Across comfortably in excess of 100 write-ups, many of these have, to add to chance-by-chance overviews of games, been punctuated by the post-match perspectives of the players and management team at Bangor. These are people who have been willing to give a minute or two of their time to chat to me about the 90 minutes that have just been contested beforehand, and, as a thanks to them for offering their musings, I feel it apt to record some which – on reflection – encapsulate the spirit of the fold.
Here, I select 10 quotes from key figures within the club at different points of the campaign that told a tale of how proceedings went throughout 2022/23. During a season where the highs thankfully vastly outnumbered the lows, views on both elevated moments of ecstasy and more downbeat spells were conveyed, with opinions on everything from new signings to pitch surfaces, from title glory to prior heartbreaks… not a stone is left unturned.
“It’s a good partnership. Ryley’s (D’Sena) really came on and Davy (Hume), who I played with in my first spell here, he has that experience. James Taylor’s joined and asserted himself between the sticks, he’s really vocal. Boyler’s (John Boyle) came in, he can be used in defensive midfield and centre back, he can play both and he’s put himself about, and he’s great with his feet as well. (Aaron) Harris came on too, he knocked it about nicely and kept things flowing” – Ryan Arthur (Bangor 5-0 Lisburn Distillery, August 2022)
Bangor laid out a statement of intent in their season opener, racing into a five-goal lead by half-time at home to Lisburn Distillery and seeing out a clean sheet.
Returning centre-back Arthur delivered two of those finishes. He announced that he was back in quite some style having departed for Ballyclare Comrades in the previous winter window, and spoke afterwards on how his fellow summer arrivals had acquainted so well early doors.
He paid tribute to the development of young Australian Ryley D’Sena, who had notched an assist to his name already when he teed Ben Arthurs up in the Irish Cup First Round clash with Queen’s University 11 days prior, and the experience of John Boyle, who made his first start for the Seasiders following his arrival after a half-decade’s service to Newry City.
“If Reece (Neale), Dylan (O’Kane) and the lads keep sending the balls in I can fancy getting 10 to 15 goals a season”
Ryan Arthur insisted it was his intention to contribute substantially on the goal front this season, and his five league goals ultimately secured him third-place on the Bangor PIL scoring charts
The 27-year-old also spoke of the authority offered in goal by James Taylor, the first signing of the summer when he swapped Glenavon’s Mourneview Park for Clandeboye Park in his home town, as well as how debutant former Whites man Aaron Harris kept things ticking over when introduced as a substitute. By the season’s conclusion, the recruitment – where Chief Scout Stuart Mellon and Head of Academy Jeff Montgomery’s expertise proved of particular value – had helped Bangor to crowning glory.
Carrickfergus favourite Arthur, who clinched a second league-and-cup double as a Seasider, moreover declared his intentions to contribute on the goal front.
Two goals versus Lisburn Distillery kicked off the goal count for Ryan Arthur on his return to the seaside, and he further bolstered his tally with strikes against the Whites (in the return fixture), Banbridge Town and Queen’s University in league play. He also recorded assists facing each of the other three sides to complete the PIL’s top four. Image from Sarah Harkness.
“Yeah, it’s great, getting two goals and to be honest I could have had two more later on. If Reece (Neale), Dylan (O’Kane) and the lads keep sending the balls in I can fancy getting 10 to 15 goals a season,” he stated.
Five goals and five assists were his final return and, while by instinct he is one who always aims to drive his personal statistics up as much as possible, he has contributed substantially to a stellar season himself.
“I think it was a bit of desperation at the end, we started to go a bit longer, more direct, obviously Seanna’s (Foster) put a great ball in and I was able to connect. I got my second from Jamie’s (Glover) low ball, and after that, we just knocked it about. I know they were down to 10 due to an injury but we kept it well and saw the game out” – Michael Halliday (Albert Foundry 1-2 Bangor, October 2022)
When Bangor travelled to Paisley Park in the first stage of the Intermediate Cup in mid-October, it was a trip that almost left the players with pie on their faces.
But, with Ben Arthurs and Adam Neale absent due to illness and the NI Regions Cup respectively, it calls as ever on big players to step up for the big occasions.
Michael Halliday knows a thing or two about that.
