SECOND BATTLE FOR DESERVED WIN
BANBRIDGE 2NDs 14 Portadown 2  5 
January 3, 2009

Barney McKevitt kicks ahead

Bann Seconds entertained their Portadown counterparts in an early kick off at Rifle Park before the Senior teams’ fixture. The game started at a furious rate with the Portadown pack showing early intentions of strong running and driving from their forwards.

After a few initial surges in the centre of the park, it became apparent that the Bann team were capable of holding off what the visitors had to throw at them, with a very solid defence allowing no major breakthrough. As the game progressed Bann were able to force the play more and more, and they looked dangerous when they had ball in hand.

After 20 minutes Banbridge forced a couple of penalties off the opposition as they tried deal with the home pack, and on each occasion out-half Jeff Dodds sent the forwards up the line into the Portadown “22”. It was from a subsequent lineout that Bann gained possession and made their way towards the line with a couple of controlled drives. Andrew Davidson finally picked the ball up from a ruck and used his strength, supported by Kessler, to power over the line and give Bann a deserved 5-0 lead.

The remainder of the half saw both teams attempt unsuccessfully to punch holes in their opponents’ defensive lines, but to no avail, although Bann would be more disappointed as they were playing most of the rugby in the opposition’s half.

One of the few forays into the Bann half saw an unsuccessful penalty attempt from a Bann indiscretion. As the half drew to a close Bann were reduced to 14 men when Jordan Weir had to leave the field with a nose injury. Following a re-shuffle in the back line Bann belied their numerical disadvantage by increasing their lead from a Dodds penalty on the “22” metre line.

On the stroke of half time Andy Brown was harshly yellow-carded for failing to roll away after the tackle - a rough decision given that it was evident he was attempting to get away. Bann reached half time with their lead intact, but knowing that the first 10 minutes of the second half would be challenging.

Bann set off from the re-start towards the Portadown line, and quickly forced a penalty by the retreating defence, with Dodds making no mistake to further extend their lead to 11-0.

The team’s delight at going further ahead was short lived, as the referee saw fit to hand a yellow card to Davidson, leaving the home team with 12 players for a period of 6 minutes. That proved too great a handicap and the visitors were able to take advantage by running in an unconverted try.
Frustration seemed to creep in because no sooner had Brown returned to the fray than McKevitt fell victim to another strange decision and he joined Davidson in the “bin”. This meant a further period for the Bann players to dig deep, and this they duly did, with well-disciplined defensive lines snuffing out any attacking threat from the visitors.

But the attacking momentum had been lost and even on their return to 14 men they were unable to string together any cohesive movements. They did enough to win another penalty opportunity which Dodds tucked away to end the visitors’ challenge, with the remainder of the game played out mainly in the Portadown half.

Overall this was a frustrating game, as any build-up to this week’s Junior Cup quarter-final was spoilt by the players’ failure to adapt to the referee’s quirky interpretation of the Laws. On a positive note, the team responded well to having only 12 men on the park for periods with an impressive defensive display. Two players who stood out were Peter Irvine on his first game at full-back and also Jonny Weir at hooker.

Jonny Weir in possession

Davidson scores with the help of Kessler