Bangor vs Strabane Athletic preview: Feeling good going into the Intermediate Cup

Fresh from securing a semi-final spot in the Steel and Sons Cup last Saturday, Bangor have their only home game of the month this weekend where Strabane Athletic will hope to present as stern opposition. The sides have already met this season, when the Seasiders knocked the border club out of the Irish Cup at the second stage two months ago, and now both are ready to square up for a rematch in the Intermediate Cup second round.

That 4-0 victory on the 17^th September was remarkably the Yellows’ last cup clash at home before this one. A schedule dominated by away draws, there has been a dearth of home comforts, and most supporters will simply be satisfied to see their team take to the Clandeboye Park turf once more. The faithful will enter expectant to witness a job akin to that earlier win, and it poses some intriguing questions as to how boss Lee Feeney will set his side up with two major tests on the immediate horizon also.

Last week, Bangor did not stress much in ensuring their place in the Seaview extravaganza that is the Steel semi-finals.

An early penalty converted by Ben Arthurs was followed by a 35-minute hat-trick by Adam Neale in the second half, and despite a contentious goal award that wiped out the clean sheet much to the annoyance of those in yellow, the Seasiders displayed no nerves in taking home a 1-4 victory against Albert Foundry at Paisley Park.

Dating back to that success over Strabane nine weeks prior, it was the Yellows’ eighth win in the previous nine matches. It is also the club’s seventh win on the spin – a season-high streak – with a perfect five-from-five in October followed up by double delight to begin November. There is a lot to be pleased about right now, and a confident and high-spirited mood exists in the camp at present.

Neale’s ninth goal in his first six matches in yellow and blue mean that, adding in a brilliant assist for Arthurs at Ashfield against Glentoran II in the Steel last-16, he is averaging a goal involvement every 48 minutes.

24-year-old Arthurs is not far behind him. A spot-kick that he himself won and stepped up to convert, making it two from two on the penalty count, that is his 17^th direct goal contribution already this term – 11 goals and six assists – which makes for a rate of 55 minutes per strike or set-up.

It will have concerned Feeney to see the Kircubbin man hobble off prematurely, substituted for Michael Halliday on 23 minutes, but the relationship between his first-choice strike-pair seems to be bringing the best out of both individually. That Halliday was able to come on and contribute two assists for Neale also speaks to the expansive depth the Clandeboye chief still has at his disposal.

One speculates whether Feeney will use his full-strength panel this week knowing Bangor’s last-four date in the Steel dream is just four sleeps away.

Newly-promoted Ballymacash Rangers are the opposition on the Shore Road in north Belfast next Tuesday. The current third-tier leaders, they are a point ahead of the Seasiders having played a game more, and in the sides’ battle at the Bluebell at September’s tail end, it took a 94^th-minute debut leveller from Neale for the visitors to secure a share of the spoils.

That 1-1 draw against Lee Forsythe’s men, combined with Feeney’s unflinching personal desire to win this cup, surely points to the Kilkeel leader availing of as strong a team as he can on Tuesday.

The first time the Yellows faced fourth-flight team Strabane was on the back of a double-header at home to Cliftonville and Annagh United in the respective County Antrim Shield and League Cup first rounds.

On that occasion, the hosts seized the initiative early, when Jordan Hughes and Tom Mathieson had opened a two-goal cushion within the first 15 minutes. Their respective first goals of the season were followed up by second half finishes from Arthurs and Scott McArthur, putting the seal on a confident win.

Were it not for a few sublime saves by visiting shot-stopper Jack Boggs, the scoreline could have read more. That said, no two games are the same, and Feeney will trust his players to keep the same exceptional mentality that has guided the club through this purple patch.

It has been rare to see the manager opt for like-for-like line-ups in successive games, and how the side shapes up presents food for thought.

As well as the Ballymacash bout – earning a last-four date for the first time in their history, courtesy of a 0-2 win at a Crewe United outfit comprising former Clandeboye fan favourites Gerard McMullan and Jack Wasson – Bangor must also keep tabs on Limavady United in the Irish Cup fourth round next Saturday. The Cash will be buoyed by the occasion, while the Lims, who recently parted company with head coach Andrew Law, were a top-half team and promotion rival of the Seasiders last term.

As a matter of fact, Strabane turned heads with a sensational 6-7 victory at the Limavady Showgrounds in the Craig Memorial Cup quarter-finals, while also upsetting Championship unit Dergview at Darragh Park in the interluding time since their last trip here.

The star man of the side once again is five-capped former Northern Ireland international Rory Patterson, a 41-goal striker at the peak of his powers during an unforgettable 2009/10 season with Coleraine.

The Bannsiders hero struck 30 in the Premiership – one of only three players, alongside Cliftonville’s Joe Gormley and Portadown title-winning hero Vinny Arkins, to achieve such a single-season feat this millennium – and ensured he had Nigel Worthington’s attention by the time the ex-Sheffield Wednesday legend was ready to name his national team panel.

Debuting against Albania and going on to score once across his quintet of appearances, the now-38-year-old Patterson will be keen to emulate his display at Limavady with another goal this weekend.

The hometown hero wound up as an unused substitute in his capacity as player-manager at Clandeboye Park last time, but he put on evidence his penchant for doing damage against the Roesiders.

