Larne held to a Draw at home to Bangor

This fixture was the 2nd time these sides had meet and both squads had made significant changes, most notably in the Larne back line which featured no more than zero forwards.

As has become common practice in the past few games the home side began strongly from the off, with S. McDowell leading the attack from the kick-off.

Larne dominated the play until an opportunistic hack through by Bangor opened the way for a foot race for Bangor to score. Murray and McAlister got there first in defence but an unfortunate collision between the two allowed the visitors to retrieve the ball and score under the posts.

The Glynn men fought back hard, pushing Bangor back against their own line time and time again but a spirited Bangor defence stood firm. Still the home side turned up the pressure and we rewarded when Stephen Johnston sold a trademark dummy to set up Larne's first score.

From there Larne found their mojo and the backs turned on the flair.

Marshall again resorted to his sleight of hand trickery, keeping the opponents (and sometimes his own side) guessing as to who was getting the ball and where. This tactic allowed him to sneak his way through the defence and free Alan Murray to score Larne’s second.

Bangor pulled back a penalty to level the scores at half time to 10-10.

Mistakes began to creep into the home side’s play in the second half.

Again they blasted away at Bangor but couldn’t find the finishing touch to give them the points. Stephen Marshall thought he had we he drove for the line and ended up with the ball on the whitewash early in the half but the referee ruled double movement and the try was disallowed.

Then it was Stephen Johnston’s turn, in what seemed like an almost certain score he crashed over the line with defenders in tow and touched down but the referee ruled knock-on.

The back line produced the third try shortly after, with Aston, Blair and Murray breaking through the line again and Murray finishing it all off.

Bangor, sensing the mounting frustration, sought to gain the advantage. A quick turnaround from the back of a ruck caught the Larne defence with their trousers down and the scrumhalf ran in an easy 5 points under the posts which they duly converted for Bangor to take 15-17 lead.

Larne, understandably, a little put out by this, stepped up another gear.

The pack became a battering ram against the opposition, whilst the backs provided the next position for next assault. The ball found its way into the hands of William Rea and by this stage he was angry, and you wouldn't like him when he’s angry. In true Hulk fashion he smashed his way through the Bangor line from 10 metres out to score beside the posts and the home side added the conversion to take a slim 22-17 lead.

The remaining time was filled with tense play, Larne pushing to hold onto their lead and Bangor striving to get the all-important next try. In disbelief, the Glynn defenders watched the referee play on, from not one but two seemingly obvious knock-ons from either side, the result of which saw Bangor grabbing the final try of the game out on the left.

Taking the score to 22-22, Bangor only needed the conversion to retake the lead with 5 minutes left to play. In a let off for Larne, the out-half pushed his kick wide.

The last few minutes were played out in the centre of the pitch, both sides tired and unable to get a foothold in opposition territory in order to unleash a final attack. It was a hard fought game from Bangor and a disappointing draw from Larne’s perspective given the 2 disallowed tries.

Some beautiful flowing rugby to watch from both sides made it an enjoyable game to watch for the neutral spectator.

Line-up: J. Butler, Stephen Johnston(c), D. McCann, R. Jones, W. Rea, S. McAllister, S. McDowell, Stuart Johnston, J. O’Toole, S. Marshall, J. Shirley, C. Aston, A. Murray, I. Railton, B. Blair, Joseph Johnston, D. Robinson, B. Meikle