After a successful Saturday’s work in the Steel and Sons Cup fourth round this weekend, Bangor’s attentions switch back to the Premier Intermediate League as the players, coaches and supporters brace for this mid-week match-up with PSNI. With a 7:45pm kick-off under the Clandeboye Park floodlights, the Seasiders enter with high hopes of improving the season’s points tally to 16 points out of a possible 18 in a clash they will go into as favourites on paper.
Such a tag will not wear on the players’ minds, though. With a positive streak of four wins on the spin established, there is no appetite to relinquish that streak in what has been a near-flawless October so far. A strong start to the campaign in league and cup is vital, and with the Yellows atop the table ahead of kick-off tonight, that is all the more motivation to deliver a resolute, confident display.
17 days on from Bangor’s last league match, a 5-0 rout of Armagh City on home soil, the second of two this month is now upon us.
11th-placed PSNI are the visitors to Clandeboye Park for this Tuesday encounter. They, like the Eagles, are in pursuit of a first victory of the season in the third-tier, claiming one draw from their first five fixtures.
If the name sounds familiar to you, you are not mistaken. This is the team of the Police Service of Northern Ireland, and they are in their second successive Premier Intermediate campaign following their relegation from the second-tier Championship in the curtailed 2019/20 season. An Irish League mainstay and a 94-year old footballing institution – initially known as the RUC before the police service changed its name to the PSNI around the turn of the millennium – they are not to be taken lightly.
A point claimed in a goalless stalemate with Banbridge Town interjected defeats to Moyola Park (2-6), Dollingstown (6-0), Queen’s University (3-2) and Limavady United (1-2), but recent close-knit defeats to the latter two outfits imply the south Belfast side’s fortunes could be on the up.
Indeed, they brought in a couple of Seasiders in the summer window. Reserves captain last season Ben Gordon – and son of Bangor assistant Dean – had an arguable career-high year for the Under-20s from right back, while highly-rated midfielder Louis Blackstock featured in Lee Feeney’s first-team fold and often showcased his technical qualities.
Under the tutelage of Glenn Taggart since January 2020, the Carrick Rangers icon with over 20 years and 500 appearances under his belt for the Amber Army has navigated the Police throughout their third-tier exploits.
It has not always been plain-sailing, including the Covid-enforced blow of a drop-down before he could even truly settle in, but the former captain of his hometown club has taken on his record of mentoring youngsters on the pitch and translated it to improving them from the touchline and in training.
Such that when PSNI visited Clandeboye Park early last term with a side missing many of their first-team regulars, they were within minutes of claiming Bangor’s scalp on matchday two before a late turnaround saw the Seasiders take all three points and preserve a winning start.
Fielding a youthful unit, the Police took the lead with 18 minutes gone in that September 2021 tie, and it was not until the 89th minute that the Yellows answered back with a leveller. Ben Arthurs stroked home in the final 120 seconds of regulation, before the line-leader delivered an added-time dagger to the visitors’ hearts as he secured the hosts total spoils with virtually the last kick.
On the 21st September, Bangor prevailed more routinely over similar opponents in the County Antrim Shield first round, as first-half finishes from Reece Neale and Michael Halliday assured them their last-eight spot with a 2-0 victory.
Should Arthurs find the net in this clash, he would become the first Seasider to hit double-digits in all competitions this season.
The fan favourite has five assists to add to his nine goals this term, and his partnership with Adam Neale up top is gelling in double-quick time. Recent arrival Neale struck his fifth goal in four matches in the weekend’s Ashfield joust against Glentoran II, and recorded his second assist for the club by delivering an inch-perfect cross for his strike-partner to open the scoring in an eventual 0-3 victory.
Adam’s brother Reece has a visibly keen eye for goal too, and interluded the main marksmen’s finishes with a delightful first-time effort for his fourth of the season and second in the last three.
There was little to be downbeat about from a Seasiders point of view, but the concerning scenes of Jamie Glover’s injury at the end mean he is a serious doubt for this Tuesday’s match. The attacking midfielder suffered an ankle blow in the 89th-minute while making a back-post run and hobbled off awkwardly, therefore he is unlikely to be risked.
That victory was also one game too soon for front duo Scott McArthur and Jordan Hughes, while Ethan Boylan is also still nursing a knock.
Feeney may also be tempted to switch things around a bit in his team selection also, since an important Irish Cup third round tie with Belfast Celtic awaits on Saturday afternoon. The month of October started and will end at Glen Road Heights, and given the banana skin feel about the first iteration in the Steel and Sons Cup third stage, the Seasiders chief could still have one eye cast to then.
Depending on the margin of victory amid a full programme of third-tier outings this mid-week, Bangor could remain on top of the table. They will be casting their glance towards Ballymacash Rangers’ derby with Lisburn Distillery – quite literally, as the full match is being broadcast live on NIFL’s YouTube channel – but the players’ focus will be fully on the here and now. It is a big day in the Premier Intermediate early-season, and it presents a chance to build ground on second-placed Cash if the Whites can prevent their hosts taking maximum points at the Bluebell as the Seasiders did a month ago.
| PIL MD 6 | 25/10/22 | |
| Armagh City | v | Banbridge Town |
| Ballymacash Rangers | v | Lisburn Distillery |
| Dollingstown | v | Queen’s University |
| Limavady United | v | Portstewart |
| Moyola Park | v | Tobermore United |
It is the first mid-week match the club have contested since the 0-4 defeat to Annagh United in the League Cup first round in mid-September, and for there being simultaneous continental action in the Champions League, some live football in the flesh is sure to bring a buzz about the place – no less being under the bright lights.
PSNI, meanwhile, will enter hoping to be fired up by the occasion. They want to atone for an early Intermediate Cup elimination, losing the Saturday before last to Amateur League Division 1B side Portaferry Rovers on spot-kicks, while a first-hurdle exit at Comber Rec’s hands in the Irish Cup and a League Cup preliminary stage loss to Distillery rank as further disappointments to add to a second-round Steel and Sons Cup knock-out by Ballymacash.
Bangor will again want to be at their professional best to ensure no unwelcome shocks are on the cards.
Featured image from Sarah Harkness.
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