A busy month of September awaits the Seasiders, with six matches spread across five fronts. There is the County Antrim Shield (Cliftonville), Steel and Sons Cup third stage (Belfast Celtic), Irish Cup second round (Strabane Athletic) and League Cup first level (Annagh United) to contest.
There are also two Premier Intermediate League fixtures, with a trip on the further horizon to the Bluebell to face newly-promoted Ballymacash Rangers. More imminently, however, is the visit of Dollingstown to Clandeboye Park this Saturday.
It’s a meet of two of the three teams on 100% league records so far – Ballymacash are the other – and thus it should present another tough test after facing a Limavady United side tipped to again be in promotion contention.
The Dollybirds secured an emphatic 4-0 win over Armagh City last weekend to add to an away 1-4 victory over Banbridge Town on their league opener. Dale Malone, Mark McCabe, Callum Ferris and Daniel Gordon hit one apiece as they dispatched the Holm Park outfit in unerring fashion, while McCabe, Ferris and Gordon all also hit the target in the defeat of Town at Crystal Park the previous week.
Stephen Uprichard’s side are not to be taken lightly by anyone. They secured a top-half finish last season and are aspiring to push on upwards.
They also beat Ballymacash in the League Cup preliminary stage to put themselves in the hat for the first round. Their reward is a visit to a Premiership team, making the short trip across to Mourneview Park to play Gary Hamilton’s Glenavon.
They have also progressed in the Irish Cup. It was a banana skin first round overall for third-tier sides, with half the league’s representatives being eliminated, but they were not one of them. They saw off Larne Tech O.B. by a slender 1-0 scoreline, and face lower-tier opposition again in Lisburn Rangers in the second stage.
Based in a small settlement a stone’s throw from Lurgan, Dollingstown have undeniably not been short of will and character.
Founded in 1979 and admitted into the Mid Ulster Football League – continuing to play in the Mid Ulster Cup to this day – recent times have seem them elevated to new heights.
They have been a Premier Intermediate League mainstay in the past half-decade, ensuring themselves of a revered intermediate reputation with five Mid Ulster League title-winning campaigns between 2009 and 2018 and Intermediate Cup glory as a third-tier side in 2020.
Uprichard, the touchline figurehead since 2016 – a longer-term appointment also akin to his predecessor Gary Duke who spent a decade at Planters Park from 2006 – has led the club to some of their all-time great moments.
They’ve had only three managers this millennium. On the sideline before Duke was Hubert Watson, who served in this role for seven years from 1999.
Watson is now in a boardroom role. He is the club chairman. One can interpret this belief in long-term commitment and trust as a foundation behind why Dollingstown are where they are. A club with a vision that goes beyond immediate results, keeping faith that they will deliver.
Finishing last term in 6th-place in the Premier Intermediate League, their aspiration is for a higher placing this season. They have started on the front foot, and will not be expected to show any less desire to win on Saturday. In this fixture last season, McCabe’s 11th-minute penalty proved enough for the visitors to take the three points in late February.
One point worth making is that these were three fixtures Bangor all tasted defeat in at some point last term. For the Seasiders to atone by taking maximum spoils and setting the season off on the front foot with a fifth successive win, making up nine points up that they dropped last time around, it should inspire a lot of energy among the collective.
All the more confidence-boosting it would be – with the focus then switching to progressing in the cups – if they could also secure a fifth clean sheet in a row against a team that has hit four in consecutive matchdays as well.
The boys in blue and gold certainly showed resolve to see through that victory at the Limavady Showgrounds. There were efforts that could have been converted to extend the lead, and although unlike in the Greenisland and Distillery matches where these opportunities were ruthlessly converted where they fell, that these chances were still created at high-volume is a positive to account and it hopefully implies that it can be carried over into the games to come.
Equally significant is that the defence still held largely firm. That area was further boosted on Irish League deadline day with Seanna Foster.
A right-sided defender who can play as a fullback in a four or a wingback in a five, the 25-year-old has been recruited on a season-long loan deal.
The player has already trained with his new teammates, and Bangor managed to fend off interest from clubs in higher divisions to secure his services – including, sources tell, an 11th-hour bid from an unnamed top-flight team.
He is in contention to debut against Dollingstown, adding to the strength in depth of the squad, however it is expected he will not to be eligible to face his parent club in the County Antrim Shield next Tuesday evening.
“Delighted to get started and help the club kick on this season!” tweeted Foster once the deal had been made official.
Highly-rated by supporters of the Reds for his work-rate and endeavour, as well as for being defensively-strong and a consistent player who rarely delivers a bad performance, this capture of a Premiership-calibre talent looks a bright one. It has been a strong window for the Seasiders, and Foster is looked on as a cherry on top.
Manager Lee Feeney said as much about his new recruit, explaining how delighted he was to get it over the line in Thursday’s County Down Spectator.
“Seanna is an absolutely fantastic signing for us,” he said.
“Full credit to the club for making it happen because there is no doubt we are getting a Premiership-quality player on our hands.
“He has been at Warrenpoint Town, Linfield and Cliftonville and has played a lot of top-level football.
“I have a really good relationship with people at Cliftonville and when we spoke about Seanna it was clear he wanted to go out and play first-team football.
“He has been training hard three nights a week with Cliftonville so he comes to us in great shape and can hit the ground running while offering us so much on the pitch.”
The last statement is no hiding of Feeney’s intent to place his new recruit into competitive action from the outset. Here’s to hoping that if he features in his lineup at the weekend, he contributes to another positive outcome.
Elsewhere, it was an excellent start to the season for Bangor’s Under-13 team, who achieved a 3-2 win over Warrenpoint Town’s equivalents in the Subway NIBFA National League.
Bangor are also looking for new recruits to the Under-11 side. The team, who trains on Mondays and Wednesdays between 5:30 and 6:30pm and compete in the South Belfast Youth Football League (SBYFL), welcome squad-bolstering from players born in 2012 and 2013. If you are interested to play for a top outfit with quality coaching and guidance, you can email academy@bangorfc.com.
Also, the club is delighted to announce the expansion of the women’s section, with the Girls Academy.
There will be four taster sessions – on Sundays the 11th, 18th and 25th September as well as the 2nd October – between 11:30am and 12:30pm each day. Applications are open to all girls born between 2011 and 2015, and you can find out more by emailing girlsacademy@bangorfc.com.
This is an exciting new development in what has been a massive year for the Ladies sector, and we would welcome your involvement to be part of a bright new era in this regard.
Featured image from Gary Carson.
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