The value of the substitute. A theme that, following the top-of-the-table battle between Ballymacash Rangers and Bangor on Saturday, will resonate with both sides. It was an ever-engaging affair that remained goalless until two strikers brought in from the bench made match-defining impacts.
From the Seasider standpoint, it is always going to be tense and nervy when the floodgates open late in the day and a scramble to respond ensues. A debutant line-leader whose signing was only confirmed well after transfer deadline day made the wait worthwhile, and he ensured that gameday honours were split with the last meaningful kick.
What started as an overcast afternoon in west Lisburn grew into a boiling one when the cloud cover lessened as the hours endured. While the sun hanged and glared overhead at the Bluebell Stadium, it at least beat the torrential downpour seen in some recent Bangor matches like the home County Antrim Shield contest with Cliftonville.
Lee Feeney’s team selection featured two alterations from last Saturday’s 4-0 win over Strabane Athletic in the Irish Cup.
Reece Neale was reinstated to the starting side while Scott McArthur kept up his record of playing in every game so far this season. The latter, after three features from the bench in a row, was in the XI for the first time since the 3-0 Premier Intermediate League game 3 victory over Dollingstown at the month’s start.
Jamie Glover and Jordan Hughes dropped to the bench. As had been revealed in the week, there was a first matchday squad inclusion for new arrival Adam Neale, as Bangor’s new number 19 also featured among Feeney’s substitute panel.
In a match both teams would have wanted to start front-footed, that’s just about what we got after referee Richard White blew his whistle for kick-off at 1pm sharp.
Ballymacash got the ball rolling and did not delay in getting it forward, as a long ball right to Justin Armstrong was well-blocked by a recovering Neale to force a corner. Following that, a Bangor break saw McArthur’s cut-back across goal beaten away by the legs of Cash shot-stopper Brian Neeson.
That was all within the first 120 seconds of the fixture. An end-to-end opening was not really to continue though, as the Yellows started to enjoy more of the chances.
Ryan Arthur pulled towards the back-post from a right-sided corner on 13 minutes, heading low but directing the ball just the wrong side of the left post. On 17 minutes, McArthur struck high towards the top right but his floated shot narrowly rose above the cross of post and bar.
Neale came closer still on the 22nd minute. While his older brother is more renowned for finding the net – Adam struck 40 for Rathfriland Rangers last season – a laid-off free kick routine not uncommonly seen this term saw the left back take Karl Devine’s short pass. He fired a fizzing attempt from 25 yards and struck with power and placement on his stronger left foot, but agonisingly saw his shot strike the left-hand post and divert away.
On 34 minutes, Neale turned provider of a delectable cross which Ben Arthurs rose high to connect to. From a few yards out, had he been able to direct his header towards the corners, it surely would have broke the deadlock. Alas this is always easier said than done, and ex-Ards keeper Neeson was relieved to claim the Kircubbin man’s centred effort.
The hosts kept Zach Barr up top as the main focal-point, but the defensive line of three of David Hume, Arthur and John Boyle handled his physical presence well.
Bangor looked solid but when the scoreline is goalless, nothing is ever sealed. Boyle carried a yellow card too, after he and the Cash’s Stuart Clarke were booked by referee White after a fracas born out of frustration on 25 minutes.
By the time White signalled the half’s end, boundless activity had been witnessed from the sidelines.
The Seasiders had hitherto risen to the challenge promised by the league leaders. However, fresh in the knowledge would have been that Ballymacash have recently hit hard in the second halves of matches.
Seven of their 10 strikes in last week’s win over Bryansburn Rangers in the Irish Cup were in that stanza, while a three-goal blitz between the 48th and 51st minutes helped put them out of sight against Banbridge Town in late August. All three of their unanswered goals in Castledawson against Moyola Park were scored beyond the hour in their most recent league outing, so it can be said that they know how to flick on a switch.
Home manager Lee Forsythe made a like-for-like change at right back during the interval, as Curtis Woods replaced Thomas McComb. His namesake Feeney kept the visitors unchanged.
The second half restarted and Cash had the first major chance of the half, when Jack Smith’s inside-cut and cross from the right deflected off the top of the crossbar on 50 minutes. Feeney and Forsythe each acted to assert control, as Adam Neale replaced Tom Mathieson for Bangor and Guillaume Keke – another with prior Ards connections – took Barr’s spot up top for the hosts.
