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The Fifth XL match at S.Antrim last Saturday was a
distinct game of
contrasts. The home side took the field with an experienced group of
personnel. Bangor had a healthy complement of schoolboys. Two Bangor
players had a combined age of 100- the schoolboys a combined age of
107 !!
The main contrast was however in experience. S.Antrim benefited from
theirs early on to move into what proved to be an unassailable lead.
Bangor are just beginning to develop their pool of expertise.
From the outset the home side were the more assured. Indeed , in
almost their first forward foray they took the lead, a strong cross
evading keeper Craig at the far post.
Suitably buoyed by this, s.antrim surged forward, exerting
considerable pressure on the visiting defence. Dornan, sweeping, was
repeatedly called upon to intervene but there was one too many Antrim
break on the right and a neat cross was duly converted.
At this stage , Bangor did not offer much by way of forward threat.
Too often the ball was not moved forward quickly enough and when it
did reach the front players there was not enough variety of movement
to unduly trouble the home defence There were occasional bursts from
Wilson and McNulty but there was no Bangor shot on goal in the first
half. As the second half began, there were signs that the visitors
were beginning to establish a pattern to their play. The defence was
displaying more coherence, Martin and Morris eliminating space on
either flank. Porter in the midfield was having more of the ball and
his earlier distribution set the platform for a number of attacks.
Before this play brought reward, the home side extended their lead.
Then Bangor responded, a neat move on the right involving Dunn, Gray
and Mount resulting in Wilson collecting the ball mid circle. His turn
was quick and the flick accurate . 3-1.
Bangor enjoyed a fair amount of possession in the following ten
minutes, their forward play bringing more of a threat. The industrious
Gray created space on a number of occasions, with Taylor and McManus
supporting well. But , in the final ten minutes, Bangor tired. In
tiring, they lost their positional discipline and carried the ball too
far on too many an occasion. The home side , wily to the end
capitalised, breaking on three occasions to leave the final score at
6-1.
A somewhat harsh scoreline from a performance which offered signs of
what might be for the 5ths
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