He had entered as a substitute just 22 minutes in as Jordan Hughes was forced off through injury and, come second-half added-time when the Seasiders found themselves 1-0 down to Amateur League Division 1A outfit Albert Foundry, he headed home an equaliser that forced the tie to 20 minutes of extra time.
The evergreen east Belfast icon’s exploits in the west side of the capital weren’t done either, then connecting to Jamie Glover’s low delivery across the goal-face and sliding home a second to win the joust. A nonchalant post-match reflection from the former Glentoran stalwart reflected a figure who is no stranger to coming up trumps in these types of situations.
It also served as an apt display that class really is permanent. In his 24th season of Irish League football having also served the likes of Dundela and Knockbreda following over a decade with the Glens, a brace of assists against Foundry to help serve up a hat-trick for Adam Neale in the Steel and Sons Cup quarter-finals are supplements to decisive headed finishes on the road at Limavady and Queen’s.
With four goals and three assists in around 900 minutes of football by the end, Michael’s still got the moves.
“Nervy one, but at the end of it, a win’s a win. You can’t expect to go to these sorts of places and have it easy. These are the games that define your season, and however you see it, it’s three points in the end” – Reece Neale (Queen’s University 1-2 Bangor, December 2022)
Speaking of Queen’s, it was left wing-back Reece Neale who put it on a plate for Halliday to convert.
The younger of the two siblings, vice-captain Reece’s delivery by the touchline at The Dub allowed seasoned veteran Halliday to add to Adam Neale’s opener and build a two-goal lead early in the encounter.
Yet, in the end, it was to be made a distinctly anxious affair for those watching from the south Belfast venue’s main stand. Just beyond the 70-minute mark, Reece’s left-back counterpart Ronan Young slid home a deficit-cutter, dancing into the penalty area before slotting low beyond James Taylor’s sprawling dive.
The Students bombarded Bangor thereafter – and but for the woodwork denying Young’s long-distance free kick in literally the last second, they would have got that leveller they so desperately craved.
With nerves jangling and knees wobbling, the final whistle sounded with three points headed back to north Down.
Neale, who donned the armband that day in the absence of usual skipper Lewis Harrison, believed securing the maximum spoils against a team fighting hard to make an immediate return to the Championship could maybe have represented a season-defining moment.
He considered it of the essence that Bangor show their steel during these types of encounters and prove their promotion credentials.
You can’t say the Ballynahinch ace was wrong.
“When we went 1-0 down, I started to think ‘oh no, it’s happening again’, but when we scored the equaliser, I never really felt like the result was in doubt from there on. When Ben (Arthurs) scored, I knew that we’d push on, I knew we had it in us to go on and get the winner. The boys were brilliant, coming through to get the result” – Lewis Harrison (Bangor 2-1 Dunmurry Rec, December 2022)
In 2017, when Linfield Swifts played Newington, Lewis Harrison was kitted out in the famous royal blue.
But, with Linfield being a club where trophy success is all but a necessity, it was The ‘Ton‘s Padraig Scollay who spoiled the Christmas festivities for midfielder Harrison and his young Blues team-mates that year.
Losing a Steel and Sons Cup Final seems to hit different. This time of year, one of joy and happiness, can be cruelly punctuated by thoughts of what could have been when your opponent gets the better of you on Seaview’s artificial surface.
“You’ve lost the previous day and you can’t really get yourself up for Christmas”
Bangor captain Lewis Harrison on the distinctly bitter taste of losing a Steel and Sons Cup Final
The Bangor captain admitted he had flashbacks of those feelings of despair and disappointment when the boys in yellow and blue fell behind just after half time against Amateur League 1A outfit Dunmurry Rec. The south Belfast club, who conquered Immaculata on penalties in the semi-finals for one of three Premier Division scalps they claimed en route to the decider, appeared on a path to possibly the greatest upset in competition history.
After Andrew Carberry pounced on a loose back-pass by Ryan Arthur to hand the underdogs the initiative, it appeared as if a giant-killing was on the cards.
Midfielder Lewis Harrison, who has now served in Bangor’s colours for three-and-a-half years now having linked up just before Covid pulled the curtain prematurely on the 2019/20 campaign, can count himself a double-winning captain just as Tommy Wray was in 2019. He also put ghosts to bed when he atoned for defeat in the Steel decider six years prior by setting up Ben Arthurs’ leveller against Dunmurry Rec. Image from Sarah Harkness.
