It has felt all too infrequent over the past 12 weeks, but Bangor will grace the artificial turf of Clandeboye Park for the final time in 2022 this weekend on hosting Banbridge Town in the Premier Intermediate League. The Seasiders’ ninth third-tier matchday of the season comes with the chance of securing an eighth victory, which would elevate the points tally to 25 and preserve an unbeaten record in the table.
On the back of achieving three points at Mullaghacall last week, where the red-hot Adam Neale’s brace helped the side on their way to a 1-2 win over Portstewart, the Yellows’ main objective is to deliver another success and keep the winning feeling flowing into the Steel and Sons Cup decider against Dunmurry Rec on Christmas Eve. It has proved a calendar year where, all told, the peaks have far outweighed the troughs, and the motivation is to end it in style.
A chilly afternoon at Seahaven last time came amid a matchday where four of the six scheduled fixtures in the PIL had to be postponed.
Frost, snow and ice lay siege over football grounds across the Irish League, to the point where only eight of a possible 16 games in the top three tiers of Northern Irish football actually went ahead as planned on Saturday.
One of those was Bangor’s trip to Portstewart, and it is fair to say it was one of those outings where you just wanted to take the points home and then dash home to warm your feet by the fire.
The elder Neale brother’s double either side of the interval guaranteed that this exact scenario happened. Coming each way of Ryan Doherty’s equaliser after a defensive mix-up, it proved a precious couple of finishes – the second from the penalty spot in what is both Neale’s first spot-kick goal and the first second half 12-yard attempt Bangor have been awarded all campaign – in order to ensure the maximum spoils.
Marking the 11th win the Seasiders have had in their last dozen matches, a win against the Town would also represent a fifth straight.
The Crystal Park outfit claimed victory in this fixture last December, just shy of a year to the day in fact from kick-off this Saturday, when Reece Doyle found the net in the first half and the hosts were unable to conjure up a response in the second period.
It is a more poignant occasion this time around given the man in charge of the visitors then, Frankie Wilson, is no longer with us.
No less than that Wilson, who passed away in October, was the last person to lead the Yellows to a Steel final – also a Christmas Eve decider, 11 years ago – which is where attentions will be immediately prioritised on this game’s conclusion. Some things just feel like they are written in the stars sometimes.
Replacing Stuart King on his assumption of the Carrick Rangers post 18 months ago, Wilson instilled a defensively-formidable system that yielded one of the division’s best backline records last term.
It proved tricky for Bangor to break down, with that 0-1 home loss followed by a 2-0 road defeat in the pre-split, but on closing the year out there is a chance to put that record straight.
“For me, this is a bigger match than the cup final next week,” explained Bangor boss Lee Feeney to Neil Watson in this week’s County Down Spectator.
“The league is our ultimate priority and we do not want to be slipping up at this stage of the season.
“There will be no case of taking our eye off the ball, or resting players for a final. We will be going out to defeat a good opponent in the shape of Banbridge Town this weekend.”
| Premier Intermediate | 17/12/22 | |
| Ballymacash Rangers | v | Queen’s University |
| Limavady United | v | Lisburn Distillery |
| Moyola Park | v | Portstewart |
| PSNI | v | Armagh City |
| Tobermore United | v | Dollingstown |
Now with Simon Nicks at the helm, Banbridge presently sit in 9th-place, with two wins, two draws and three defeats in their first seven matches of league play.
The star of the show for them must surely be Stephen McCavitt, their top scorer in the PIL with four goals. He doubled his season tally during the Town’s most recent result, scoring two first-half goals in a 0-3 rout of Lisburn Distillery at New Grosvenor, and also found the net in an impressive 2-1 home win over Queen’s University at the start of October.
Recent history tells you that when the 25-year-old marks the scoresheet, the fellow County Down outfit claim victory.
That is what the former Newry City player, an ex-teammate of Bangor’s John Boyle, will aspire for at Clandeboye Park once more.
A familiar face to Seasiders fans comes in the form of Sean Óg Gallagher, a 21-year-old midfielder who was initially presented in a yellow and blue attire in October 2020. He scored during that two-goal win for his current employers at Crystal Park, but remains firmly on the hunt for his first strike of this season having so far been a mainstay in the centre of the park.
The third meet of the teams came in the post-split, which proved a more positive outing for Bangor. Michael Halliday and David Hume – much like against Limavady United in the Irish Cup fourth round three weeks ago – came up trumps, delivering a goal apiece in a 0-2 win on the second-to-last league game last term. It was a huge victory that fuelled the promotion play-off push into the final matchday last May.
