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BANGOR COME UNDONE AGAINST 'GARVEY
Seldom
can a Bangor side have treated a 3-0 loss to a team of the quality as
Lisnagarvey as so encouraging a result.
Despite the reverse of the Kirk Cup result between the same teams three
weeks before, Bangor arguably pushed the All-Ireland champions harder and
will feel a little luck may have swung the game.
The league fixture was not settled until the final 15 minutes with Bangor
matching Lisnagarvey in every aspect of the game up until that point.
All this and Bangor had to make do without three regular players while the
Lisburn side could recall two Irish internationals after their Rome
exertions in September. Johnny Todd's men will play a lot worse than
Saturday and beat many teams in the Premier League.
The most telling two moments of the game probably showed that Bangor had
used up all their luck when they last beat Lisnagarvey.
Shortly before half time veteran Jeremy Macafee hit the left post with a
fierce shot and saw the ball bounce to safety but when Lisnagarvey hit the
very same post with 15 minutes remaining in the match it rebounded to
Philip Stirling who couldn't miss from a yard out.
But before that Bangor had created as many if not more opportunities that
the visitors. Lisnagarvey came out of the traps fast in the first period
but Bangor weathered the initial storm with John Tormey having to make one
notable save from Mark Robinson when he appeared to have the goal at his
mercy.
The makeshift defence, with Michael Harte and Nicky Blease coping well out
of position, played well and in the last 10 minutes of the first period
Bangor began to take the game to Lisnagarvey.
Blease, Simon Hunter and Dowie Holley all had opportunities in the
Lisnagarvey circle but their control let them down and Harte and Mark
Daniel both forced good saves from goalkeeper David Williamson before the
break.
The second period again swung from end to end but Lisnagarvey's superior
pace began to tell as Bangor's legs wore slightly. Still they could not
beat Tormey and Bangor actually went the closest in the first part of the
second half when Daniel bravely dived at an excellent Gareth Morton cross
and deflected the ball narrowly wide.
But it was all to no avail as the luck was with the Lisburn men and
Stirling gave them the lead. Bangor then pushed forward and as a
consequence there was a little more room left for manoeuvre for the
Lisnagarvey forwards, Stirling repeating the dose soon after from close
in.
But Lisnagarvey's best forward was to be denied his hattrick by the
unlucky Gareth Kidd who stopped a shot on the line with his foot. The big
defender bravely got in the way of the goal-bound effort but was undone by
the 'slower' one and could only block it with his foot.
Timmy Cochram ignored Stirling's chance of a treble against one of
Ulster's best goalkeepers and put the penalty stroke away himself.
This Saturday Bangor make the short trip to Stormont for the often
ill-tempered local derby against Civil Service. The two unfashionable
clubs are regulars in the Premier League now but bragging rights will
still be up for grabs. Last season the side's won a game apiece but this
year Bangor are stronger and Service are without penalty corners marksman
Chris Barnes, who scored seven in the two league fixtures.
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