Having suffered a disappointing Crawford Plate defeat at the hands of Dungannon 2nds the week before, Bangor 2nds faced another challenge with their final game of the season. Lying in third place behind Portadown and Enniskillen, victory for Bangor would seal a hard fought league campaign and earn them promotion. However, Omagh 3rds had proved difficult opponents earlier in the season, and Bangor had suffered a heavy defeat at the Mellon Park grounds. The game against Dungannon had also been costly in terms of player injuries, with Ethan McGrogan and Felix Burrows on the side-lines and various others unavailable for selection. Nonetheless, Bangor were still able to field a strong side against the big men from Tyrone.

From the referee’s opening whistle as Omagh kicked off, the game burst into immediate action. Having gathered the ball on the right hand side of the pitch, Bangor brought play across to the left hand touchline where it was passed to Aaron Corbett, who came into the attack from his full-back position. With what looked like a secure line of Omagh defenders ahead of him, Corbett’s options looked limited. However, having bounced his first tackler, he simply upped his pace and ran through the defence to score an excellent solo try, and all within the opening minute of the game. Shaun Fair added the conversion to put Bangor into an early 7-0 lead.

This blistering start stunned the visitors, but they responded well with their big pack starting to exert themselves in the set pieces. However, Bangor looked sharp in attack, and 10 minutes later a strong run by Ben Parker got within striking distance of the Omagh line. Just as he was about to be tackled to the ground, he managed to offload the ball to Bryn Watson who darted through to touch down under the posts for another converted try.

Bangor were now running at the Omagh players with every attacking opportunity and another determined break by second row forward Dylan Jones saw him burst through to score Bangor’s third try, again converted by Fair. The bonus point try came very soon afterwards, when Leyton Robinson steamrollered through a group of defenders to touch down close to the posts. Bangor were now 28-0 ahead with just a quarter of the game played.

Omagh finally managed to create a scoring opportunity when steady approach play got them within striking distance of the Bangor goal line. Several drives from the big pack eventually saw them get over the line and get some much needed points on the scoreboard. However, this didn’t prove to be the start of a comeback as Bangor replied with three further tries from Bryn Watson, Jonah Topping and Freddie Priestley to extend their lead to 47-5. There was a slight blot on the copybook when another Bangor attack was intercepted and Omagh ran through for their second unconverted try, taking the halftime score to 47-10.

As Bangor got the second half underway, their earlier composure appeared to have slipped and the penalty count against them started to rise. Omagh used this to good effect and soon had Bangor pinned down inside their own twenty two. Although a period of sustained pressure brought its reward with a converted try, Bangor were quick to respond with another great break by Watson from outside Omagh’s twenty two that ended with a well taken try – which completed his hat trick – in the right hand corner. Jonah Topping’s conversion attempt drifted wide of the posts, but Bangor were still well ahead by 52-17.

Bangor continued to be in control and were pushing for more points when a wayward pass went to ground and was kicked ahead by Omagh, and successfully chased before touching down under Bangor’s posts for another fortuitous try. However, Bangor’s response was immediate, and within a couple of phases of the restart, Shaun Fair ran through for his try, which Topping converted. From the next restart, it was captain Andrew Jackson who led Bangor’s charge with a barnstorming run that almost saw him get to the goal line. Good support play at the breakdown saw Jake Burns gather the ball and dive over to complete his hardworking performance throughout the game. As Topping added the conversion, the referee blew for the end of the game, and Bangor could begin to celebrate their 66-24 victory and league promotion.

This success for the 2nds is a pleasing end to a mixed season of results across Bangor’s senior teams. As the club looks forward to a period of rebuilding, not only on the pitch but also with regard to its bricks and mortar facilities, it is encouraging to see so many young players mature into the senior ranks, and hopefully their enthusiasm will drive the senior squad forward to greater success in the coming season and beyond.