With Bangor 1sts travelling to Bruff and having first call on player replacements, the 2nds did well to assemble a competitive side, albeit with a 30 year age range! For Carrick, it was their only game of the day and, with the game being played at their home ground, a large crowd of supporters had gathered in the hope of seeing their side lift the silverware.

Bangor kicked off into a slight headwind, but it was Carrick who showed the first sign of nerves as they failed to catch the kick and knocked the ball in the process. Playing with the advantage, Bangor pressed the home side back and, for the following 10 minutes, kept them pinned down inside their own twenty two. Although Bangor were unable to break through the solid Carrick defence, it was an encouraging start that raised the travelling supporters’ hopes. However, with their first spell inside Bangor’s half, Carrick were awarded a penalty which, with the assistance of the wind, proved straightforward for their kicker, and gave the home side a 3-0 lead, somewhat against the run of play. This lead was short-lived, however, after Bangor converted a penalty of their own shortly afterwards.

Unfortunately, after such a good opening spell of play, Bangor’s indiscipline at the breakdown came to the fore and, with it, the penalties. Not only did Carrick convert two more of these penalties, but Bangor’s problems got worse when scrum half Ernest Kaseta was yellow carded for a deliberate knock-on. However, with the half time score at 9-3, Bangor were still well within reach and had the benefit of the wind to look forward to in the second half.

Things didn’t get off to a good start from Bangor following Carrick’s restart. Another ruck infringement saw them penalised once more, and the consistency of Carrick’s goal kicking continued as they moved to 12-3 after just 2 minutes of the second half.

In similar fashion to the first half, Bangor quickly had an opportunity to cancel out this latest score with a penalty of their own, but this time the kick was wide of the posts. Undeterred, Bangor kept up the pressure and were rewarded with the first try of the game when Kaseta glided through a gap in the Carrick defence to score. With the added conversion, Bangor were now right back in the game at 12-10.

The game then took an unusual turn as it approached the final quarter. With two of Carrick’s front row now injured, the scrums, which Bangor had been pressurising, became uncontested. While this might have been seen as an advantage to Carrick, they were duly reduced to 14 men as a result. This was Bangor’s opportunity to test the weakened Carrick back line, but while they showed good enterprise in attack, they were let down by repeated lapses in discipline at the breakdown. This was obvious once again when, after winning their scrum, they managed to concede a penalty inside their own twenty two, and straight in front of the posts. The simple kick was duly converted, putting the home side further ahead at 15-10.

Following treatment on the touchline, the Carrick prop was able to re-join his team and, in the process, enable them to return to full strength. Playing with 14 men had taken its toll and several Carrick players were visibly struggling with tiredness. However, their return to full strength gave them the boost needed to put the game beyond Bangor’s reach, with a well-executed move through the backs that produced a try in the right hand corner. Although the conversion was missed, this score had put Carrick 20-10 ahead, with just 10 minutes remaining.
As the clock ran down, Carrick managed to frustrate any efforts by Bangor to come back at them, and were mightily relieved when the referee blew for the end of the game. While Bangor were obviously disappointed not to have finished on top, they can feel proud of their efforts in making the game as competitive as it was. Congratulations to Carrick on their success – perhaps it will be Bangor’s turn next season.