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With five Irish internationals in
their ranks and home advantage on their new state-of-the-art pitch
Lisnagarvey entered Saturday's Premier League match against Bangor as
heavy favourites but were lucky to escape with a point.
Bangor led for almost the entire
match and only a last minute penalty corner from Johnny Bloomfield saved
their blushes in a 2-2 draw.
Bangor have persistently proved to
be a thorn in Lisnagarvey's side over their three seasons in the Premier
League and this was their second draw away from home in successive
seasons. They beat them 3-1 earlier this season to earn a place in the
Kirk Cup semi final.
There was not enough snow in
Hillsborough to call the game off but there was more than enough in
Aviemore to tempt Jamie McAuley away snowboarding and for the second week
in a row Bangor entered a league fixture a forward light. But it was not
to prove costly as the team surpassed the heights of last week's
resounding win over North Down to compete with the team preparing to line
up in the Irish Senior Cup Final later this month.
Bangor got off to the perfect start
when they took the lead through Simon Hunter after just five minutes. The
superb Dowie Holley stole the ball in the Lisnagarvey half and after
drawing a man fed Mark Daniel in the circle, where the striker took his
time and found Hunter lurking at the back post for a tap-in.
But Lisnagarvey hit right back and
when Ivan Steen was allowed to turn in the circle too easily his shot was
deflected by a defender wrong footing John Tormey in goal and making it
1-1.
Back to the other end and after a
good attack ended in a penalty corner Bangor regained the lead. The
routine seemed to be falling apart but when Adam Reading struck a shot
towards the goal Gareth Morton was on hand for a cheeky deflection over
the line into the goal.
For those watching in Hillsborough
it must have been a shock that another goal was not scored for nearly an
hour. In a reflection as to how far Bangor have come they stood toe-to-toe
with Lisnagarvey and created as many chances, if not more, than the home
side. Being ultra-critical of Bangor and they could have been out of sight
by the break with some better finishing.
Several more penalty corners were
wasted, Hunter blasted wide when well placed and Daniel came close to
increasing the lead on a number of occasions. It wasn't all Bangor play
though as Lisnagarvey always looked threatening in a game to thrill the
neutral. Tormey repelled several penalty corner shots from Bloomfield and
the back four of Reading, Michael Harte, Gareth Kidd and Jervis Fleming
had to be on top form to keep the talented home forwards quiet.
Into the second half and an already
entertaining fixture went up another notch. Bangor got through their
notorious rough patch after the break and launched some superb counter
attacks, of which at least one could have clinched the crucial third goal
and put them out of sight.
Bill Clarke went close at the back
post, teenager Ricky McMillen, playing out of position, tormented the
Lisnagarvey full back on a 50 yard run and Daniel even had the ball in the
net but the umpire deemed his reverse stick shot which deflected in off a
defender to be dangerous. The best chance to secure a two goal advantage
fell to Chris Campbell but when well placed at inside right in the circle
he shot into the side netting.
Again Lisnagarvey surged back
forcing Tormey into a series of open play and penalty corner saves, even
striking the post once from close range. The home side seemed destined to
score from the mother of all goal mouth scrambles midway through the half
but Reading, not once but twice, popped up to deny them on the line.
With that scare averted and even a
couple of later penalty corners reflecting the pressure Bangor still had
on Lisnagarvey they dared to dream of another victory against their
illustrious opponents, but it was not to be. With Mark Raphael becoming
more and more dominant in midfield in the closing minutes the tackling
needed to be of top quality but with just a minute left it wasn't and a
typical 'forwards' challenge gave away a penalty corner.
Bangor had defended well against
Bloomfield to this point but it already had the air of the inevitable as
Lisnagarvey prepared for their last penalty corner chance. This time the
full back made no mistake and found the bottom right corner to grab a 2-2
draw with almost the last play of the game.
On reflection the draw was probably
a fair result, considering the plethora of chances both sides had, and
certainly one Bangor would have taken if offered before the game. This
week Civil Service visit Bangor and another win could start to really
motor the Seasiders up the league table.
Without the sorry loss to relegation
candidates North Down Bangor would be riding high at third in the Premier
League but they can still finish as high as fourth with a consistent
finish to the season. Coach Johnny Todd has urged his players not to
simply drift until the end of the season and the last two performances
have certainly reflected this.
A win against second bottom Civil
Service and somewhere between two and four points from the remaining
fixtures against Banbridge and Annadale, both away, would constitute a
superb second half of the season and create a great deal of momentum for
next year's campaign. |