The Tuesday night lights will be shining on Clandeboye Park, a party atmosphere projected to serenade a team coming home as champions. Bangor all but sealed the deal on Saturday and now, on their return to their patch, they will be hailed as heroes in front of their stands by a raucous support rallying their team to close the campaign in the same victorious vein that they have upheld all season long.
With just three matches remaining, starting with the visit of Limavady United in a midweek where intermediate football will well and truly take centre stage, the Seasiders shall set out their stall and seek to defend their unbeaten home record as only a couple further outings on Clandeboye’s artificial surface remain. The cherry has been finally perched upon a delectable cake, and now it is about riding the crest of a wave until it hits the beach.
The full time scenes witnessed at a rainy Dub on Saturday are the kind that will be etched into the history books.
A point from four matches was sufficient to seal Bangor as Premier Intermediate League champions, but they made sure to confirm their crown with all three at the weekend.
Ryan Arthur is an image of joy and happiness after helping Bangor seal the Premier Intermediate League title with his fifth goal of the season on Saturday; his second double in yellow and blue, having also won the Ballymena League/McReynolds Cup duo during his first stint with the Seasiders back in 2019. Image from Gary Carson.
Goals from Adam Neale, Ben Arthurs and Ryan Arthur propelled the north Down visitors into a three-goal ascendancy against Queen’s University, with Dan Mairs’ last-ditch consolation swiping the clean sheet from the Yellows but by no means nabbing away at their pride.
With the third-tier title accompanying the Steel and Sons Cup in the cabinet from this iconic crusade, the engraving into the archives of one of the all-time great terms in the club’s 105-year history can finally begin.
A new challenge beckons for Lee Feeney and his battlers when August comes, a seven-year absence from the top two divisions coming to a merciful conclusion.
The goal-cam perspective on Bangor’s weekend victory over Queen’s University that confirmed the Premier Intermediate League title. Video from Darran Gilpin/Bangor FC Social Media.
But before then, and with a period to recharge in the interim, are a trio of fixtures to finish the intermediate chapter of this club’s history.
Ballymacash Rangers will have the red carpet rolled out for them on Saturday, by which time the west Lisburn club will either have consolidated or be seeking to solidify the play-off reward that comes with finishing in second-place in this division, before a trip to Tobermore United next Tuesday acts as the curtain-closer on a stellar show.
It is hard to fathom that in only seven days’ time, the senior men’s 2022/23 adventure will be done and dusted.
Gareth Beattie, Ryan Arthur, Michael Halliday, Ben Arthurs and Scott McArthur (left to right) can all now call themselves double-double winners in their time with Bangor, having each achieved the feats in both 2019 and 2023. Image from Gary Carson.
But with Limavady’s sojourn this Tuesday night, the opportunity to wrap it up on a high has now been presented – and, moreover, to see what remnants of pride and satisfaction are still outstanding be ultimately accomplished.
A mark of 25 clean sheets is one Bangor are still to fulfil in their history, but only one more shut-out is required to reach that.
Given also that the club could still finish the campaign on as many as 74 points from 81 available, there is still enough to whet the appetite right until the final whistle at Fortwilliam Park next week.
Limavady visit Co Down still on the hunt for their first points of the post-split quintet.
Form guide (PIL last five):
- 22/4/23 – Limavady United 0-1 Tobermore United
- 15/4/23 – Ballymacash Rangers 1-0 Limavady United
- 8/4/23 – Banbridge Town 0-2 Limavady United
- 1/4/23 – Limavady United 2-1 Moyola Park
- 25/3/23 – Portstewart 0-2 Limavady United
Dealt a blow by their former boss Andrew Law and his Tobermore battalion on Saturday, when Daniel McIlhatton’s second-half winner proved the only goal of a tight game at the Rathmore Road Showgrounds, the Roesiders will be out to conjure up a response here.
Having lost by the same 1-0 scoreline on a road trip to The Bluebell a week earlier, where Ballymacash all but extinguished their hopes of a late play-off push, they need merely one more point to mathematically confirm a fourth-place finish.
- Position – fourth-place
- Points – 41 (24 matches played)
- Goals scored – 40
- Goals conceded – 24
- Top scorer – Alex Pomeroy (16 goals)
- Clean sheets – six (Richard Purcell four, Paul Wells two)
Former Coleraine assistant Paul Owens, who succeeded Law at the tail end of November on his return to the blue-shirted outfit, has made a positive impact since his return to the club he helped to a league-and-cup treble six years ago – and, as equally was the case at the start of this season, a fresh promotion bid will surely be the north-west institution’s target when 2023/24 rolls around.
With striker Alex Pomeroy nominated alongside Bangor’s own eventual winner Ben Arthurs in the PIL Player of the Year final three, the former Institute and Knockbreda ace warranted the recognition for another hot goal-getting escapade with 16 league strikes this term.
He is expected to lead the charge for the Lims once more, asking questions of a Bangor back-three that should have a replenished look about it.
An accumulation of bookings caused left-sided centre back David Hume to miss the Queen’s success through suspension, while the right-flanking John Boyle’s simultaneous unavailability meant Ryley D’Sena and Gareth Beattie were called upon to fill in positions not necessarily most natural to them alongside central mainstay Arthur.
