After their ignominious defeat by Ballymoney in the final game of last season, Bangor wanted to restore some pride and build on last weekend’s winning performance against Enniskillen. Ballymoney, on the other hand, were not only hoping to impose another big win over Bangor but also put their previous weekend’s surprise defeat behind them.

In gusty but dry playing conditions, Bangor got the game started, and enjoyed the wind at their backs for the opening half. From the outset, Bangor looked sharp and for the opening 15 minutes, had Ballymoney pinned down within their own twenty two, and only their solid defence kept the Bangor attacks at bay. It was therefore something of a shock when Ballymoney’s first attack resulted in the opening score of the game. As the home side pushed into Bangor’s twenty two, a couple of loose passes were somehow juggled by the Ballymoney backs, allowing them to not only retain possession but also confuse the Bangor defence, allowing them to slip through and score under the Bangor posts. The simple conversion was added giving Ballymoney a 7-0 lead, very much against the run of play.

Although this score helped to settle the home side, Bangor were still mostly in control, dominating the scrums and disrupting the lineouts, but frustratingly they were unable to convert these strengths into points, resulting in the half time score remaining at 7-0.

Ballymoney got the second half underway, and now benefitted from the wind advantage at their backs. However, apart from some long range positional kicks, they were finding it difficult to break through the Bangor defensive line. As Bangor then mounted their own attacks, some rash tackling soon resulted in a yellow card for Ballymoney. Having lost a front row player earlier in the game through injury, this yellow card for another front row player presented a big problem for the home side. A period of confusion followed with regard to how many Ballymoney players should remain on the pitch after having to resort to playing uncontested scrums. Although this situation was eventually resolved, it seemed to not only affect Ballymoney’s composure but also strengthen Bangor’s resolve and take advantage of their extra manpower. Sure enough, a few minutes later, another period of sustained Bangor pressure was finally finished off by Ollie Cain who powered over to the left of the Ballymoney posts for Bangor’s opening try. The gusting wind pushed Rhys Larmour’s conversion attempt against the upright but, unlike last weekend’s similar experience, it then bounced back infield and the points were gone. However, with the score now 7-5, and still with the extra man, Bangor were right back in the game.

After safely gathering the restart, Bangor came right back at Ballymoney and were quickly on the attack again. Just 2 minutes had passed when Blair Morgan stretched over from close range to put Bangor into the lead for the first time in the game and, with Larmour now on target with the conversion, the score had swung to 7-12 in Bangor’s favour.

Bangor’s playing discipline so far this season has been much improved, but a number of situations where they were slow to release the ball when tackled, resulted in penalties which Ballymoney used to take play deep into Bangor’s twenty two. It was now Bangor’s turn to defend their line but although they managed to repel several attacks, Ballymoney’s patience and perseverance paid off with a try to the left of Bangor’s posts. To Bangor’s relief, the conversion was pushed wide of the mark, resulting in the scores being tied at 12-12, and less than 10 minutes left to play.

To Bangor’s credit, they continued to drive forward, but although they looked the more likely to snatch a late winner, they were unable to do so and both sides had to be satisfied with the draw as the referee blew for the end of the game.

Although Bangor will be pleased to pick up 2 league points away from home, and against a tough side like Ballymoney, they might feel that this was a missed opportunity to do even better if earlier scoring opportunities could have been converted. However, the positives are that they remain unbeaten so far, without suffering any significant injury worries, and young players like Dylan Jones and Bryn Watson seem to be settling well into the team in their first senior season with the club.

It’s the first round of the Junior Cup next weekend, away to Instonians 2nds, then a mouth-watering league fixture against Dromore at Upritchard Park in a fortnight’s time. These will both be tough matches, but with continued confidence and determination, there is every reason for Bangor to be optimistic and strive for further success.