But the resilience the Seasiders showed was laid bare by an upbeat immediate reaction to the goal, with Ben Arthurs emerging from the bench to bag a crucial equaliser just after the hour before Adam Neale headed home what proved to be the winner with 70 minutes played. For much of the second half, the third-tier outfit pushed for goals, and two of them were good enough for a trophy lift in a match that always had banana skin potential.
“It puts a dampener on the whole thing when you lose,” insisted the 24-year-old Harrison, who set up Arthurs’ leveller. “You’ve lost the previous day and you can’t really get yourself up for Christmas so we’re all in for a happy enough Christmas and New Year now.”
Yes, we were. And ghosts of Christmas past both for the Belfast maestro and Bangor FC were banished forever.
“I had a chat at half time that we’d need to keep it tight, we come out, concede a silly goal and it would’ve been easy for us to just drop our heads. But we didn’t do that, we went up afterwards, we defended well and we took the game to Crusaders. We got the goal and, unfortunately, we just couldn’t in the end (get a second goal) that I feel like we would have deserved” – Lee Feeney (Bangor 1-2 Crusaders, February 2023)
When Bangor were paired with Crusaders in the Irish Cup Sixth Round, most peeking from the outside in perhaps expected a Crues procession.
The defending champions of Ireland’s oldest football cup competition facing a team who, at that point, had just lost to Tobermore United and were not even at the Premier Intermediate summit.
What’s more, the match was selected for live television broadcast. Friday night lights and a first for the Seasiders – they would have at least 90 minutes’ worth of fame live in front of the BBC cameras. That said, they had a bit of a point to prove that they were worth the slot.
But they didn’t disappoint. They were, in fact, within a misguided James Taylor header from forcing extra-time.
It proved to be a closer game for Bangor against Premiership giants Crusaders than many expected, with Ben Arthurs’ deficit-cutter 25 minutes from the end sending a palpable excitement around Clandeboye Park that a famous comeback could yet be on the cards. Image from Gary Carson.
After Ben Arthurs – a hat-trick hero in the previous round versus Mid-Ulster Intermediate A team Tandragee Rovers – cut the Seagulls’ deficit in half after Philip Lowry’s double either side of the interval assured the Hatchetmen of a reasonable advantage, they huffed and puffed and took the game to their Premiership visitors thereafter. They came up just short of toppling Stephen Baxter’s troops in the end, but could definitely leave with their heads held high.
For boss Lee Feeney, he had hoped the positive signs he saw in that second half would whet the appetite and fuel their pursuit of the third-tier crown, believing such a display as the one his side produced against the Shore Road men was the evidence required to show his side were ready to return to senior football again.
Crusaders retained the Irish Cup, facing up to top-tier opponents in Glentoran, Dungannon Swifts and Ballymena in the next three rounds. By the end, plucky Bangor were the only panel to deny them a clean sheet across their five rounds.
And the Seasiders did not lose another game all season en route to promotion.
“You don’t want it that you’re fighting for the title, when you’ve won the league and you’ve maybe two or three boys in there who don’t feel like they’re a part of it. It keeps us happy, it keeps us looking over our shoulders and everyone knows when they’re going out there, they’ve got to give their best every game. Everyone’s fighting for each other. 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” – Gareth Beattie (Bangor 1-0 Limavady United, February 2023)
“I’ve been in dressing rooms before but none like this one.”
Talk about a bold statement.
Gareth Beattie is a player who has seen it all. While his association with Bangor has not been an unbroken one, spending time with Harland and Wolff Welders across a decorated career, it stretches back comfortably over a decade.
And yet he ranks this team’s character and mentality as the best he has seen.
The Yellows had just defeated Limavady United by a solitary Adam Neale goal to nil at the end of February. It was a high-tempo and intense game that, in truth, did not give abundant chance-creating leeway, and Neale’s close-range finish from a well-worked Ben Arthurs cut-back made the difference in a clash where victory was a naturally paramount objective.
Beattie, who started the game, took time to discuss the squad’s attitude and the depth in detail, and pointed out that when he receives minutes, he is seeking to deliver his best for the collective in an environment that facilitates that. The long-serving right wing-back also noted that when impressive Cliftonville loanee Seanna Foster is the man given the nod and on the pitch, he will be as active in willing him on as if he is tackling the turf. A confident team, he stated, that does not set themselves limits.
