Saturday saw several weather-enforced fixture postponements across Northern Ireland, however it was business as usual for Bangor who travelled to the north coast to play Portstewart at Mullaghacall. One of only two third-tier matches to survive – the other outing being Armagh City’s hosting of close challengers Ballymacash Rangers at a foggy Holm Park – the Seasiders’ objective coming into what was a chilly venue would have been to take the three points and run.
Securing the spoils throughout this spell of the season has been singled out as a primary aim by manager Lee Feeney. No less than for building momentum both on the league front and ahead of the club’s biggest date in recent times, the Steel and Sons Cup final which is now less than a fortnight away. Thankfully, while it proved a tough trip as promised on a tricky playing surface, the Yellows came, saw and conquered in the end.
A build-up of frost and ice overnight naturally called for pitch inspections across the land on Saturday morning.
On what was meant to be a full programme of Premier Intermediate League clashes, four of the games – Banbridge Town against Tobermore United, Dollingstown versus Limavady United, Lisburn Distillery at home to PSNI and Queen’s University facing Moyola Park – fell victim to the harsh conditions.
The Eagles’ hosting of the Cash survived following the obligatory checks, but on first viewing of the terrain at Seahaven, it never felt like any reconsideration would be needed here.
Plenty of green visible and not a particle of frost in sight. Even the feared wind gusts had laid off, leaving just the typical cold feeling in the air that could be warmed off once the action got under way at this tight-knit hilltop location situated in the centre of a residential neighbourhood.
No change to the fixture’s arrangements, and not much change to Feeney’s lineup either. Just the one alteration in fact, as club captain Lewis Harrison re-entered the side having been absent from the matchday squad in last week’s nerve-shattering win away to Queen’s.
Aaron Harris made way for the skipper as the ex-Distillery stalwart dropped to the bench. When you find a formula that works, it makes little sense to overhaul, and continuity proved the order of things once more up north.
Portstewart, meanwhile, opted to start 17-year-old duo Conor Henry and Taylor McBride at goalkeeper and centre back respectively, while top scorer Ryan Doherty led the line through the middle for touchline-banned Johnny Law’s men.
Referee Jonathan Reid led the teams out and signalled for Jamie Glover to set the ball rolling at 2pm sharp. As it transpired, it would only be about 120 seconds or so before the sphere was back in the centre circle.
Setting the stall two minutes in, Michael Halliday dropped from the frontline and supplied a sublime lofted ball into the onrushing Seanna Foster’s path. The Cliftonville loanee had green grass in front of him and continued to foray towards the right byline before releasing a right-footed delivery across the face of goal.
Henry flapped at the 25-year-old’s cross but whatever fingertips he had got on the ball, they weren’t enough. Thanks to a mixture of palm and bar, it proved a fairly routine finish for Adam Neale by the back stick and the striker found the top left to put Bangor on the board.
With that, the elder Neale brother moves into outright top spot as the Seasiders’ highest goalscorer, bagging his 12th goal for the club in that move to give Ben Arthurs a target to chase when the Kircubbin man returns from injury. He has proved a revelation since his arrival from Rathfriland in September, finding the net in nine of his 10 appearances to date – and nor had the 29-year-old from Ballynahinch made his last say in this match-up either.
Bangor kept the pressure on, and came close on 14 minutes when a deflected free kick from younger sibling Reece fell kindly for John Boyle.
The 25-yard attempt found the former Newry City centre back, but such fortune in how he received the ball has not been reflected in his final shot.
It is not for the want of trying that he is still in pursuit of his first goal for the club, and on this occasion his rising goal-bound attempt was blocked by his own man, the unfortunate Glover. Adam Neale spun in the hope of firing in a rebounded attempt but could not trap the ball under his spell as Henry came out to claim.
On 17 minutes, a mix-up in defence yielded Portstewart’s leveller. As James Taylor stepped off his line to pick the ball up, a Port toe prodded the ball beyond the ex-Glenavon goalkeeper, with the resulting cut-back finding Doherty on the edge of the six-yard area from which the striker made no mistake.
David Hume had managed to hold the right-sided attacker off until the last, and as Bangor sought to re-adjust and block the subsequent interplay, a goal could not be prevented and the score was back even again.
The rest of the first half was a hard watch. It was not a pitch best optimised for ball-playing football, lots of bumps and bobbles that meant lofted plays from right to left were favoured for the next half-hour of play.
The visitors controlled possession, but save really for a shot on 22 minutes by Reece Neale – the most common target of these pinged switches – that was raised just over the bar from the left post, there was not a great deal of penetration as the hosts sat in a tight deeper block. The Seahawks set up to counter laterally, though this did not bring much trouble to Taylor either as the back-three kept their bearings right.
By the half’s end, it felt like some more invention was needed to create inroads and steal a march.
After one minute of additional time, Reid signalled for the interval. A time to deliberate and make a few tactical tweaks in order to open the opposition up.
“At this stage of the season, it’s all about getting the three points”
Lee Feeney
Still the cold encircled the ground, still the pitch did not soften.
It had that feel again – find a solution, deliver an answer, take the points and head home happy. It always had the feel of a tight affair in advance, and up to this point it had lived up to that billing.
Feeney left his troops unchanged, but there was a notable impetus on the second period’s restart to make things happen. It did not take long before a goal arrived.
Foster was again involved. This time, it was his alertness to a loose backward pass on 48 minutes that was rewarded.
The right wing-back’s change of pace came into the equation, accelerating in an attempt to beat Henry and connect, and as the teenage shot-stopper entered feet-first, he felled the former Linfield and Warrenpoint Town ace which brought the Seasiders their first second half spot-kick of the season.
