After a three-match streak where feelings of home comfort rung true, Bangor are back on their travels for a bit when they visit Banbridge Town in their latest Premier Intermediate League outing. Having struck gold in February, winning each of the last four matches without so much as one goal in reply, the Seasiders enter this fresh clash against The Town high in hope and belief that they can make it a five-star beginning to March.
But the squad and management will be equally aware that Crystal Park is another tough place to go. With a backlog of games to make up on the sides above them, the home team will be especially desperate to surge up the table and force their way into the top-six reckoning with a little over a month until the league splits – and putting a dampener on the leaders’ promotion charge would surely boost their confidence.
Boss Lee Feeney beamed in midweek at his boys claiming the full spoils in a tense battle against in-form Limavady United.
Adam Neale’s solitary strike of the game on the 25th minute of a nerve-wracking encounter saw the Ballynahinch sniper join Ben Arthurs, provider of the pass that allowed him to slide home, in 20-goal territory for the season. In a high-tempo and intense affair under floodlights, the Seasiders may have been taken the distance but they showed their steel to hold out.
The Clandeboye chief reserved particular praise for his rear-guard’s collective account on Tuesday night, which kept a remarkable 12th clean sheet in 16 league fixtures. He deemed the starting spine of James Taylor, John Boyle, Ryan Arthur and David Hume to have been fundamental in providing a resolute base to build from en route to collecting the three points.
“In the last couple of matches, we have probably had it all our own way in terms of possession and dictating the games,” he told Neil Watson in this week’s County Down Spectator. “We needed the sort of test that Limavady provided and a reminder that nothing is going to be handed to us.
“We weren’t at our best on Tuesday night but we defended really well throughout”
Lee Feeney on Bangor’s slender victory over Limavady United in midweek
“We weren’t at our best on Tuesday night but we defended really well throughout. There were a couple of edgy moments but we restricted Limavady to shots from distance and I thought we deserved the victory.
“The boys aren’t giving any opponent an inch and our defensive record is incredible, especially having not conceded a goal at home in our nine (league) matches so far.”
Wing-back Gareth Beattie echoed his manager’s sentiments, and shed a light on the high-spirited mood in the dressing room at present.
“Everyone’s fighting for each other,” insisted the fan favourite 31-year-old after besting the Roesiders for a 14th league win this term. “The confidence is just flying, we’re all in this together and to be honest, when we’re like that, I can’t see many teams beating us. I’ve been in dressing rooms before but none like this one.
“Feeno’s just drilling it home in there, the conversation that we had after was Banbridge Saturday. It’s not really about the table or what other teams are doing what, it’s about our next game.”
It would surely act as a further lift should the Seasiders be able to go to Banbridge and pick up more points for the kitty.
“The confidence is just flying, we’re all in this together and to be honest, when we’re like that, I can’t see many teams beating us”
Gareth Beattie on the mood within the Bangor camp after Tuesday’s win
Fellow County Down club The Town – the next-door neighbours of MUFL Intermediate A unit Banbridge Rangers, where Kilkeel hero Feeney began his managerial career – firmly have their eyes cast on a return to winning ways.
Also in action in midweek, the side co-managed by Simon Nicks and Ronnie Haughey were at The Dub in south Belfast to take on Queen’s University, falling to a 3-1 defeat that means the Students advance to second-place and in turn progress their bid to bounce back to the Championship at the first ask.
After losing by the same scoreline to Moyola Park on their home surface last Saturday, and being the only PIL outfit remaining in the Intermediate Cup – they host west Belfast Amateur League institution St Oliver Plunkett in the quarter-finals in eight days’ time – they will be desperate for momentum that can be achieved by rekindling their victory fortunes.
The red and black-striped outfit have assembled 14 points from their 14 league fixtures played to date, with eight points separating themselves from sixth-positioned Moyola.
But it is those games in hand that fuel them with hope. They have contested two or three fewer fixtures than those around them, and it will be considered crucial among their camp in their ultimate plight to book their spot among the leading half-dozen clubs that they take full advantage while they are in catch-up mode.
