Bangor Men’s Hockey Club 4^th XI earned a well needed 3 points against a Raphoe 4^th XI one place below them in the league.  However, it was not just the win that was impressive rather it was the way in which it was achieved.  The Bangor side performed so well that they managed a staggering 7-0 victory.

From the very beginning of the match Bangor showed their determination and will to win by winning a short-corner within the first 3 minutes.  From this, a well worked routine between Neil Martin and Adam Watson saw the ball returned to Adam where he delicately deflected the ball into the goal leaving the Raphoe ‘keeper stranded.  Adam was soon again on the score sheet with a slap short into the bottom corner after good work down the right-hand side of the pitch by Ray Parker and Andy Hamilton .

Bangor had the opportunity to go two goals further in front had Simon Harper been able to put the ball in an empty net.  However, he did make up for his misses by scoring twice.  The first was scored when a through ball was played through the static defence of Raphoe and he was able to first-time slap it past the despairing Raphoe ‘keeper.  The second was a result of the determination of Daniel McNulty beating a player before laying the ball to Simon who calmly slotted into the net via the tightest of angles.

At 4-0 the game seemed over but all credit to Raphoe who kept pushing for that elusive goal.  The intelligent interceptions and positional play by Jeff Mitchell and the tackling of Ryan Agnew showed Bangor’s determination to keep a second clean sheet of the season.  The Bangor goalkeeper Nick Craig had very little to do during the game but he showed good concentration to make his only save of the game with a diving stick save.

Steven Robinson demonstrated his blistering pace throughout the game which in turn led to getting his name on the score sheet for the first time this season.  A well weighted through ball by Carl McManus put Steven one-on-one where he smartly finished low and hard.  There was still time for Michael Creane to score after good play down the left by Adam Watson, Carl McManus and Dale Finlay.  The seventh and final goal was scored by substitute Dale Finlay, smartly latching on to a rebounded effort.

Special thanks go to Chris Harte and Ryan Cherry for umpiring the game.  Man of the match was Ryan Agnew.