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On Saturday, the 2nd's hosted Banbridge 4th XI in a McClements Cup clash.
Any Banbridge team is always a difficult proposition, and the visitors
arrived at Bangor intent on forcing an upset. The Ballykillaire pitch was
somewhat whiter-than-usual, the game only going ahead after 45 minutes of
shovelling snow off the pitch.
Bangor had not played a competitive fixture for over 4 weeks, and it
showed in the early exchanges. The opening 20 minutes were scrappy, with
neither team making any significant impact upon the game. Time and again,
many promising Bangor moves were ended by poor first touches and wayward
passes.
Bangor began to show some promise with the introduction of McClune who
immediately set about attacking the Bann defence with a great run ending
with a reverse stick shot flashing just wide. It was Bann, however, who
seized the initiative in the game. Good work down the right hand side
presented a Bann forward with a glorious opportunity which he did not
waste, flashing a powerful strike past Bangor 'keeper Thompson from the
right side of the circle. The visitors continued to press, but the
scoreline remained the same until the half time whistle blew.
The half time team talk was blunt, Irwin and the captain Clarke
emphasising in no uncertain terms that a big improvement was required. The
team were to respond almost immediately. Five minutes into the half, a
swift counter attack saw Gowdy and Stranaghan combine to release McIlhagga.
The Bangor forward made no mistake and gleefully slotted home his long
awaited first goal of the season.
Banbridge rallied, looking for a swift response, but the Bangor defence
held firm, with the pick of the tackles coming from McCausland and Irwin
to deny the Bann forwards. With 10 minutes remaining, Bangor at last began
to click into an attacking gear and surged forward looking for the winner.
McDowell and Boyd combined down the left to win a short corner which Gowdy
rifled in to put Bangor in the ascendancy.
The game descended into a bit of a fractious affair from here on in.
Several players lost their cool and several green cards were shown for
dissent. As the minutes ticked by, the visitors pushed forward looking to
restore parity but again found the Bangor defence unwilling to concede.
With Bann throwing caution to the wind, the opportunities were there for
Bangor to counter attack. Bangor made the game sense in one such attack,
when Trimble released Campbell, who in turn found Clarke, and the Bangor
captain duly despatched the ball into the net, albeit at the 2nd attempt.
All in all, a scrappy performance by Bangor who just did enough to ensure
the victory and secure a place in the quarter final draw. Andrew Gowdy won
the man of the match for Bangor. Thanks to David Shields and Timmy
Campbell for umpiring. |