Raphoe 4ths 1 v 7 Bangor 4ths

  4ths Continue Apace.

Well, well, well.  Three matches gone and many soothsayers in the club are frantically scrabbling for their abacii . Twenty-one goals represents a considerable haul and with 5 goals conceded, the bald statistics , for once, reflect the emphasis in the games played.  There is no surfeit of caution here, but rather a collective sense of belief and competitive urgency which other parties elsewhere were sadly lacking last week.

A journey to Raphoe is always demanding, not necessarily due to the distance to be travelled, but rather because of the stoicism of the opposition . And for the opening 10 minutes, the 4thxi did indeed fear that their barnstorming start to the season was in danger of being abruptly halted. Raphoe 4^th Xl distributed with reasonable effeciency, but their opening half chances were as much ushered goalward by a somewhat static Bangor presence as by searing play on their part.

After but 7 minutes it was 1-0 to the home side. A short corner, the 5^th awarded, ended in a deflected shot landing at the stick of an unmarked forward and that was that. And the response ?  Initially a little subdued. Bangors opening play had been characterised by bouts of accurate passing , punctuated by simple errors. Too often, possession was frittered away in the final third.

But then , mid way through the half , came a distinct shift in emphasis. Tweed, beginning to exert influence with his fluid sense of tight control, slipped to Cook. His run into the circle resulted in the ball falling to Watterson whose early slap shot looked to be heading wide of the far post. But Wilson, impish as ever, appeared in a cartoonish flurry of  flailing legs and stick to prod home. Five minutes later, Bangor seized the initiative. Three short corners had already been won , but with no reward forthcoming. And then, principle shot taker Stranaghan tried a different tack. Collecting at the head of the circle, he feigned an initial shot, then stepped forward and no doubt deliberately, delicately scooped the ball over the by now prostrate and hapless keeper.

Now Bangor were in a decidedly boisterous frame of mind. The cohesion of previous weeks was returning with each offensive. Parker and Cook probed meaningfully in their midfield channels, whilst Mairs, the epitome of cool efficiency when in possession, was sending Wilson and Watterson away with increasing alacrity. The Raphoe keeper made two notable interceptions before being beaten again by a short corner effort, Tweed following up to fairly ping home from mid-circle.

3-1 at the break.

One of the few absolute truths in sport is that the final scoreline never lies. But the half time score throws up endless endgames. Here, the next goal was all important. Concession and Bangor would be on the proverbial back foot. However , increasing the lead would surely land the crucial psychological blow. And so it was. Wilson, sensing that there was a tad too much of the elaborate in the Raphoe passing , harried defenders to the point of distraction and duly benefitted from a deflection to find himself mid circle with the ball.. In one moment of near athletic symmetry he swivelled and slotted into the corner.

For the next 10 minutes Bangor hit a veritable purple patch. Each attack oozed menace. Watterson had a shot hit the outside of the post. Mairs was unlucky with a flick from a short corner. But soon it was 5, Parker pouncing on a rebound to reverse stick home. Then it was 6, Watterson finishing of a flowing move with a deft flick at the far post.

Suitably piqued by all of this, Raphoe introduced new personnel . Their play was much more purposeful , with Smyth in the Bangor goal being called upon to make accurate kicked clearances and also to save low to his right.  However, Ryan and Shields proved too obstinate a hurdle and no further goals were conceded. Indeed,  to compound the home sense of helplessness, Bangor broke away again and with clinical adroitness, Patterson scored again to leave the final score at 7-1.

Man of the match : Adam Tweed

Many thanks to Paul Donaldson for driving and to Sarah W . for her energetic support.