After the bitter disappointment of losing at home against City of Derry last weekend, it was vital that Bangor needed a better result if they were to avoid slipping further into the danger zone at the lower end of the league table. To make their job even more difficult, their opponents were Omagh who had already picked up a win at Upritchard Park in the Ulster Senior Cup at the start of the season. However, despite starting as underdogs in this Ulster derby, Bangor knew that their gameplay was steadily improving and the belief was that more positive results would come soon.

Fortunately, the rain had kept away, but with a strong crosswind blowing towards the clubhouse, playing conditions were still going to be tricky. As the game got underway, it was Bangor that would feel the adverse effects of the wind in the opening half. In the opening exchanges, though, Bangor appeared to make light of the conditions as they enjoyed good possession and looked the more confident. Within minutes, Bangor were awarded a penalty on the Omagh twenty-two, just out to the left hand side but unfortunately Oscar Yandall’s kick at goal was pushed wide. From the restart, Omagh surged forwards and almost immediately won a penalty just inside Bangor’s 10 metre line. Scott Elliott used the wind to carry his kick over and put his side ahead by 0-3.

Bangor hadn’t had the opportunity so far to demonstrate their scrummaging power, but by contrast, Omagh were using their big second row Robbie Sproule to good effect in the lineouts. This came to the fore just 8 minutes into the game when they stole a lineout while deep inside the Bangor twenty two. The Bangor defence worked hard to keep the repeated forward surges at bay, but Omagh’s patience was rewarded when Ricky Hemphill broke through to score just to the left of Bangor’s posts. Elliott added the conversion to put his side now 0-10 ahead.
Determined not to let their opponents get further ahead, Bangor pushed play back into the Omagh half and after a strong break by Michael Ferguson, the ball popped up nicely for David Bradford to run onto and cut through the static Omagh defence and touch down under the posts. The simple conversion was added by Yandall, narrowing the scores to 7-10.

However, as the game entered its second quarter, another stolen lineout proved costly for Bangor as Robbie Sproule finished off a move he started by adding Omagh’s second try which was again converted by Elliott to regain their 10 point lead at 7-17.

Far from being dejected, Bangor seemed to grow in confidence and determination and, within just 5 minutes of this last try, they produced an excellent counter-attack that started deep inside their own twenty two. Seemingly under pressure from another Omagh advance, Bangor decided to run the ball from under their posts. Strong runs by David Bradford and Andrew Shaw took play into the Omagh half. With every player offering support, the drive continued until Evan Wellard McMillen crashed over from short distance for a great team try. Yandall added the conversion to make it 14-17 and, although he later missed a long-range penalty on the stroke of half time, Bangor could feel pleased that they had narrowed Omagh’s lead to just 3 points.

The anticipated wind advantage was not as evident as it was in the first half as it had swung round slightly and was now blowing across the pitch. Nonetheless, Bangor felt that the momentum was now back with them as they fielded Omagh’s restart. However, it was another disrupted set piece that led to the next try. While the Bangor scrum had, so far, been dominant throughout the game, a rare penalty for Omagh after a front row offence gave them the opportunity to put in a long kick to touch. Having gained the lineout inside Bangor’s twenty two, their strength in this area saw the ball cleanly won and then fed to Matthew Clyde who powered over for Omagh’s third try. The conversion attempt into the teeth of the wind was unsuccessful, but Omagh were now ahead by 14-22 with Bangor agonisingly outside of losing bonus point territory.

Perhaps it’s only the touchline supporters that think this way, as Bangor simply kept working with no obvious worries in this respect. As the game entered its final quarter, Bangor found themselves camped back inside their own half. From the base of a ruck, the ball came back to Ali Lockhart who put up a high box kick. As the ball hung in the air, Mike Aspley leapt up and managed to palm the ball back towards his supporting players. For once, a kindly bounce made the ball available for Connor Scollan to run onto at pace, and with the visitor’s defence in disarray, he sprinted away from the Omagh 10 metre line to score close to the posts. Yandall added the conversion to make the score 21-22.
Unfortunately it didn’t stay like this for long as Omagh were awarded a penalty in front of Bangor’s posts which Elliott gratefully accepted by adding the kick and putting Omagh a bit further ahead at 21-25 with just 15 minutes of play remaining.

As the clock ticked down, there was a fear that Bangor would suffer another very close defeat. However, this match showed Bangor’s ability to counter attack from deep inside their own territory. This time the move was started by Logan Norman who, having moved from out half to full back, was enjoying that little extra space to see gaps in the opponents’ defence. As he set off on a run, and shrugged off the attempted tackles, he was supported by Zack Kerr who took on the attack from the Omagh 10 metre line and ran for the right hand corner where he dived over for Bangor’s bonus point try which also put them in the lead by 26-25 for the first time in the match. With just 3 minutes of play remaining, Bangor kept their nerve despite Omagh’s last ditch attacks and held on until the final whistle to secure a vital win that relieves some of the pressure they had been under in recent games.

As the season heads towards the halfway mark next weekend, Bangor face yet more tough games in the All Ireland League as they first head to Enniscorthy, then return the favour at Upritchard Park, before travelling to Omagh and City of Derry afterwards. Three difficult fixtures on the road, and two against the current, and runaway league leaders. However, this performance by Bangor at last showed what both the coaches, players and supporters believed was possible, and they can now look forward with renewed confidence to the second half of the season where further success will hopefully follow.