It was an unexpectedly strong Dungannon side that travelled to Upritchard Park for their Provincial League fixture. Having comprehensively beaten the Tyrone side earlier in the season at Stevenson Park, hopes were high that Bangor could repeat that performance and, in so doing, keep their league title ambitions on track. By contrast, Dungannon 4ths had been drifting towards the lower end of the league and were anxious to improve their prospects in any way they could.

From Bangor’s kick-off, Dungannon immediately took control, running the ball right back and denying Bangor any possession. Good movement across their back line saw the ball reach the Dungannon winger on the left touchline who had the room and pace to run around the Bangor defence and score. The conversion was added giving the visitors the lead by 0-7 after just 4 minutes.

Bangor weren’t unduly worried by this early setback, but made the mistake of not identifying a danger area in both Dungannon’s attack and their own defence. Within 3 minutes, they were caught in a similar situation, with the ball being passed quickly across their back line for the same winger to finish the move with another try down the left hand side, but this time touching down under the posts. Then, as if to hammer home the point, Dungannon repeated this again another 4 minutes later, this time touching down close to the left hand touchline.

Bangor were 0-19 behind, but now began to put some good phases of play together, and brought their attack into the Dungannon twenty two. Just when it looked like the home side might finally get some points on the board, the ball was lost in a tackle. Having won back possession, Dungannon burst through the Bangor line and then ran the length of the pitch to score under the posts for their bonus point try.
This was a cruel blow for Bangor, but from the restart, they picked up where they had been just a few moments earlier. This time, their ball retention and forward drive was much better, allowing Josh Nelson to power over for the home side’s first points of the game. Unfortunately, this only served to motivate Dungannon further, as they used their left winger to great effect once again, setting up three further converted tries with apparent ease, bringing the half time score to 5-47.

The half time breather appeared to do little for Bangor, as Dungannon continued their try-fest with two more converted scores within the first 5 minutes of the second half to put them well out of sight at 5-64. By this point, the home side could have been forgiven for calling it a day but, to their credit, they decided to play for their pride if not for the win. Good positional kicking with the help of the wind, allowed Bangor to set up much better attacking opportunities inside the Dungannon twenty two. After a good period of sustained pressure, Bangor were at last rewarded for their endeavour with a determined drive by Jake McKibben which saw him get over the line, with Jonny Baxter adding the conversion to make the score now 12-64.

Bangor seemed to get a boost from this and started to create chances through the centre. Again, their perseverance paid off when Lee Johnston finished off a great move to score under the posts. With three tries on the scoreboard, Bangor could see the chance of salvaging a try-scoring bonus point if they could maintain this pressure. Another good kick by Baxter once again brought play deep into the Dungannon twenty two. A mix-up in the subsequent Dungannon lineout allowed James Neill to steal the ball and charge over from short distance to score on the left hand side. Although the conversion was missed, Bangor had got their fourth try and had fought back to produce a more respectable 24-64 scoreline.

However, it was Dungannon who would have the final say, with perhaps the best move of the game. With Bangor’s tails up and looking for another score, the ball came loose and Dungannon began a counter-attack from within their own twenty two. Once again, their dangerous winger made the ground up the left hand touchline before off-loading inside. As the Bangor defence struggled to cover the gaps, the winger ran back inside to pick up the final pass and finish the move he started by touching down under the Bangor posts. With the conversion added, and the score now at 24-71, the referee called it a day and both sides could reflect on their respective performances.

This somewhat skewed result puts a big dent in Bangor’s attempt to win promotion this season and, with a tough fixture against Banbridge next weekend, things will not get any easier. Hopefully they can put this defeat behind them and finish their season with a flourish.