“You look at the squad depth, Tom (Mathieson) I thought was absolutely phenomenal on Saturday and tonight he doesn’t even get in the team. You’ve Jamie (Glover) and Scotty (McArthur) there, three good young attacking midfielders and picking who starts is like a coin toss. Feeno’s (Lee Feeney) given me a few chances and I’m going out there, but when Seanna’s (Foster) on I’m cheering him because it’s all about the collective” – Gareth Beattie (Bangor 1-0 Limavady United, February 2023)
Continuing his enthusiastic appraisal of a set-up that’s yielded regular winning results, Beattie pointed out that the close battle between three young guns in one particular area of the pitch stands testament to the camp’s drive and motivation.
Now 18 months into his adventure as a Bangor player, Jamie Glover‘s move from Ards has proved a successful one, and his pace and trickery has singled him out as one of the most eye-catching players in the side when in full flight. Meanwhile, local lad Tom Mathieson‘s arrival from Ballyclare Comrades has also yielded flashes of brilliance. Image from Sarah Harkness.
Jamie Glover (22), Scott McArthur (23) and Tom Mathieson (23) are three cogs of Feeney’s geared operation who have at different points occupied the attacking midfield position(s) in the system. The versatility of Glover has been on show, with the one-on-one trickery and the speed to glide by opposition fullbacks on the wing, but his ability to slot in behind the strikers and put defenders on the back foot is an equally useful trait.
A hot start on the goal front highlighted his penchant for doing damage, while energetic McArthur – a double-double member having clinched the Ballymena League and McReynolds Cup titles in 2019 alongside Beattie – and the technical Mathieson each offer alternative skillsets that each saw them preferred by the Kilkeel supremo at different points last term.
In his first season back at Bangor following his time across the water learning with and playing for Stirling University, Scott McArthur has come back and delivered a sense of urgency and proactivity to proceedings. He chipped in with five goals and six assists, and also won a penalty, to cap off a pleasing endeavour for the home town lad. Image from Jordan Connolly/Life Through A Lens NI.
Their youthful exuberance guarantees that their potential to develop yet further exists, and the fine margins of the trio mean a hunger to steal a march will be omnipresent.
It, in itself, is a microcosm of the spirit Beattie is keen to beam out. It also fits in with just the type of thing Feeney loves to see.
“I think Tobermore might’ve been a wee wake-up call, remind us not to take our eyes off the ball and we’ve got to keep focused on what’s ahead and all that. We’d a few of those last season where we took our eyes off the ball and it cost us, and this season we’re not making the same mistakes, keeping focused and taking it as it comes” – Ben Arthurs (Banbridge Town 0-2 Bangor, March 2023)
Following a two-goal effort that saw Banbridge Town off and put him within a couple of goals of the 100 mark in a Bangor shirt, Ben Arthurs made a curious reference to a rare moment of defeat.
Five consecutive shut-out victories had just been recorded with a latest success at Crystal Park, where floated supplies by Reece Neale and Aaron Harris set up the big striker from Kircubbin to find the net in both the first and second halves.
In his post-match reflection, Arthurs, as any goal-getter would, was proud to leave his mark on a fresh success.
Ben Arthurs put himself within touching distance of becoming Bangor’s third goal centurion with his brace against Banbridge Town, following in the footsteps of pre-war legend Billy Bradford and modern favourite Andy Morrow in reaching that milestone. He did so emphatically when he netted a hat-trick away to Dollingstown a couple of weeks later. Image from Jordan Connolly/Life Through A Lens NI.
But he also cited the value of losing to Tobermore United in refocusing the team to the priorities ahead. Looking in hindsight, his point was easy to comprehend – after dropping only two points all season up to that point, the Seasiders would ultimately have to face the fact that they would at some point suffer defeat, and the real question that Lee Feeney was going to ask of his squadron was how they would react once the chain was broken.
“Sometimes you’ve the pitch to deal with as well, and it’s important to get points away from home too,” the would-be 20-goal PIL Player of the Season mentioned in earnest. “Because when you’re at home, it’s great when you’re playing on your own pitch but when you’re away, it might not suit your style of play as much, it’s a new challenge.”
Thankfully, mistakes made in 2021/22 – Bangor suffered home reverses to the likes of Dollingstown, Banbridge and Lisburn Distillery, as well as away losses that The Town and Limavady inflicted on them – appear to have been left there.
