Bangor win local derby
North Down travelled to the Aurora Centre in Bangor in a confident mood for the first Premier League game of the season but returned home disappointed following a 5-1 defeat.
The first quarter saw both sides probe for openings. North Down had two great chances to go in front. The first following a goal mouth melee when the incoming forwards failed to make contact and Bangor cleared the danger and the second when an overhead pass from Andy McGimpsey found Gareth McKeown free at top of the circle but his effort went wide. Bangor broke from the back and the North Down defence failed to pick up Burgess who broke into the circle and scored with a reverse shot.
The second quarter followed a similar pattern. Bangor created the best chance when a cross from the right found the centre forward in front of goal but his poor touch saw the ball go over the byline to safety. Bangor were happy to defend deep and rely on the long overhead pass to put the North down defence under pressure. At the other end, North Down won two corners but Fynn’s effort from the first was well saved by the Bangor keeper and the second failed to get a shot on target.
In the third quarter North Down pressed hard for the equaliser. They were awarded a penalty when the keeper fouled McKeown in front of goal. The same player stepped up only to see his effort crash off the crossbar to safety. Bangor quickly went to the other end and poor defending allowed them to score a simple goal when the forward had a tap in. At this stage North Down did not deserve to be two goals behind. Their pressure saw them win a series of corners and from one of these McKeown pulled a goal back. Just before the end of the quarter Bangor won their first corner and Burgess scored with a strong flick.
North Down felt they still had a chance and came out with all guns firing but it was Bangor who took control. North Down despite their possession were unable to break down a well organised defence and struggled to cope with the long overhead clearances. It was from one of these clearances that Bangor won three more corners two of which resulted in goals and the third required a fine double save from Darren Rodgers to clear his lines.
A disappointing result for North Down. Bangor deserved their victory as they were more clinical with their finishing and Burgess proved a match winner with his penalty corner strikes .However Bangor were not four goals better and North Down must show more composure when given good possession in the circle.
Burch Autos Man of the Match was Jonny Linter.
