A new year has dawned, and new opportunities will be awash. The first chance Bangor will have for three points in 2023 comes at New Grosvenor, the home of Lisburn Distillery, and in a complete Premier Intermediate League schedule – a near-exclusive focus now for Lee Feeney and his playing panel – the Seasiders will aspire to use their trophy buzz to spur them on to another important victory.
The potential for momentum gained from securing the Steel and Sons Cup on Christmas Eve to roll on into a boost in league fortunes has been a point of discussion, and understandably so. The Seagulls sit perched in second, positioned a point behind Distillery’s local adversaries Ballymacash Rangers with two games in hand, and from now until the season’s end it is a fairly simple stated objective – keep on winning. That’s easier said than done in football, however.
These two heritage clubs have already met in the Northern Irish third-tier, albeit the result was a foregone conclusion by the half time whistle.
When Bangor welcomed the Whites to Clandeboye Park in August in the Yellows’ Premier Intermediate opener, they showed little mercy.
A couple of set-piece goals by returnee defender Ryan Arthur had the hosts in a position of ascendency, powering home to establish an early two-goal advantage.
A further splurge following that brace by the centre back – fresh from equipping himself back in yellow and blue after his recruit from Ballyclare Comrades, six months after his winter window departure to the Dixon Park outfit – came in a five-minute spell, when two goals in two minutes from Jamie Glover preceded Ben Arthurs’ incisive guided header.
This flurry, commencing with 21-year-old Glover’s first eight minutes from the first half’s end, ensured an unanswered five-strong lead at the interval, which would continue to go without a response throughout a scoreless second period.
A 5-0 success represented a statement from Feeney’s boys to begin league proceedings. Far less of a delight for new Distillery chief Barry Johnston, who would have known the job on his hands from the get-go.
Appointed during the summer off-season, former Cliftonville hero Johnston has not found the going any easier.
Such that after claiming just five points in their first eight matches, leaving them 11th-place of 12, the Dublin-born figurehead has seen fit to bolster without delay on the opening of the mid-season transfer period.
First inheriting one of the youngest squads in the Irish League, Distillery have now added long-serving former Ballyclare stalwart Adam McCart to their defensive ranks. A former Comrades skipper and the institution’s longest-serving player at the time of his departure last month, the 34-year-old brings a wealth of experience and will hope to lead from back to front in the Ballyskeagh club’s pursuit of survival.
Known to once defensive colleague Arthur, as well as local lad Tom Mathieson who also plied his trade in red last term, McCart’s pedigree should prove of real benefit to his new employers going forward.
His arrival can be contrasted with that of teenage Portadown Reserves ace Jake Willis, a highly-rated defensive prospect and captain at Under-20 level with the Ports who has joined on a half-season loan, while ex-Donegal Celtic striker Michael Gallagher will be on the goal trail up top.
Gallagher will aspire to get off the mark at double-quick time, given that 45-minute first-half salvo by the Seasiders is only inferior to the historic institution’s whole-league tally by one.
The division’s second-lowest scorers on six strikes, there is truth – simplistic as it sounds – in the idea that goals win you games.
Only two players so far, namely forwards Lewis Higginson (20) and Matthew Swann (21), have breached the opposition backline to score on more than one occasion in league play. An additional marksman to find the net with a bit of regularity would hardly do them any hurt.
Both will be on the hunt for their third strikes in this 2022/23 iteration of the PIL against Bangor. They showed the damage they could do in the Lisburn derby, as both struck in a four-minute span to haul Distillery from 2-0 down to even terms at The Bluebell.
That sharing of spoils away to new boys Ballymacash at the end of October was one richly welcomed further east, as a 2-0 win for the home team over PSNI at Clandeboye Park was simultaneously secured.
It should also serve as a cautionary tale, however. For their position in the table, for the fact that they have claimed the spoils of victory just once in their eight third-tier outings thus far, they still have what it takes to unsettle and unnerve.
Player to watch:
Freshly joining Lisburn Distillery after making over 150 appearances for Ballyclare Comrades, scoring nine times, the seasoned Adam McCart first played for the County Antrim club in 2013 but has now made the move to Ballyskeagh to offer some much-needed experience to the defensive line of a youthful side. Image from Ballyclare Comrades Twitter account.
That win came when they prevailed 1-0 over Moyola Park the previous game, when Joshua Lynch struck an 86th-minute dagger into the Castledawson side’s heart. Bangor have not given the impression of a side easily flustered by adversity, but Kilkeel supremo Feeney would still appreciate a bit of calm and composure to do the job right in his mind.
Looking from the outside in, Bangor go in very much with the wind in their sails as the Whites prepare to roll out the red carpet.
