This Tuesday night somewhat presents Bangor with a chance to finish what had already been started. The first scheduled face-off with Banbridge Town at Clandeboye Park last month survived a pitch inspection to begin as planned, but it could not hold off the will of the elements to reach a full conclusion as the referee called time with only 50 minutes gone. Plunging temperatures and an early winter sunset meant parts of the pitch froze up to the point where the surface was adjudged no longer safe to play on.
Now, The Town travel to North Down for take two. As one of three Premier Intermediate League fixtures this midweek, the obvious hope is that the game reaches a proper end – and, pending events elsewhere, the Seasiders could assume top spot with a win. There is plenty riding on this, which should contribute to an enthralling duel under the lights.
The Yellows will contest their first fixture in 10 days, having seen their tussle with the PSNI on Saturday postponed following an early pitch inspection.
While those at the club in charge of match scheduling find themselves in a rather unenviable position right now, with at least 18 games – inclusive of this nightfall encounter – to play in a little over a three-month span, picking up wins and points remains the priority setting, regardless of what the context is.
The opposition this time is a team that Bangor have got to know well since their third-tier return.
Firstly under current Carrick Rangers boss Stuart King and then the late, great Frankie Wilson, it is now Simon Nicks and Ronnie Haughey leading Banbridge Town from the touchline.
A match where the entry is free of charge, supporters have been encouraged to donate in memory of Wilson, with all proceeds going to a charity of choice of the family of the popular former Irish League ace and Northern Ireland Under-18 Schoolboys chief. One can do this on entry to the ground at the turnstiles.
And particularly under the revered and decorated Wilson’s tutelage, Banbridge have proved quite prickly to play.
The County Down club, and near-neighbours of Clandeboye chief Lee Feeney’s former employers Banbridge Rangers, did the double in the pre-split on the Seagulls last term. A hard-fought 0-1 victory on their sojourn east was followed up by a 2-0 success at Crystal Park, with a rigid rear-guard propelling them into promotion contention.
Bangor bit back when Michael Halliday and David Hume delivered a 0-2 win in the post-split, which ultimately proved pivotal in ensuring they made the play-off, but a success in the regular portion would be appreciated in order to lift the Seasiders to 31 points out of a possible 33.
13 months on from the red-shirted outfit’s last journey here, Feeney now holds the same status as the iconic Frankie, who sadly passed away in October 2022 – a Steel and Sons Cup champion with the boys in yellow and blue. That defeat of Dunmurry Rec on Christmas Eve came as the fifth of an active eight-game winning streak, with hopes harboured of extending that to nine in a promotion pursuit which in recent times has become a holy grail.
Back on the 17th December, immediately prior to that cavernous morning decider at Seaview in north Belfast, the score was goalless when referee Stewart Long called an early end to the day’s action.
As a Town defender lay grounded, requiring a lengthy spell of treatment as a cold chill swept through the air, only five minutes of the second period had been played when the call was made to go no further.
Now, just over five weeks on, the match will be replayed in full and to a finish.
And both teams could use some more games under their belts, it is fair to say. Banbridge have played the fewest of any team in the division, the only side still in single digits in that respect, hence the fact that they lie in 10th-position cannot be told without context.
Their Intermediate Cup exploits were also shelved until this Saturday coming because of the weather, as their third round clash against Greenisland was put back seven days when further frosty conditions prevented that match-up from going ahead this past weekend.
It leaves them still hungry on their hunt for a first win of 2023, having tasted away defeats to Portadown (2-0) in the Irish Cup fifth stage and in the league against Moyola Park (2-1) and Dollingstown (1-0).
Their trip to Castledawson saw main marksman Stephen McCavitt again put his name on the scoresheet, although strikes post the interval from Moyola’s Mark Edgar and Mark Kelly meant it did not count for the points they desired as their riverside hosts flowed on a current to victory.
With a visit to Queen’s University and hosting of Amateur League Division 1C Greenisland – the Glenkeen Avenue club Bangor bested in the Steel and Sons second round back in August – called off, they are also still awaiting their first outing on their own home soil this year.
Remarkably, not since the 8th October, when they booked the first of their two league victories to date with a 2-1 edging of the Students, have they played a third-tier fixture in front of their own stands.
Bangor will be the fifth different club to have hosted Banbridge on this peculiar consecutive streak. A run that, from an away perspective, will mercifully halt at five, as they will then brace to host Lisburn Distillery on the 4th February.
The visitors will hope to build some momentum in advance of that date with the Whites – the other team they have despatched in league play this term – and push up the table to re-enter the promotion conversation.
They face a Seasiders clan who, following a first half of the campaign full of travelling, have recently enjoyed some home comforts.
On the Saturday before last, the Yellows battled the elements to brave a front-footed Park outfit, with the revelatory Adam Neale delivering the only goal of the game on the stroke of the half-hour, while Ben Arthurs’ hat-trick and Scott McArthur’s late clincher ensured a 4-0 Irish Cup defeat of Tandragee Rovers that in turn guaranteed a glamour date with Crusaders as the only Intermediate representative in the last-16.
It was the first time in four months that the hosts had enjoyed successive bouts at Clandeboye, and where 24-year-old Arthurs – named as a substitute for the first meet of these two sides, as his rehabilitation from an ankle injury neared its welcome conclusion – was still working back to match fitness, he is now firmly in the swing of it going into this joust.
Indeed, the frontman scored his first Premier Intermediate goal against this exact opposition. A gorgeous side-footed lob followed a Barry Walsh stunner against what was then a King-led outfit that got an ultimately curtailed 2019/20 season off to a stylish flyer.
Across all competitions, the Kircubbin favourite and 29-year-old Ballynahinch sharp-shooter Neale are tied on 16 goals each, enjoying a friendly battle within each other to try and edge on top of the scoring charts come the season’s end.
