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On a crisp but pleasant Saturday afternoon, Bangor
Seconds entertained an extremely strong Banbridge second string at
Ballykillaire. The final result was victory to Banbridge by a margin of 4
goals to 2, however, the final scoreline flattered the visitors somewhat.
The visiting Banbridge side included amongst others, Irish international
veteran, David MacAnulty, along with several very experienced ex first’s
players. Early exchanges, however, proved that Bangor were up for the
challenge. The defence of Irwin, Brennan, McCausland and Gowdy were rock
solid under early pressure. The midfield of Snodden, McDowell and McAfee
worked tirelessly to retain possession and to free the front three of
Clarke, Edwards and McClune.
During the first 10 minutes, Bangor found themselves in the ascendancy,
however, on 15 minutes, Banbridge broke with devastating speed and
accuracy, resulting in the ball being driven past a helpless Thompson.
Bangor 0 – Banbridge 1.
The Bangor team regrouped and sensed that all was not lost. A mere two
minutes later, their efforts were rewarded. Gowdy intercepted a Banbridge
pass and found Clarke with pinpoint accuracy, who, in turn, offloaded
Edwards who won a free on the edge of the Banbridge circle. Clarke latched
on to the resulting free hit and the Banbridge goal bulged. Bangor 1 –
Banbridge 1.
On 20 minutes Bangor went ahead 2-1 in a sweeping move involving McClune,
McAfee and Edwards, the final act being McClune swooping to score at the
far post. The Bangor pressure was relentless forcing Banbridge to
counter-attack. On 25 minutes Bangor had a further chance to increase
their lead when they won a short corner and the resulting Gowdy flick was
well saved. On rebound, McClune could only flick wide of the target.
The visitors were never out of the game and on 33 minutes another quick
move saw them score to bring the scores level. In the dying seconds of the
half Bangor almost regained their lead. Mark Campbell found space on the
right passing to McClune whose driven cross was deflected just wide by
Clarke at the far post.
Irwin’s half time team talk was rousing and Bangor returned to the pitch
determined to give a good account of themselves.
It was obvious that Banbridge had been buoyed by the late equaliser at the
end of the first half and right from the start put Bangor under extreme
pressure. Just five minutes in, however, Bangor again had another gilt
edged chance to score. A quick Bangor counter-attack saw McClune shoot
narrowly wide.
Again, the Bangor team persevered. Richard Kerrigan and Mark Campbell had
by now entered the fray in order to give weary team mates a few minutes
rest after extreme exertion. Bangor won yet another short corner and the
resulting effort on goal flashed wide. With 15 minutes of the second half
played, Bangor were still very much in the match, only for Banbridge to
finish another sweeping move to make the score 3-2 in their favour. Two
minutes later Bangor had a chance to convert from a short corner, but
again, the opportunity was squandered.
As Bangor pressed and pressed in the final minutes of the game in order to
achieve parity, Banbridge looked more and more dangerous on the
counter-attack and finally with two minutes to go in the second half, the
killer blow was struck as Banbridge scored their 4th goal, leaving the
final score as Bangor 2 – Banbridge 4.
When the final whistle went, it was noticeable that the Bangor team was
extremely disappointed to lose this most keenly contested game. However,
the result flattered the visitors and Bangor Seconds should take heart
from what was a very spirited and structured display against an extremely
experienced and talented Banbridge team.
It was hard to select a man of the match and in the end the award was
shared by Dave Edwards and Dave McClune.
Many thanks to Timmy Campbell for umpiring. |