Spoiler alert: these re-adjusts would prove vital to both teams’ prospective fortunes.
Neale made his presence felt immediately. A 60th-minute shot-come-cross by Arthurs in what was now a strike-pairing was just a little too far out of new arrival’s reach, while on 63 minutes his first shot for the club was on target and stung a sprawling Neeson’s palms as he pushed his low attempt wide of his left post.
Both he and Keke seemed to add a new energy to the match. The latter’s mix of movement and upper-body strength helped hold the ball up and bring others into play, supporting the runs of a wing-attack strategy largely driven by the wingers.
With that, the red and white-striped hosts presented a new threat to the Bangor defence as they regularly got to the byline.
The Seasiders likewise were more of a threat from direct pieces of play, as Arthurs’ regular drops from the frontline were supported with a run behind. The end-to-end game it threatened to be with that first box-to-box attack now looked more like a reality.
| Other results | PIL match 4 | ||
| Dollingstown | 6 | 0 | PSNI |
| Limavady United | 1 | 1 | Banbridge Town |
| Lisburn Distillery | 1 | 2 | Tobermore United |
| Moyola Park | 3 | 0 | Armagh City |
| Queen’s University | 3 | 4 | Portstewart |
Two further subs from both head coaches were also decidedly impactful. Hughes replaced the lively McArthur, meaning that three recognised strikers were on the pitch for Bangor. Michael Moore meanwhile took Smith’s place – and did not delay in putting goalkeeper James Taylor under some long-awaited pressure.
The 37-year-old drew a save-of-the-season contender from the ex-Glenavon man, as he used every expanse of his reach to tip his header around his right-hand post for a corner on 80 minutes.
If that was excellence, then what followed from Taylor was pure poetry. The resulting flag-kick found a Ballymacash head, but the 38-year-old delightfully tipped the goal-bound shot onto the underside of the bar. From a Bangor viewpoint, it rebounded just the wrong side of the goalline and was frantically cleared away. A close shave.
On 83 minutes, a back-post aerial attempt from Moore once more was well-smothered by Taylor as he got low to stop it.
But just a minute later however, for the keeper’s heroics, the Cash did finally break the ice. The industry of Seanna Foster was again on show, and he did well to divert the ball beyond the byline for a corner, but the following take from the left found Keke amid a scramble and the French-born former Cliftonville, Larne, Carrick Rangers and Dundela forward prodded home.
The striker kept cool in a compact space to find the bottom right and put the Yellows (wearing blue) behind for the first time in league play this season.
It was up to the visitors to react. Feeney placed Dylan O’Kane in for Devine for his final change on 88 minutes before Hughes saw a fairly tame distance effort collected gratefully by Neeson around 60 seconds later. The hosts almost put it beyond doubt when Moore curled a left-footed shot off the same post Reece Neale struck in the first half, and from a similar distance at that.
There was at least time for one last real definitive intervention. Deeper and deeper the game got into added time. A ping sent from Hume and a flick-on header from auxiliary striker Arthur delivered Adam Neale the ball in stride. Four minutes gone of stoppage and surely the last opportunity to secure something from the Bluebell. With ice in his veins, Neale saw through to fire the ball low across goal into the bottom left. That was 1-1.
If it was cutting edge Feeney wanted, he certainly got it. The predatory instincts evidenced by his scoring rate at Rathfriland translated on day one. No sooner afterwards, White blew for full time.
A burst of speed and intensity off the ball could be seen in his game. He worked well with Arthurs to have a debut of dreams.
Cash turned up the heat – helped immeasurably in this sense by Keke and Moore – and it called on Taylor to be sharp and the backline to stay alert. Adam’s impact when the match hit boiling point was the cherry on top from the Seasider persuasion, a tough trip to the table-toppers yet still keeping the pace with them in the end.
It is clear the threat of Ballymacash Rangers is not going away. They are a team well-stocked in depth with difference-makers abound in their panel, and a draw is still not a result one suspects they will take for granted.
However, there was a lot to inspire confidence for Bangor. No less than that a new star has arrived in town.
Featured image from NIFL social media (please contact for photographer credit)
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