Given they have two games in hand on leaders Ballymacash Rangers, soon rising to to three as the Irish Cup and Stephen Baxter’s Crues take precedent in less than a fortnight’s time, making good on games in hand is a valuable objective for Feeney in the near-term.
To go top this midweek, Bangor – perched a point behind the promoted west Lisburn club – need maximum spoils as they roll the red carpet out tomorrow and Dollingstown to earn at least a draw at The Bluebell. Ultimately, though, fate is only in the hands of the beholder, and it is simply a case of picking up the points as and when they become available.
Not that there won’t be one or two cursory glances at how the Cash and Dollybirds are faring, mind.
| Premier Intermediate | 24/1/23 | |
| Ballymacash Rangers | v | Dollingstown |
| Bangor | v | Banbridge Town |
| Moyola Park | v | Portstewart |
From the visitors’ point of view, as a warm-up injury to former Newry City man McCavitt – who has chipped in five of their nine league goals – had made him a late absentee the first time around, he will be eager to do some damage and upgrade his count come the second attempt.
Equally keen to impress will be former Bangor midfielder Sean Óg Gallagher, who netted the opener in his current employers’ 2-0 success over his former team last April, and the seasoned 33-year-old Conor Downey who is also expected to take his place in the Banbridge mid-section. Goalkeeper Lewis Hunter also appears a safe pair of hands, too.
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 five goals and creative input elsewhere make him an indispensable cog to their brand of football. Image from Newry City AFC Twitter account.
There are individual battles to be had across a variety of areas on the pitch, and collectively it promises to be a well-contested duel.
The priority remains the same from the home perspective. Make sure another three points are placed in the kitty and keep pace at the top as best as possible. Never assume any game is a given, though.
Meanwhile, though the senior side were out of action last Saturday, Bangor Reserves were right in the thick of their league crusade.
Following a 0-6 defeat of Knockbreda’s equivalents eight days prior, the Under-20s had the edge in a North Down derby duel with Ards, as goals from Jake Anderson, Sonny Redford and Kristian Trainor helped book a 3-0 victory.
After a goalless first half, some adjustments from boss Davy Downes helped the Seasiders steal a march in the second period, with the deadlock broken as Trainor’s curled delivery from the left found the head of Anderson who placed precisely into the bottom left corner.
“They gave a good reaction and took the game to Ards”
Davy Downes
The advantage was subsequently doubled when Redford latched onto a loose ball in the penalty area. A sweeping move that saw the ball funnelled down the right flank and into the final third, a miscue while Ards attempted to clear gave the instinctive attacker a good goal-bound look, making no mistake with a composed drive into the net.
And adding to his earlier set-up, Trainor – rated such that Feeney handed him a senior debut at the age of just 16 when he appeared in a League Cup match-up with Coleraine in September 2021 – was the recipient of a perfectly weighted pass by Breda goal supremo Curtis Kenny, calmly side-footing into the bottom right from the inside-left channel.
It puts the Reserves in a good position going into a week that sees them face Ards again on Wednesday night, this time at Londonderry Park, and league-leading Ballymacash Rangers on home turf this Saturday.
With Warrenpoint Town not in play, they sit 3rd-place behind The Cash and Newington having now accumulated 21 points from a possible 30.
Elsewhere, the Academy action was ultimately dogged by weather-related postponements. A frozen pitch put a stop to the Under-18s’ meeting with Glentoran, while the Under-11s and Under-12s’ respective scheduled clashes with Celtic Boys and St Malachy’s OB were also called off. The Under-17s’ joust with Windmill Stars was abandoned.
Of the games that were played to a proper finish, there was disappointment for the Under-13 NL and SBYL sides with defeats to Glenavon and Bloomfield, while the Under-14s lost agonisingly to Portadown in a seven-goal thriller in the NIFBA Cup. The Under-15s, meanwhile, drew 1-1 with St Oliver Plunkett.
Furthermore, it was a momentous Sunday morning for the Girls Academy, as the club’s new Under-10 and Under-12 teams flew the flag in the South Belfast Youth Football League (SBYFL) for the first time, marking a big step in the Ladies sector in the club as the Academy begins to move into competitive football.
The Girls Academy continues with training as usual on Tuesday evening from 6pm to 7pm at Clandeboye Park. Available to all girls born between 2011 and 2016 – and with the club on the lookout for players for the new Under-12 (2011-13) and Under-10 (2013-15) teams – you can register your child’s interest at girlsacademy@bangorfc.com.
There has also been confirmation of a fixture re-arrangement for this Saturday. Bangor will travel to Fortwilliam Park to take on Tobermore United, with the game’s kick-off at 2pm.
| Intermediate Cup | Third round (rearranged) | |
| Banbridge Town | v | Greenisland |
| Donegal Celtic | v | Chimney Corner |
| Limavady United | v | Valley Rangers |
| Mossley | v | Moneyslane |
| Moyola Park | v | Dollingstown |
| Newtowne | v | Wakehurst |
| Rathfriland Rangers | v | Coleraine Reserves |
| Richhill | v | St Oliver Plunkett |
This is due to respective weather-related fixture postponements involving the Seasiders’ would-be opponents Moyola Park and the Reds‘ intended adversaries Limavady United in the Intermediate Cup. As their third round fixtures against Dollingstown and Valley Rangers respectively were deferred seven days, the decision has been made to move this forward.
Finally, the thoughts and condolences of Bangor Football Club are very much with local politician Alex Easton MLA and his family and friends after the tragic news of the death of his parents today.
The Easton family are in our prayers through what must be an unimaginably difficult period.
Featured image from Jordan Connolly/Life Through A Lens NI.
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