Following a return to league action for Bangor on Monday afternoon, the focus swiftly turns back to a familiar cup context from the season’s first half as the Irish Cup enters its fifth stage. As Premiership and Championship clubs freshly enter the fray, the Seasiders will welcome Tandragee Rovers to Clandeboye Park in what is the only all-intermediate tie of the round, with both sides hoping to secure a famous passage into the last-16 of Northern Ireland’s most distinguished senior cup competition.
Said Premier Intermediate return brought a sixth win on the spin which came in the form of a five-star display at Lisburn Distillery, the latest of a streak that included Steel and Sons Cup semi-final and final successes as well as in the previous round of Ireland’s oldest football tournament. The Yellows will be aspiring to enter seventh heaven in this weekend’s encounter, but go in wary knowing that strange things could happen.
The Irish Cup, while probably not the most likely competition Bangor will win, is nevertheless a date in the calendar the players and supporters look forward to.
Having built their way up from the first round in a sunny mid-August, when the Seagulls got the better of Queen’s University to kick-start competitive action for the campaign, they have made the fifth stage for a third time in succession.
Defeats to Newry City (3-1 away) in 2020 and Larne (0-5 at home) in 2022 mean the Yellows have not gotten beyond this level in quite some time. Perhaps this year will be third time lucky.
In the round of 32 draw, the Clandeboye outfit were paired with Tandragee Rovers of the Mid-Ulster Football League Intermediate A – a sub-division of the fourth-flight – which assured there would at least be some intermediate representation in the sixth round.
For manager Simon Brown’s side, it was cast as a famous date irrespective of who their next foe would be, but in a fixture where only one division splits the two, both sets of players will run out on the day full of heart and competitive drive that they can attain a last-16 berth.
From the hosts’ perspective, it is merely a positive in itself that with a recent abundance of away days – 12 of the last 15 fully completed affairs having either been the visiting team or contested at a neutral venue – they will take back to their own turf once more.
A full match for the seniors at the place they call home has not been finished since, ironically, they last failed to win. Not since the penalty shootout defeat to Strabane Athletic in the Intermediate Cup second round on the 19th November, with a battle in the league against Banbridge Town in the middle of December cut short early due to the re-freezing of parts of the pitch amid plummeting temperatures and the early sunset.
Better fortunes than against the north west panel are aspired for this time around as a new opponent comes to visit.
| Irish Cup Fifth Round | 7/1/23 unless stated | |
| Ballinamallard United (2) | v | Glenavon (1) |
| Ballyclare Comrades (2) | v | Dollingstown (3) |
| Bangor (3) | v | Tandragee Rovers (4) |
| Carrick Rangers (1) | v | Ballymena United (1) |
| Coleraine (1) | v | Loughgall (2) |
| Crusaders (1) | v | Dergview (2) |
| Dundela (2) | v* | Cliftonville (1) |
| Dungannon Swifts (1) | v | Ards (2) |
| Institute (2) | v | Annagh United (2) |
| Larne (1) | v | Crumlin United (4) |
| Linfield (1) | v | Warrenpoint Town (2) |
| Moyola Park (3) | v | Glentoran (1) |
| Newington (2) | v | Ballymoney United (4) |
| Newry City (1) | v | Harland and Wolff Welders (2) |
| Portadown (1) | v | Banbridge Town (3) |
Any cup draw is a lottery, but the management’s luck was in, given a duel in front of the club’s own stands was on their wish list.
“Delighted,” admitted Bangor assistant coach Dean Gordon when the match-up was ratified on December 6th.
“We (the management team) were just speaking about it in the morning, actually. A cup draw’s always going to be a lottery, it was a case of just seeing who we got, but there were two things we said that we had wanted – we wanted a home draw, and we wanted a tie that was winnable.
“We feel that we’ve got that,” he continued. “And then if we get by this one, you’re looking maybe at other ties, potentially one of the all-Championship ties, you’re hoping your luck’s in again and all of a sudden, you could be in the quarter-finals of the Irish Cup.
“But we have to win this one first before we think about that, of course.”
| Rd | Run to round five | |||
| 1 | Bangor | 2 | 0 | Queen’s University |
| 2 | Bangor | 4 | 0 | Strabane Athletic |
| 3 | Belfast Celtic | 0 | 3 | Bangor |
| 4 | Limavady United | 1 | 2 | Bangor |
The man they call ‘Deano’ knows a thing or two about cup runs. He started the Irish Cup decider in 1995, when his Carrick Rangers were defeated by a Garry Haylock-inspired Linfield 3-1 at The Oval.
In Bangor’s case, the chance at another such could run alongside the principal objective of achieving promotion from the third-tier.
It can help fuel the fire – a win on the board, regardless of where it comes, is still a win on the board – and fill the tank for the four remaining league fixtures to come this January.
