Derry delight despite Dennis deluge

There were more than a few doubts that this fixture would be played, given that there were already puddles of standing water on the pitch, and the prospect of more rainfall throughout the afternoon. However, the combination of good work by the Derry volunteers and a break in the weather over lunch persuaded the referee that the pitch was playable and the game should go ahead. It’s probably fair to say that both sides wanted to fulfil the fixture, with each hoping to pick up some much-needed league points and move away from the danger zone at the foot of the table. Earlier meetings between the sides had been close affairs, and it was likely that this would be no different.

Following a minutes silence in respect of recent bereavements both at City of Derry and fellow Division 2C side Midleton, Bangor got the game started, playing with the wind as it blew diagonally across the pitch. From the outset, Bangor pushed quickly forward and prevented Derry from clearing out of their twenty two. Bangor’s urgency was evident as they won back possession and embarked on a series of pick and drives through the forwards. After several patient and well-marshalled drives, the final move came from Phil Whyte who touched down towards the left hand corner. The tricky conversion was perfectly judged by Rhys Larmour, making the score 0-7 after just 4 minutes of play.
Bangor’s delight in getting points on the scoreboard so quickly was dashed just a few minutes later when the Derry backs produced a flowing run from within their own half, skipping past some half-hearted Bangor tackles, before full-back Simon Logue ran through to score under the posts. With the addition of the straightforward conversion, the scores were now level at 7-7.

In a sense, these opening exchanges highlighted each side’s particular strength, and would determine their approach for the remainder of the game. However, it would take another 20 minutes before Bangor could make their forward dominance produce more points. Bangor’s scrum had been finding traction where their opponents couldn’t, and this was yielding penalties. From such a situation, Bangor kicked for touch deep inside the Derry twenty two. The equally secure lineout was cleanly taken allowing Bangor to set up another attack. Although the move was stopped short of the line, Bangor had another scrum on the 5 metre line. Once again, the scum collapsed as it was pushed back. Following a penalty for Bangor and a warning for Derry by the referee, Bangor opted unsurprisingly for another scrum. Once again they drove their opponents back, giving the referee no option but to award a penalty try when the scrum collapsed again.

Although Bangor tried to capitalise further and get more points on the board before half time, the dogged home defence managed to keep the score at 7-14 as the sides turned around.

The weather was still causing problems – short, sharp downpours interspersed with gusty wind – but Bangor were fortunate to find that the wind was moving more across the pitch with little forward advantage to Derry in the second half. In the end, neither side found the wind to be of much assistance as it was deemed better to keep the ball in hand. As in the first half, Bangor enjoyed most of the territorial advantage, with Derry looking the more dangerous when counter-attacking through their backs. As the end of the third quarter approached, Bangor were camped inside the Derry twenty two. However, despite several good pushes forward, they were unable to turn this pressure into points. When their patience ran out, they resorted to a cross-field kick which, although well-directed, hung in the air which allowed the Derry defence to cover it and regain possession. To add to Bangor’s frustration, Derry then went on the attack and from being under pressure close to their own goal line, were now in a strong position and pushing for the next score. With just 10 minutes remaining, the large travelling Bangor support were beginning to feel nervous. However, all credit to the Bangor defence who not only held their opponent at bay, but also forced a penalty from the Derry men for holding onto the ball when tackled. Larmour looked to kick the ball into touch inside the Derry half, but over-optimism kept the ball in play. However, the Derry receiver was unlucky to knock the ball on and Bangor could breathe again from the resulting scrum.

In the final minutes, Derry threw everything into attack, but a combination of Bangor’s stout defence and Derry’s mistakes from having to force their game, meant that it was the visitors who could celebrate a vital away win, and move them a few points further up the league table.

With three of the other Division 2C fixtures being postponed, the table is perhaps not telling the whole story, but Bangor will be delighted to have safely banked another four points which may now put a little extra pressure on the other clubs who face their rescheduled games at the end of the regular season. Bangor’s next challenge is next weekend when they host current league leaders Skerries at Upritchard Park. This will be a tough encounter, but with some recent good performances behind them, Bangor will undoubtedly feel a lot more confident and hoping for a better performance than when they travelled to the North Dublin side earlier in the season.