No less that on both the day and night before Christmas, plans for a plinth to be built to house another piece of silverware could be put in motion.
After Arthur’s undercooked backpass allowed Andrew Carberry to ghost in and give Dunmurry Rec a shock lead at Seaview right as the second half was getting under way, Ben Arthurs and Adam Neale hit back to turn the scoreboard back in the Seasiders’ favour in north Belfast.
A trophy courtesy of a 2-1 victory, a sharp return for Arthurs – the Kircubbin favourite finding the net just five minutes after entering as a substitute on the stroke of the hour, having spent the past six weeks sidelined – and a remarkable 12th victory in the last 13 completed fixtures.
Between them, Arthurs (24) and Neale (29) have struck 26 goals, reflective of the chord and chemistry they have blooded in.
“When Ben scored, I knew that we’d push on, I knew we had it in us to go on and get the winner“
Lewis Harrison
The former’s clever tuck home after former Distillery ace Lewis Harrison’s set-up was his 12th this term, while Ballynahinch star Neale’s sniper-like instincts manifested into a 14th strike courtesy of a placed back-post header from Dylan O’Kane’s spreaded cross.
“How many ‘r’s are there in Arthurs?” Michael Halliday said in jest at the Steel trophy presentation at the Social Club last Thursday. “It’s like 15, isn’t it?”
Perhaps such a message was code for something. A hat-trick for the Peninsula hero this Monday takes him to that tally in all competitions, of which eight will have been in the league.
Just one more would do for former Rathfriland line-leader Neale to achieve that accolade, who has now completed a 2022 treble of the Amateur League, Steel and Intermediate Cups.
Joining his younger brother Reece as a champion of the festive showpiece, the past 18 months have been a whirlwind. His adaptation to the Irish League has been nothing short of revelatory, and he will be keen to sustain such standards of excellence well into the new year.
The two frontmen have contributed 12 of Bangor’s 21 league goals in eight league outings so far. A friendly competition has been in evidence, spurring themselves on for a collective team benefit.
Meanwhile, a concession of only three league goals is a comfortable division low, albeit from Feeney’s perspective, some unwelcome errors have crept in of late that mean Bangor have failed to keep a clean sheet in the last four games.
While there is confidence in the defensive spine, maintaining a shut-out this Monday would show the steel on the stats board and get closer to a recent record of 20 opposition ‘nils’ in the 2018/19 season – it has not changed from 13 since the Steel semi-final defeat of Ballymacash six weeks back, when Glover curled in the only goal of the game a quarter-hour from time.
“(Newington) went into the second half of the season with a real spring in their step”
Michael Halliday
Distillery lost by three-goal margins at home to Armagh City (1-4) and Banbridge Town (0-3) in their previous couple of league ties.
But no two games of football are ever the same, and it will call on the Seasiders to be on their guard come the 2pm kick-off time.
Perhaps Distillery having only played two competitive fixtures in the past 10 weeks plays into the hands of the afternoon’s visitors, who have had a near-weekly catalogue of action from the season’s start. From another perspective, it could be that the home team are chomping at the bit for a return to this stage and enthusiastic about delivering a display that makes up for lost time.
Feeney has never been one for leaving anything to chance. Wins are in his blood. With two training sessions taking place since that triumphant endeavour eight days ago, there has been plenty of time for the stardust to settle and the players to step up professionally once more.
| Premier Intermediate | 2/1/22 | |
| Armagh City | vs | Moyola Park |
| Ballymacash Rangers | vs | Tobermore United |
| Dollingstown | vs | Portstewart |
| Limavady United | vs | PSNI |
| Queen’s University | vs | Banbridge Town |
“You saw with Newington that after winning the Steel and Sons, they went into the second half of the season with a real spring in their step,” explained the evergreen Halliday to Rory McKee in this week’s County Down Spectator.
“So hopefully we can push on from here as the club is desperate to get promoted.”
There is no lack of mental will from the 43-year-old, who has deputised ably while Arthurs was absent following an ankle injury first sustained in the Steel and Sons quarter-final at Albert Foundry on the 12th November.
Now a three-time Steel victor and playing just shy of an hour of this year’s decider, the east Belfast legend still has it in him to deliver in the big moments.
It will take a mammoth push from now until the season’s end to secure that all-important aim of a return to senior football. Much as the club has revelled in recent trophy celebrations, they would rather not be repeating them. The side feels ready to leave the intermediate level in the rear window six-and-a-half years on from the last time they last represented above the third-flight.
For that to happen, promotion to the Championship is necessary.
And as far as that is concerned, this battle with the Whites, with 18 more to follow in the PIL, is as key as any with a view to the holy grail. Everyone knows what the objective is. The pivotal part is delivering on it.
Featured image from Sarah Harkness.
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