Form guide (PIL last five):
- 28/2/23 – Queen’s University 3-1 Banbridge Town
- 25/2/23 – Banbridge Town 1-3 Moyola Park
- 11/2/23 – Portstewart 0-2 Banbridge Town
- 4/2/23 – Banbridge Town 3-2 Lisburn Distillery
- 24/1/23 – Bangor 4-0 Banbridge Town
Feeney knows what this team are capable of given they completed a pre-split double over Bangor last term, where their top-half placing was built much in part on defensive resolve.
Then under the late Frankie Wilson, the 2011 Steel and Sons Cup-winning boss oversaw a gritty 0-1 victory over his former employers at Clandeboye Park last winter before then sealing his new outfit a 2-0 success in the return in April.
However, a winning outcome for the Seasiders supremo in each of the last two clashes of the sides represents a trend he would more like to follow.
The first meeting this season went to a take two, since referee Stewart Long abandoned the initial joust in December after 50 minutes of play due to the freezing-up of certain portions of the pitch. On the 24th January, goals from Arthur, Arthurs, Jordan Hughes and Ryley D’Sena booked a 4-0 win for Bangor on a night where over £1,500 was raised in memory of the iconic Wilson – who sadly passed away last October – and in support of the cholangiocarcinoma (bile duct cancer) charity AMMF.
History lesson:
Bangor are in pursuit of a third win in a row against Banbridge Town since their return to the Irish League. Indeed, the Seasiders’ first league game back was against this very side, when Ben Arthurs (left) and Barry Walsh converted in a 2-0 victory against a team then steered by current Carrick Rangers boss Stuart King in September 2019. Image from Sarah Harkness.
Now the action returns to Crystal Park, where victory in last season’s post-split courtesy of unresponded Hume and Michael Halliday strikes has the Seagulls on the hunt for a three-peat.
With collectivity and character shining through, gaining each one of the last 15 points available would only serve to increase belief.
Not that any result is handed to them on a silver platter. Of course, amid that most recent outing was a tense opening 20 minutes where Saturday’s home team had their chances.
Leading goal threat Stephen McCavitt is at the heart of Nicks’ philosophy, with five goals to his name – although he has been on a six-game dry spell on the hunt for his half-dozen. This has called other players to join the front, with seven different players delivering each of the seven finishes they managed in a February that comprised back-to-back successes over Lisburn Distillery (3-2) and Portstewart (0-2).
- Position – 10th-place
- Points – 14 (14 matches played)
- Goals scored – 16
- Goals conceded – 29
- Top scorer – Stephen McCavitt (five goals)
- Clean sheets – three (all Lewis Hunter)
There is an ideal mixture of youth and experience in the side, too. In midfield, there is the proven pedigree of club captain Christopher McMahon (30) and Conor Downey (33), while substantial minutes have also been afforded to the likes of defensive duo Jack Barbour (20) and Adam Hamilton (18) at the other end of the age reckoning. It is hoped that it gels again.
Player to watch:
A goalkeeper who is alert to his surroundings and with swift reflexes, albeit who has been battling back to recover from injury lately, Lewis Hunter promises to be a sticky obstacle in prospect for the Bangor forward line to breach. The 23-year-old – who, like Bangor’s own Adam Neale, has represented in the UEFA Regions Cup – is shrewd in how he covers his posts, and it will call on the Seasiders line-leaders to be clinical in their placement. Image from Banbridge Town FC Facebook.
With Nicks in charge of the Northern Ireland Under-18 Schoolboys – in action on Thursday night when Michael Morgan found the net in a 1-1 draw with Scotland’s equivalents at the Blanchflower – it likewise marks a swift recalibration in his focus to readjust back to the PIL.
But Banbridge have a formidable resolve about them, and rest assured they will be up for the challenge knowing victories are of the essence in order to fulfill their season intentions.
From Bangor’s point of view, it is about rising to each task as and when it arises. Crystal Park is no simple place to pick up points.
| Premier Intermediate | 4/3/23 | |
| Armagh City | vs | PSNI |
| Banbridge Town | vs | Bangor |
| Dollingstown | vs | Tobermore United |
| Lisburn Distillery | vs | Limavady United |
| Portstewart | vs | Moyola Park |
| Queen’s University | vs | Ballymacash Rangers |
“We never have it easy away to Banbridge Town and we will have to work hard to get a win on Saturday,” cautioned 44-year-old Feeney in the County Down Spectator. “But I know the players are up for it.
