several tacklers in the process. Mark Widdowson carried on the attack but couldn’t find enough space to reach the goal line. However, patience was rewarded when the ball was recycled and then popped up for Matt Bougoure to take at speed and crash over for the try. Larmour added the simple conversion to put Bangor back in front by 25-21.

Despite a growing penalty count against Tullamore, they knew the game was far from settled and proved this with their best passing move of the game which saw them split the Bangor defence before running through to score beside Bangor’s posts. This not only regained them the lead by 25-28, but also added a try-scoring bonus point. With only 3 points now separating the teams, the game entered a tense period where neither side seemed unable to take control. Eventually, Tullamore added an extra bit of pressure on Bangor with the addition of a long-range penalty, to put them 6 points ahead.

With a quarter of the game left to play, Bangor knew there was time to find one more converted try to snatch the win. Unfortunately the game became scrappy with both sides aware of the delicate situation and eventually a yellow card was shown to Tullamore for persistent high tackle offences. With time now running out, Bangor’s anxiety began to show. A penalty that should have given an attacking lineout close to the Tullamore 5 metre line was mis-hit and ran over the dead ball line. A later opportunity to try the same thing was rejected in favour of a tap-and-go which, given the poor handling displayed earlier, was probably an overly optimistic choice, especially when the ball was then lost in a tackle. In the end, Bangor’s continued mistakes combined with Tullamore’s determination to hold on at all costs, resulted in the scoreboard continuing to favour Tullamore as the final whistle arrived.

Another costly defeat for Bangor, albeit with the consolation of a losing bonus point, which keeps them firmly rooted at the bottom of the league table. Hopefully the Christmas and New Year break will not only see absent players return to full availability again, but also reset the whole squad’s determination to fight for their place in the All Ireland League. Certainly there is an uphill battle ahead, but anything should be possible over the remaining nine fixtures.