Outdone at Omagh

After the promising performance against Ballina last Saturday which saw Bangor move up two league places and into a slightly more comfortable position, hopes were high that a good follow-up result against similarly struggling Omagh would ease that position even further. Omagh, on the other hand, had slipped into the danger zone and, with home advantage, would have been pushing hard to produce a result that would lift them out of trouble.

Omagh kicked off with a slight wind advantage and quickly set about their task, keeping Bangor pinned down inside their own half. When Bangor were finally able to get on the front foot, they looked dangerous, but the wall of Omagh defenders prevented any breakthrough. In fact it took 35 minutes of play before Omagh were awarded a penalty in front of the Bangor posts, which gave them a small 3-0 lead by half time.

As Bangor got the second half underway, Omagh continued to press hard – too hard, in fact, as they picked up a yellow card for a ruck offence after just 8 minutes. The loss of one of the big Omagh forwards should have given Bangor the advantage, but another penalty for Omagh, again in front of the Bangor posts, provided the home side with an unexpected 3 points to move further ahead by 6-0.

The game was still wide open as play moved from one end to the other, but neither side seemed able to deliver the cutting edge that would lead to a try. By the end of the third quarter, Bangor were unlucky when a promising attack was stopped by a deliberate Omagh knock-on. Again, the home side were yellow carded, but Bangor weren’t able to capitalise on the situation. Omagh’s strategy of standing back from rucks when under attack and contesting aggressively when inside Bangor’s territory was paying off. The parked bus was proving difficult for Bangor to break through, and attacking the rucks when inside Bangor’s danger zone was producing kickable penalties. Another such penalty was converted after 30 minutes of play, extending Omagh’s lead to 9-0, and giving Bangor the extra headache of having to score at least twice to take the lead.

With only 10 minutes left to play, Bangor were forced to chase the game and, as a result, created more problems for themselves. A quickly taken lineout while still inside their own twenty two didn’t work out as hoped for Bangor, with the ball going loose before being snapped up by the more alert Omagh players who then ran through for an opportunist try which, although unconverted, had given the home side a comfortable 14-0 lead.

Although now staring defeat in the face Bangor, to their credit, found enough in reserve to mount one more attack. With better timed passes and more determined running, Bangor finally managed to produce a well-worked, and well-taken try from Conor Scollan in the left hand corner. With the conversion attempt signalled as the final play of the game, Gareth Millar stepped up to take the difficult touchline kick. With the win in his face, and the Omagh players sprinting towards him, Millar held his nerve and produced an excellent kick that added two more points for his team and, in so doing, earned them a losing bonus point with the final score at 14-7.

Given the importance of this fixture for both sides, it’s probably understandable that it ended up such a dour contest. However, Omagh played to their strengths and managed to pick up points where they could. Their defensive wall, though unattractive at times, proved effective in halting the Bangor attacks, and Bangor seemed unable to produce any significant counter-strategy that might have upset Omagh’s plans. The good news for Bangor is that they have a two week break in order to try and get things back on track. However, the not so good news is that when they return to action, it will be against three of the league’s leading teams – Clogher Valley (H), Galwegians (A) and Enniscorthy (A). Ironically, Bangor has produced much better performances against these top teams in earlier meetings, so the hope is that they can upset the form book and pick up some much needed league points to keep their All Ireland League aspirations alive.