With half a dozen successes in succession, the group is high on confidence as a collective. Another on Saturday would be a 20th in total already, following on from such a sensational start.
It is hoped the test Tandragee Rovers should pose will not be treated with any exceptions as regards the front-footed approach.
The County Armagh boys are 5th-place in their table. With four wins, two draws and three defeats in their nine league fixtures to date, they last featured four weeks ago when they prevailed 0-1 over Fivemiletown United.
A trip to Cheney Park to face Seasiders boss Lee Feeney’s former employers Banbridge Rangers was postponed following that 10th December outing, owing to the recent frosty chills that wreaked havoc on playing schedules throughout the final month of last year across Northern Ireland.
With 14 points on the board and one of the Mid-Ulster League’s meaner defences, conceding only 10 goals across their nine matches, and backed by a persistence to see out a result when the going gets tough, they will aim not to leave too many free spaces for their adversaries to pounce on.
Meanwhile, their run in the Irish Cup saw them start with a 5-0 rout of Amateur League Division 1B squad Downshire YM, then eliminating league-mates Richhill in round two before dumping out Steel and Sons Cup semi-finalists Immaculata in the third stage.
That set up a local home face-off with Oxford Sunnyside for the right to stay in the competition come the turn of the new year. Fifth-stage reps last year with five league victories from six and the Bob Radcliffe Cup to their credit, Lurgan-based Sunnyside perhaps entered as pre-match favourites – but that was not to be reflected on the scoreboard, as Neill Allen’s brace helped guide Tandragee to full spoils, 3-1 victors to set this battle up.
| Rd | Run to round five | |||
| 1 | Tandragee Rovers | 5 | 0 | Downshire YM |
| 2 | Tandragee Rovers | 3 | 2 | Richhill AFC |
| 3 | Tandragee Rovers | 2 | 0 | Immaculata |
| 4 | Tandragee Rovers | 3 | 1 | Oxford Sunnyside |
Colour-coded in orange and black, their existence pre-dates that of Bangor having been founded in 1909, and are a well-supported institution that is a heartbeat of their town. Such that a fair away support is set to make the trip eastbound and back their troops to take a famous scalp.
It is a familiar message from Feeney by now, but the Yellows’ form is much in part to not taking liberties in their performances. It goes without saying that the former Linfield ace wants more of the same here, as Tandragee pose a threat with dangermen like Allen in the side.
Following five straight wins by a one-goal margin for Bangor, a more comfortable chasm was opened in the second half at New Grosvenor on Monday.
After Reece Neale’s left-footed drive from the inside-left was diverted in via the outstretched glove of Distillery shot-stopper Ethan Carry to hand the visitors a one-goal advantage at half time, further finishes from Ben Arthurs, Ryan Arthur, Dylan O’Kane and Adam Neale in the second period put the seal on a five-goal victory. A first clean sheet in four matches was also put in the books, the 14th from a possible total of 23.
It was a repeat 5-0 scoreline from the opening day of the season, when Bangor again bested the Whites, and ensures the North Down clan sit on 25 points from a possible 27. They remain a point behind league-leading Ballymacash Rangers with two games in hand – which will extend to three this weekend, with the Cash visiting PSNI as one of four Premier Intermediate match-ups this Saturday – and are keeping pace at the top as best as they can.
With Friday 17th February confirmed as the date the two sides will meet for the second time pre-split – kick-off at 8pm under lights at Clandeboye Park – it promises to be a tantalising affair.
But that said, plenty of football is still to be played by both outfits before this titanic tussle becomes an immediate priority.
| Premier Intermediate | 7/1/23 | |
| Limavady United | v | Lisburn Distillery |
| Portstewart | v | Queen’s University |
| PSNI | v | Ballymacash Rangers |
| Tobermore United | v | Armagh City |
Right now, from the viewpoint by the seaside, said immediate priority is to book a last-16 placing in this most premier of cup competitions for the first time in eight years. Bangor fended off fourth-tier opposition in Brantwood in 2015, only seven days after being left disappointed by Cliftonville in the County Antrim Shield showpiece, and now two weeks on from a happier ending in a cup decider are required to do the same again.
With the 15-goal Adam Neale cup-tied, it will have heartened Feeney to see five different players make their mark on the scoresheet.
Centre back Arthur and midfielder O’Kane had not found the net for over four months prior to their composed side-footed shots in Ballyskeagh. Arthurs, in from the start for the first time in over seven weeks, was similarly assured in stroking home his 13th goal of the season, while Reece – whether a suspected own goal or not – converted for a first since late October.
A spread of finishes around the team is something the Kilkeel chief is on record as wanting to see more of. He got a taster of it last time out.