With the help of an inspired goalkeeping display by the marvellous James Taylor, the home colours will be driven to repel the danger factor of Pomeroy, plus fellow attack-minded cogs like nine-goal Ryan Doherty (27) and Dean Brown (24), who has seven for the boys in blue.
Player to watch:
Someone whose qualities Bangor have known to watch out for in various meetings with Limavady United over the years, 33-year-old skipper Hugh Carlin is a head on wise shoulders amid a team that is nurturing an abundance of young talent within their fold. Image from Jordan Connolly/Life Through A Lens NI.
Owens has been keen to use as many of the younger jokers in his pack as often as possible, reflected in the ever-present status of 19-year-old defender Aaron McLaughlin and on-loan 18-year-old Coleraine Reserves skipper Lewis Tosh. Caiolan Brennan (21), Jack Mullan (22) and siblings Tiarnan and Ruairi Boorman (both 22) are also all beyond the 20-appearance marker for the campaign as a collective, laying down a foundation.
With all three prior encounters this term resulting in Bangor victories by a one-goal margin – most recently on February 28, when Adam Neale’s first-half winner made sure the maximum spoils stayed on the seaside on a nervy Tuesday night – another close fight is to be foreseen.
Gareth Beattie was keen to stress such a point when they fended off the threats in that latterly joust; a high-tempo fixture from the first whistle, albeit equally shy of clear-cut opportunities for long spells.
The quotes section:
“Limavady, they’re a good side, they’d went the last six or seven unbeaten and they’d have went in thinking they have a real chance and an energy about them, so we have to step up to it. It was high-tempo but we defended well as a unit and we kept their clear-cut chances low” – long-serving Bangor wing-back Gareth Beattie summarised how valuable it was to match up to Limavady United’s high-spirited mindset after the 1-0 victory in February.
“Limavady, they’re a good side, they’d went the last six or seven unbeaten and they’d have went in thinking they have a real chance and an energy about them, so we have to step up to it,” the wing-back stated at the time.
“It was high-tempo but we defended well as a unit and we kept their clear-cut chances low. (It’s) another one ticked off. The boys just love winning… and it’s not even about making sure of ourselves before the split, we just want to keep winning and keep clean sheets every game – we do that, and we win the league.”
History lesson:
Bangor enter this Tuesday’s match aspiring to complete the clean sweep over Limavady United this season. A Ben Arthurs penalty meant the Seasiders won the first clash back in August, goals for David Hume and Michael Halliday either side of Alex Pomeroy’s penalty bagged progression from the Irish Cup fourth round in November before Adam Neale bagged the winner in February. All in all, the Yellows have lost only one of the last eight meetings dating back to 2019. Image from Jordan Connolly/Life Through A Lens NI.
But resilience is an attribute the players wearing yellow have put on display all season, and their ability to stay afloat on rocky shores is inherent.
| Premier Intermediate | 25/4/23 (Post-split 3/Section A)* | |
| Ballymacash Rangers | vs | Tobermore United |
| Bangor | vs | Limavady United |
| Moyola Park | vs | Queen’s University (7:00pm) |
Supporters in attendance will be all for enjoying the night. A homecoming of champions and heroes it is, after all, and their energy and commitment clearly rubs off on those in action.
| Premier Intermediate | 25/4/23 (Post-split 3/Section B)* | |
| Armagh City | vs | Portstewart |
| Dollingstown | vs | PSNI |
| Lisburn Distillery | vs | Banbridge Town (7:00pm) |
A positive result and a similarly demanding outlook from Feeney that his charges uphold the standards they have set will be what those onlooking want to see.
Putting in a performance that reflects a league-topping status will be a very pure motivation.
If one midweek match does not satisfy your hunger for football, then you are definitely advised to make yourself accounted for at Clandeboye Park on Wednesday evening.
Bangor FC Ladies kick-start their season with a home encounter against Lisburn Rangers – a familiar opponent from last year’s Division One term – as a side under new management and with ambitions of making a step in a higher league.
Ethan Boylan takes the mantle competitively for the first time, leading from the touchline while the players set out to commence the campaign front-footed against the third-division champions last time out.
Having themselves achieved promotion to the Championship alongside the Stanley Park outfit, where the likes of Ballyclare Comrades, St James’ Swifts, Belfast Celtic and Foyle Belles will also lie in wait down the line, new tests will be posed between this week and mid-August when the season reaches its denouement.
Player to watch:
Her goal-getting exploits have served Bangor well over the years, and there can be no doubt as to Leah Robinson‘s motivations to lead the charge for Ethan Boylan’s squad this season. A player who leads the line capably, instinctive in finding the right positions to pull the trigger from as well as linking others into play, you can bank on her setting out her stall to cause problems for the Lisburn Rangers defence. Image from Joe McEwan.
Admission is priced at £3 for adults and £2 for concession, while Under-16s will have free access to watch the players in action.
Kick-off for this showdown by the seaside is at 7:30pm under the Clandeboye floodlights.
Featured image from Jordan Connolly/Life Through A Lens NI.
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