“To be honest, I don’t think I’ll need to give much of a team-talk because there are so many big characters in the dressing room driving this group on.”
Feeney, who spoke proudly of emulating the great Wilson in helping engrave Bangor’s name on the Steel and Sons Cup trophy in December, added that he will seek to use as full an expanse of his squad as possible between now and the end of the campaign.
“Last Saturday (against Portstewart), Aaron Harris and Tom Mathieson were probably the best two players on the pitch but I felt a game a couple of days later against Limavady United came too soon for them both,” he said.
“They haven’t played enough games this season and I thought I’d freshen things up for Tuesday night. They both came on for the last half-hour and made an impact, and I’ll need everyone to step up and do the same for the remainder of the season.”
“We never have it easy away to Banbridge Town and we will have to work hard to get a win on Saturday”
Lee Feeney on his expectation of a tricky contest on Saturday afternoon
The manager is expected to be without Karl Devine for the foreseeable future, with the 27-year-old midfielder nursing an ankle injury sustained against Ballymacash Rangers a fortnight ago, although on-loan defender Ryley D’Sena and goalkeeper Marc Orbinson could be in contention for Saturday’s matchday squad having been sidelined with knocks of late.
Able to count on a plentiful reserve of options across the pitch, it may be that Cliftonville loanee Seanna Foster returns to the starting line-up as well given he, too, has had recent strains to overcome. A sharp display off the bench against the Roesiders implies that the Belfast dynamo would be ready when called upon.
The key can once more be found in keeping a professional mindset. Following a run of seven home matches out of the last nine, a plethora of away days awaits Bangor, with a trip to Dollingstown in two weeks’ time and re-scheduled dates for visits to Moyola Park and PSNI still to be determined following this showdown.
As valuable as making good on their games in front of the Clandeboye stands has been, the same is true on the road.
Bangor Reserves’ focus, meanwhile, turns to arresting their recent run of games without a victory when they host Knockbreda in Section B of the Championship/PIL Development League.
The second string have not emerged with maximum spoils in any of the last four outings, and manager David Downes has backed the young Seasiders to bounce back from last weekend’s draw with Lisburn Distillery by taking home three points against ‘Breda.
“It was frustrating last week,” admitted Downes on the 2-2 scoreline against the Whites in Ballyskeagh. “At one point I had two at the back and everyone else camped in the opposition half, we put the pressure on but we just couldn’t find the net. I was really disappointed in the end.
“We have to make sure we’re up for it against Knockbreda and be clinical when we get our chances.”
A win against the east Belfast side, who are eighth-placed of eight in the division and who the Under-20s have already defeated twice this season, ensures they keep pace with leaders Ballymacash Rangers with five points to make up. Kick-off on Saturday is at 11am.
“We have to make sure we’re up for it against Knockbreda and be clinical when we get our chances”
Reserves boss David Downes on what his Reserves need to do to see off the challenge of Knockbreda
The Under-18s were in action in midweek, with Isaac Caldwell’s troops coming out on top over Willowbank’s equivalents by a 3-1 scoreline. A brace by Sonny Redford and a Troy Beattie strike handed them the points over the west Belfast institution in the South Belfast Youth Football League on Tuesday night, with Thomas Drysdale picking up the Curious Candy Man of the Match award.
Elsewhere, the latest Seasider 200 draw was conducted ahead to Tuesday’s seniors game against Limavady.
Jonny Ballagh walked home a happy man, taking home the £100 prize with defender Ryley D’Sena being the drawmaster to reveal him as the winner.
You can contribute as little as £5 a month to this cause and be in with a shout of winning some cash by simply following the embedded link.
Finally, Bangor FC have teamed up with Tony Macaroni Italian Restaurant for a special offer during the month of March, where you can cut your food bill by a complete 20% by using the code SEASIDERS20 when booking a table online.
See the link attached to the embedded Tweet for more details on how to sign up.
Featured image from Sarah Harkness.
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