A new system comprising former 40-goal Intermediate Cup and Amateur League-winning line-leader Neale in the pocket behind a strike-pair of Arthurs and Michael Halliday also bore fruit, and thus is on the table as a fresh choice of setup going forward.
It will be interesting to see what tactical choices Feeney conjures up for this weekend. The boss is known for keeping his cards open.
He will also have a largely complete panel to choose from – save for Neale, of course, whose prior involvement in the tournament for Rathfriland leaves him rather frustratingly to watch on from the side this Saturday – with Jamie Glover, Scott McArthur and Gareth Beattie all ruled as minor absentees from a sun-lit but cold fixture last time out.
From his standpoint, while there is a “want (for) a run of league games” after a first half of the season largely dominated by cup action, he senses an “excitement” about the chance to reach the later rounds of a tournament the Seasiders are just shy of 30 years of winning.
“This is a great opportunity for us to make the last-16,” he said, “and I wouldn’t bet against us getting into the quarters either.”
So while the league is the priority, it is hard to say that a new-year cup run would not benefit Bangor if they can see off a brave Tandragee on Saturday.
In terms of cost for admission, Bangor has opted to keep a lower price bracket for Saturday’s match, at £7 for adults and £4 for concession, while those 16 or under can enter free of charge.
The club also wishes to thank the day’s sponsors, namely SureSeal who are sponsoring the match and Stephen Dunne MLA who is sponsoring the ball.
In other news, as has already been alluded in the main body, some rearranged Premier Intermediate game confirmations have been laid out.
The home clash with Ballymacash, with Bangor initially scheduled to roll out the red carpet for the west Lisburn side this Saturday when the calendar was first revealed, will take place on Friday 17th February. Kick-off at Clandeboye Park in this top-of-the-table third-tier duel is at 8pm.
An addition to January’s match-plan has also been guaranteed in the shape of the Seasiders’ hosting of Banbridge Town, which was abandoned after 50 minutes due to concerns around a corner of the pitch freezing up on the 17th December.
The game is to be replayed in full at Clandeboye Park on Tuesday 24th January, also with an 8pm kick-off, in what is the first mid-week match the club have had on their schedule since the 2-0 defeat of PSNI at the end of October.
Elsewhere, Bangor Reserves will be in Junior Cup action this Saturday, as they face FC Antrim in the fourth round of the competition.
Having defeated Kircubbin (1-6), Carniny Amateur and Youth (3-0) and Drumquin United (2-3) in the respective rounds one, two and three of the tournament, the Under-20s will hope to be on top form once more to be involved in an ever-nearing climax. Kick-off is at 1:30pm.
Meanwhile, the Girls Academy returns next Tuesday 10th January. It is available to all girls born between 2011 and 2016, with sessions taking place at Clandeboye Park between the hours of 6pm and 7pm.
Should you be interested in registering your child to hone their skills as players and people with the club, and be part of a continually exciting and developing project, you can contact girlsacademy@bangorfc.com.
And staying with the women’s sector, Bangor Ladies are proud to confirm the appointment of Ethan Boylan as the new first-team manager.
“These are exciting times and I believe we have a great opportunity to build something special at Bangor Ladies”
Ethan Boylan
The 31-year-old UEFA B Licence holder is well-known to supporters as a member of the men’s team throughout all the recent highs and lows, and will now embark on a new role leading the women’s side to further success.
On the confirmation of his appointment, Boylan – five-and-a-half years into his current spell with the Yellows – said in a statement: “I’m delighted and honoured to get the job at Bangor and I’m looking forward to the challenge ahead.
“I will be building the team over the next few months with the aim of bringing success and growth to the women’s game at Clandeboye Park.
“These are exciting times and I believe we have a great opportunity to build something special at Bangor Ladies.
“As a player at the club and a supporter, Ethan understands the Bangor way and is passionate about developing young players”
Michelle Crawford
“I would like to thank the board for this opportunity and I’m looking forward to getting started.”
Head of Women’s Football Michelle Crawford added: “Ethan is a perfect fit for Bangor Ladies as he knows what it takes to be a success at this club.
“I want him to now pass on his knowledge and experience to the players and help the team progress to the next level.
“As a player at the club and a supporter, Ethan understands the Bangor way and is passionate about developing young players.
“We are excited about his appointment and believe he will help us continue the progress we have made in recent years.
“The Board and I would also like to thank Mark Duff for his hard work and commitment at Bangor. He has played a key role in the ongoing development of the women’s team, and we wish him well for the future.”
Finally, Bangor can today confirm the departure of midfielder CJ Sullivan to St James’ Swifts. The former Glenavon Under-20 captain had joined in the summer, since featuring in eight senior matchday squads for the Seasiders and appearing a handful of times as a substitute.
All at the club would like to wish CJ well on his future endeavours with St James’.
Featured image from Jordan Connolly/Life Through A Lens NI.
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