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Bangor got back into league action on Saturday and lost a tight game 3-2
to
Lisnagarvey.
After the hiatus of the Anderson Cup, the Seasiders were hoping to start
the
second half of the league campaign well but Saturday's loss in
Hillsborough
will make it even more difficult to claim fifth place and possible
all-Ireland qualification.
They will quickly have an opportunity for revenge over Lisnagarvey in the
Anderson cup semi-final this Sunday. But they will know they can push
their
rivals all the way after a fighting performance on Saturday.
Lisnagarvey dominated possession for long periods but struggled to break
Bangor down. They relied heavily on their penalty corners for attempts on
goal and in the final 10 minutes were holding on as Bangor went in search
of
an equaliser.
The home side opened the scoring after 15 minutes when they got to the
by-line and the cross found former Bangor player Mark Daniel unmarked at
the
back post. He had the simple task of tapping in to continue his good run
of
scoring against his old club.
But Bangor had started strongly and continued to press. From their second
penalty corner they equalised when, despite the planned routine going
awry,
the calm Michael Harte took charge and found Chris Campbell at the right
post for a simple tap-in.
Bangor couldn't get to half time level and conceded shortly before the
break. The dangerous Jason Lynch was adjudged to have been fouled in the
circle and Timmy Cochram fired the resulting penalty corner past John
Tormey.
The turning point in the game came 10 minutes into the second half when a
defensive mix-up allowed Mark Raphael a clear run on goal and despite
missing the ball completely with his first shot, he rounded Tormey and
rolled the ball into an empty net. It was the goal that won the match but
hardly deserved after Raphael's initial mistake.
To be fair Lisnagarvey did have a number of other chances in the opening
part of the half but they found Tormey in superb form. Clearly still
disappointed to be strangely over looked by Ulster yet again, the Bangor
captain showed the province's coaches exactly what they were missing with
a
string of fine saves.
The only Bangor player who could be compared to Tormey on the day was Mark
Lappin. Playing against the club he represented for over a decade, Lappin
was hard working throughout, often halting Lisnagarvey and then starting
Bangor's attacks. It was he who drove Bangor on in the final 15 minutes
when
they gave their all in search of a point from the game.
They got the score back to 3-2 with time running out when Adam Reading
scored a penalty stroke. A good run down the right from Campbell led to
Nicky Blease being fouled in front of goal and Reading coolly flicked the
stroke home.
But Bangor couldn't force another good chance in the closing minutes and
Lisnagarvey held out for a win that keeps them in touch with the league
leaders. |