Player to watch:
Former Glenavon youngster and ex-Newry City attacker Stephen McCavitt has solidified his role as Banbridge Town’s most front-footed spearhead. Joined by younger brother Michael in the Town setup, the 25-year-old’s four goals and creative input elsewhere have been key to his team’s recent resurgence in form. Image from Newry City AFC Twitter account.
Dating back to last campaign, that victory kick-started a current run of 10 league matches without defeat. Doubtless the Yellows won’t want that to end – but the players know by now that every drop must go in for a result to come out.
Some spice is added when one considers that Feeney was Banbridge Rangers chief prior to becoming Bangor manager in 2020.
Playing right next door to their third-tier rivals at Cheney Park, Kilkeel supremo Feeney is used to facing Town in his role on Clandeboye.
He will also have surely kept tabs on their recent results in anticipation of this bout. That 0-3 success over the Whites at Ballyskeagh a fortnight ago came on the back of booking their own fifth round spot in the Irish Cup. They topped out in an eight-goal thriller at The Bluebell, seeing off Ballymacash Rangers 3-5 in a ding-dong battle in west Lisburn, and were since rewarded with a trip to face Premiership table-propping Portadown at Shamrock Park in the new year.
They were due to face Tobermore United last week, only for a pitch inspection to put pains to that meet for the time being. Regardless, when you also account for a 1-2 win away to Brantwood in the Intermediate Cup second round a week prior to that Cash win, a three-game winning streak – extending to four wins in the last five – puts them in positive form.
Bangor know not to take any liberties. Such an attitude will again be integral in order to avert a home humbling.
“There will be no case of taking our eye off the ball, or resting players for a final”
Lee Feeney
Feeney has not been able to call on the services of Ben Arthurs for the last five matches, though such is Halliday’s evergreen nature that the Seasiders have not been at a loss in the Kircubbin striker’s absence.
That said, Neale’s couple last week now puts him solely on top of the pile on the club scoring charts. The 29-year-old’s 12th and 13th strikes last time out in just his 10th appearance since arriving from Rathfriland in September have set a target for Arthurs to chase when he returns from an ankle injury that has kept him out since the middle of November.
With 11 goals to date, and hot on the heels of a century of goals for the side which he would achieve on his 25th conversion this season, 24-year-old fan favourite Arthurs has shown promising link-ups with Ballynahinch hero Neale but also a friendly competition that has spurred their own levels to new heights.
Halliday’s own mean streak, including match-defining finishes against Limavady and Queen’s in the last few weeks, belies his 43 years of age. An incisive pass to supply Seanna Foster’s run in the build-up to the first goal against the Seahawks evidences his skill in hold-up.
And it is that competitive spirit and drive which has so impressed Feeney and his coaching staff over the first four months of this season. It has been a thoroughly pleasant sight how the team has gone through the gears, but that is no call to let up the foot from the accelerator. Rather, keep shifting upwards if possible.
Besides Arthurs and attacking midfielder Tom Mathieson, who has played Reserves minutes of late on his road back to the first-team from a recent injury absence, the Clandeboye chief has no new concerns ahead of this outing.
In what is only Bangor’s fourth home game since a 4-0 Irish Cup second-round success over Strabane Athletic on the 17th September, here’s to hoping the players put on a performance once more and end the league year on a high.
Don’t forget that the We Care, You Matter team are hosting a get-together in the Social Club before tomorrow’s match.
Taking place from 1:30pm to 2:30pm, it represents a chance to gather and chat over tea, coffee, biscuits (including shortbread) and mince pies.
Not only is it attractive for being completely free of charge, but it gives one a chance to engage with those closest to us in the community and brighten up each other’s day over a mutual love of football and company. You are warmly encouraged to stay and enjoy the match afterwards – incidentally, the only game of the third-tier matchday to have a 3pm kick-off – to, result pending, make it the perfect day out with the Seasiders.
In other news, Bangor Reserves’ match against Warrenpoint Town Reserves at Milltown has been postponed.
Thus in terms of the table, it means that Davy Downes’ squad will enter 2023 positioned in 4th-place out of eight teams, with 15 points accumulated from a possible 27. The Point stay one point ahead of the Under-20s in 3rd-place, with ground to make up on league-leading Ballymacash Rangers on 27 points at the top of the table come the entry into a new year.
Next Tuesday is the final week of the Girls Academy for this year before the Christmas break. Training sessions take place – weather-permitting – at Clandeboye Park, running from 6pm to 7pm and available to all girls born between 2011 and 2016.
You can contact girlsacademy@bangorfc.com to register your child’s interest and get involved. Following the Christmas break, sessions are due to restart again on Tuesday 10th January.
Featured image from Jordan Connolly/Life Through A Lens NI.
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