“What a year, we’re out to enjoy this now… but see next year? Next year’s going to be even better, all those trips to wherever and the North Down derbies, I can’t wait for it!” – Reece Neale (Bangor 1-1 Ballymacash Rangers, April 2023)
When a 1-1 draw was followed by Bangor’s coronation as PIL champions after Lewis Harrison held aloft the league trophy, you would have had a tricky time getting a straight sentence out of someone as the winners’ high took hold.
Pure delight on the faces of everyone, from the players to supporters to coaches to volunteers, as the Yellows had sealed an unbeaten home record in league play following a stalemate with Ballymacash Rangers.
It was, truth be told, a time for living in the moment.
But amid the post-match chatter, some looked ahead to next season and looked ahead with hope and optimism.
Reece Neale already knows the score. He was a member of Niall Currie’s Carrick Rangers team that clinched their Premiership berth through the play-off, with bitter rivals Ards the ones to fall by the Amber Army‘s sword back in 2019. Indeed, despite formerly playing for the red and blue-striped institution for a short while, any allegiances pledged have long since passed their date of expiry as the younger Neale sibling sets out to be their nemesis once more. In his mind, the job is still a long way from completion.
There certainly was a feeling of victory around the Neale family when Bangor hoisted the PIL trophy aloft, with brothers Reece and Adam each playing starring roles in the Seasiders’ successful clinching of the third-tier title. In Adam’s case, it also means he has won four top intermediate cups – the Steel and Sons, Intermediate, Amateur League and PIL – in the space of 12 months, something of a clean sweep. Image from Sarah Harkness.
And, with a trophy to his name as the man to captain Linfield Swifts to Steel and Sons Cup glory in 2016, he assumed a vice-skipper role to help Bangor to their seventh triumph in the leading intermediate competition as well as, of course, the Premier Intermediate League.
Ambition drives winners. Winners win trophies. In fact, winners just win.
Reece Neale is a winner. And he made it clear, he wants to win some more.
“I think when we went in, we had it in our heads that Tobermore were the only team that had beaten us (in the league) this season, we weren’t going to let them do it twice and even though we’ve won the league, our focus was always on the three points. We wanted to go out and end the season on a high. It was good that we went in and did that and finish the season the way that we wanted to, it’s what we’ve become used to and ending the season like this, it’s a good feeling definitely” – Aaron Harris (Tobermore United 1-3 Bangor, May 2023)
It is fitting that the final quote from this selection of 10 should be from the final game of the season.
Just because the title had been clinched and the trophy procession undertaken when Bangor traversed to Fortwilliam Park on the last day, did not mean – and certainly not in the minds of the players – that their holidays could begin early.
Midfielder Aaron Harris was keen to stress that there was still definitely some pride at stake. And Lee Feeney had the players well-set when they seared to a victory away to Tobermore United. Goals by Ben Arthurs, a 20th of the season that pegged him even at the PIL scoring summit, Tom Mathieson and an own goal all inside the first half-hour proved decisive, with ex-Lisburn Distillery skipper Harris orchestrating once more.
With a distinct spell as creator-in-chief when he recorded six set-ups in just eight fixtures, he led the squad for minutes per assist in the final statistical breakdown (201.3) and took a particular two-handed grip following an injury which would ultimately cut Karl Devine’s season short in mid-February.
He operated alongside Reece Neale in midfield and helped successfully atone for the Reds‘ 2-0 defeat of the Seasiders in January.
And, perched on 70 points out of a possible 81, it helped lay the Yellows down for one last time in the intermediate game that they meant business.
The charismatic Harris, as mentioned right at the start, has been a worthwhile recruit indeed.
Funny that, one could’ve sworn that it was, in fact, Lewis Harrison who got the final touch on that occasion…
Irrespective, it has been an impressive first season in yellow and blue indeed for midfield orchestrator Aaron Harris, and he particularly marked his credentials and skillset out when stepping in to cover the void left by Karl Devine from the middle of February onwards. Image from Football NI app.
He furthermore brings the personality that Feeney so enjoys… but just don’t tell him that he failed to score this season, since that is his cue to raise the ‘goal’ he was credited with versus Tobermore in March!
Featured image from Jordan Connolly/Life Through A Lens NI.
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