A relatively new force to the Northern Irish game having been founded only 12 years ago, to have the benefit of a man who also counts Linfield, Glentoran, Crusaders, Dungannon Swifts and Derry City among his former clubs – not mentioning several others like Rochdale and Plymouth Argyle across the water – is a sure-fire asset.

The hosts enter hotly fancied to advance, but both the players and management have put on evidence a canny ability to keep themselves grounded regardless of what scale of test lies in wait.

Feeney was full of praise for Neale – whose brother and vice-captain Reece is nearing a return having been on the treatment table for the past few weeks – after the Foundry win. He also saluted the array of strikers he has at his disposal who can lead Bangor forward.

“I’ve never seen a player like it, he never beats himself up, he doesn’t get frustrated, he’ll go right to the 90th minute without doing silly runs or shouting at team-mates because he hasn’t scored, and then all of a sudden he’ll pop up and score,” he told the Belfast Telegraph.

“And I haven’t seen someone like that in a long, long time, he’s just got a really good gift of finishing, and of being in the right place at the right time.

“And he has worked hard at it, he’s been doing a lot of off-the-pitch homework on movement and he’s really taking it serious this season, and it’s showing because he has scored in near enough every game he has played.

“So he’s taken a lot of pressure off big Ben (Arthurs), now we’ve got Adam there, we’ve also got Jordan Hughes, he was playing for the Reserves yesterday (Saturday), he’s probably our most talented player at the club but he’s been out for two years with some bad injuries, but he’s just coming back – and then obviously Michael (Halliday).”

Hughes scored for the Reserves in the tie Feeney alludes to, a 2-1 win over Knockbreda at Clandeboye Park, and his well-placed low strike against Strabane where he displayed alertness to latch onto a loose back-pass is his only senior goal of the season so far.

A former Premier Intermediate Player of the Year with Dundela prior to joining Bangor in January 2022, there are high hopes that the best of the 30-year-old is still to come. He recently returned from injury to make a five-minute cameo at Belfast Celtic the week before last, having hobbled off in the first meet with Albert Foundry in mid-October, and his appearance for the Under-20s will have inspired confidence.

He is primed for a first senior start since that Foundry encounter this Saturday, likely alongside Neale or Halliday.

Others absent over recent times include captain Lewis Harrison, Ethan Boylan, Tom Mathieson, Jamie Glover and David Hume. Youngster Callum Mills also suffered a new injury, however it is considerably less serious than the first one he sustained in August that kept him out for the best part of two months.

There is good news to report this week, as all of Harrison, Glover and Hume are close to returns and could see minutes handed to them ahead of the Cash bout, while Ryley D’Sena played the full match against Foundry as he continues his eased return to first-team action.

“He’s just got a really good gift of finishing”

Lee Feeney on Adam Neale after his hat-trick last weekend

Hume and D’Sena have been important parts of a steely defence, which all at the club are taking great pride in at present.

“We’ve brought Ryan Arthur back, John Boyle has been unbelievable — with his experience being promoted five times in the NIFL league, three with Newry and two with Warrenpoint — big James Taylor in nets,” Feeney continued.

“So that was an important part of the pitch we needed to improve. Last year, I felt myself and the team were inexperienced, and I remember the time we got beat by Knockbreda (the 4-2 aggregate play-off defeat), I jumped straight into the car, got on the phone to the chairman (Graham Bailie) and said, ‘Look, I know what we need for next year’.

“And I feel with all our clean sheets, we’ve made great additions at the back.”

Getting some more momentum in with victory over Strabane this week would be welcome. An eighth win in succession and a 13^th clean sheet of the season is something few in the camp will complain about.

Elsewhere this weekend, the Reserves face a long trip inland as they prepare to play Drumquin United in the third round of the Junior Cup on Saturday. They traverse to the Co Tyrone venue hoping to make such a lengthy journey worth it with a good result to get them to stage four, with kick-off scheduled for 1:30pm.

Also, make sure you get online and purchase tickets for next Tuesday’s battle with Ballymacash at Seaview. The link is up on the Crusaders website, with a bracket set at a very reasonable £6 adult price and £4 for concessions to support the Seasiders. Those present at last year’s semi-final against Newington will testify, in spite of a bitter 5-3 extra time defeat, to what a spectacular occasion it is. Equally, if you prefer, you can buy tickets at the gate, which is usually the entrance on St Vincent Street.

The way the players have performed this season and the dedication with which they have went about their duties, they deserve every drop of support the city can give them. Let’s get Seaview rocking and make it an occasion to remember in every sense of the word.

This week’s ’20 Questions’ is up for you to read, this week concerning long-serving Bangor goalkeeper Darren Gibbons.

A player who has seen all of the recent highs and lows of the club’s journey, his insights are always worth reading.

Meanwhile, Bangor are delighted to this week announce a new sponsorship deal with Life Expert, who will sponsor the training kit of the Under-13 SBYL squad going forward.

Finally, this week is Anti-Bullying Week, and the We Care, You Matter team at Bangor has worked tirelessly to deliver several initiatives this week to promote this important theme. The Under-15s wore odd socks to show their support, while the Girls Academy were the subject of a brief video message to reinforce their backing of anti-bullying awareness.

Check out the wellbeing team’s account (@BangorFCComm on Twitter) and the main Bangor FC social media feeds across Twitter, Facebook and Instagram to see the ways the club has been supporting this.

Featured image from Gary Carson.

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