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Bangor's already
troubled season reached an all-time low when they crashed to a 7-1 defeat
against Lisnagarvey in the Anderson Cup on Saturday.
Bangor can still progress from their group with five other matches to play
but their chances of reaching the semi-final took a backward step against
clinical opposition.
Two weeks previously Bangor had lost to Lisnagarvey by 4-1 and that was a
bitter enough pill to swallow but this time the wheels came off
completely.
Coach Stephen Jackson was absent because of other commitments and his
charges, while at first holding their own, appeared to lose their way.
The game got off to a quiet start with both sides swapping chances before
Lisnagarvey's dominance and control started to show. Their former
internationals Mark Raphael and Brian Waring began to dictate the
Hillsborough side's tempo and it was the latter who opened the scoring
with a weak effort from the top of the circle not long before half-time.
Lisnagarvey then doubled their lead in the minutes before the half when
Johnny Bloomfield thundered in a penalty corner flick from the top of the
circle.
If the first half was poor for Bangor, the second was even worse. Too much
ball was lost when in possession and the team played without any cohesion
throughout the half. Had it not been for captain John Tormey's obstinacy
in goal it could have been double figures.
The second half was just seconds old when Cameron Black pounced on a
defensive mistake and extended the Lisnagarvey lead. And just a minute
later former Bangor player Mark Daniel bashed a thunderbolt high into the
net despite Adam Reading making a superb initial block. To complete a
demoralising 10 minutes for Bangor Johnny Gray then added number five and
the game was gone.
This did briefly rally Bangor and knowing all was lost they finally
created a little pressure on the home goal. This was rewarded with a
series of penalty corners that Lisnagarvey initially appeared well able to
repel before Dowie Holley left his mark on the game with a skilfully
volleyed finish to make it 5-1.
Yet, Lisnagarvey were to have the last laugh, Kevin Lunn tapping in after
great work from Raphael and Black snatching his second, again from
close-in.
This week Bangor host Banbridge and are in desperate need of some sort of
result before they get dragged into an early season dog fight to stay in
the Premier League. The game is at Ballykillare at 2.30pm on Saturday.
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