A golden chance had presented itself, and for it being his first penalty shot of this term, there was little doubt Adam Neale would be the first in line to take it. If you believed his open-play prowess could not translate to efficiency from 12 yards, you were to be mistaken.
With 49 minutes gone, the 40-goal hero of an Amateur League and Intermediate Cup-winning Rathfriland team had struck 13 for an Irish League club. A number unlucky for some, but not for this man.
Henry dived correctly, but Neale’s kick was so far into the bottom left corner that he did not get any fingertips to it. Clean as a whistle and the pendulum swung back in Bangor’s favour.
The Yellows kept pushing on, and a third away goal was looking more probable than a second home leveller.
On 53 minutes, Harrison – still hunting his first goal this term – fizzed a 20-yarder along the ground towards goal from Halliday’s lay-off, though Henry had got down well to parry past his right-hand post. The resulting corner saw the visitors again come close, Dylan O’Kane’s searching delivery firstly cleared off the line before coming out to Hume by the right post, finding Adam Neale who poked it just wide of that same bottom left.
Another opportunity arose for Boyle in the 63rd minute, although the defender placed over from another O’Kane set-piece. The 24-year-old has appeared 20 out of a possible 21 times this season, well-trusted by Feeney and placed on corner duty where he has impressed recently. The former Ards and Dungannon Swifts midfielder found Ryan Arthur – like Boyle, a player hungry on the goal trail – with 72 minutes gone, but he too only just headed wide.
In between those two opportunities, the ball was in the net.
Harrison went one better than his earlier attempt on 66 minutes, reacting quickly to a clearance from Reece Neale’s deep free kick delivery with a clever looped header that nestled in the bottom right corner, only for the linesman’s flag to cut his celebrations short.
The offside – while a much disputed decision from the stand on the official’s near-side – appeared to be the correct call. It was not the Bangor captain who was flagged, nor in the first-phase when the ball was cleared, but rather Adam Neale, whose motion had been ruled to have been a genuine try to engage in play from behind the last defender.
A two-goal cushion would have settled the nerves, but three points count the same no matter how many you score. Protecting the lead in this circumstance will always be the priority, and the away unit’s defence wasn’t letting anything up.
Indeed, an 88th-minute interchange of the Neale duo was as close thereafter as either team got to a fourth of the day. Reece played infield to Adam from the inside-left, Adam played back to his brother and vice-captain Reece stung the palms of Henry with a first-time shot on his stronger left foot.
Full marks for game management from the Seasiders. Far less anxious than in south Belfast seven days prior.
And after a few minutes of additional time, the points were signed and sealed on the final few peeps of Reid’s whistle.
A fourth win in succession, a remarkable 11th victory in the last 12 dating back to the start of October and another resolute performance to back up a successful result. A goal or two more would not have flattered Bangor, but that the display was solid and the points were headed home on this 150-mile-round endeavour was enough for everyone who travelled.
Feeney said as much after the game: “At this stage of the season, it’s all about getting the three points,” he reiterated.
“Getting the performance is good but it’s about the points that move you up the table.”
| Premier Intermediate | 10/12/22 | ||
| Armagh City | 0 | 3 | Ballymacash Rangers |
| Banbridge Town | P | P | Tobermore United |
| Dollingstown | P | P | Limavady United |
| Lisburn Distillery | P | P | PSNI |
| Queen’s University | P | P | Moyola Park |
And with Ballymacash claiming victory in Armagh, as three second half goals did the trick for the west Lisburn outfit against Shea Campbell’s panel, keeping pace with the table-toppers by a point was a necessary and invaluable outcome from a Seasider persuasion.
Four one-goal victories in a row against stern adversaries away from home comforts is strong evidence of a team who have the resolve to see through testing game states. However, Feeney and the players will be desperate to put right what is now a run of one clean sheet in six, and in time seal a win by a more secure scoreline just to ease tensions.
Banbridge Town shall pose the next challenge. They are no mugs, winning 0-1 at Clandeboye Park around this time a year ago. Putting that result right next Saturday and staking a claim at topping the table ahead of that Christmas Eve Steel decider would not be unwelcome.
Meanwhile, Bangor Reserves fell to a narrow 0-1 defeat at home to Newington just before the senior side kicked off up north.
It leaves Davy Downes’ Under-20s with ground to make up on division leaders Ballymacash Rangers, who are nine points clear with three extra games played, and means the Seasiders remain on 15 points ahead of their final league game of the year against Warrenpoint Town at Milltown this Saturday coming.
And on the topic of the next couple of weeks, don’t forget that ahead of next week’s match against Banbridge Town at Clandeboye Park (3pm kick-off), the We Care, You Matter team are hosting a get-together in the Social Club from 1:30pm to 2:30pm. Tea, coffee, mince pies, shortbread and more are available free of charge, and you’ll be able to relax and have a chat with everyone around you with the festivity of football to look forward to as well.
And if you haven’t bought your tickets for the Steel and Sons Cup final yet, you can do so by purchasing off the Crusaders website through the attached embedded Bangor social media post.
Tickets at Seaview in north Belfast cost £7 for adults and £5 for concession. We hope to see you down on Christmas Eve for a massive day in the football club’s history with a major piece of silverware on the line. Kick-off is the usual time for the decider each year, 10:45am, with the gate for entry opening at 9:45am.
Furthermore, long-time supporter and member of the WCYM team, Lee Purcell, has kindly offered to make knitted seagulls and cakes for anyone interested, with all proceedings going back to the club.
Contact leedo82@hotmail.com to register your interest and find out more info regarding prices and the products themselves.
Featured image from Sarah Harkness.
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