It proved a busy week indeed by the seaside, as the spotlight shone brightly on Bangor FC Ladies’ ongoing commitments on the league and cup fronts just as it did for the Under-18s’ engagements in the Champions of Down tournament this past week. Knock-out stakes were at play and it was up to the respective panels of Ethan Boylan and Isaac Caldwell to live up to the billing, and there were certainly positive seeds to be sewn.
Meanwhile, on the senior side, a glamour pre-season friendly has been booked, while brightness was afforded amid the warm weather when first-team manager Lee Feeney and star striker Ben Arthurs put pen to paper on fresh new deals. There was due recognition for the Academy as the awards night took place to recognise the achievements of the players from Under-10 all the way up to Under-20 level, with awards and shields handed out to show acclaim to the players and coaches within each rung of the ladder.
Firstly, it was a second successive double-header of league and cup for Bangor FC Ladies this week just passed.
The Seasiders were on home soil twice over, with Crusaders Strikers visiting Clandeboye Park on Monday night before St James’ Swifts embarked on a trip to north Down a couple of days later when action reverted to the divisional front.
Facing top-level opposition in any context will represent a stern assignment, and that billing was lived up to when the Crues took home an unanswered 15-goal Co Antrim Cup success.
With Bangor having defeated south Belfast institution Rosario in the first round, sealing a 5-2 win to progress to the quarter-final stage, they were to be drawn up against one of the country’s top teams who were to deliver emphatically to their pre-match favourites tag.
Spirits were not to be necessarily dampened, however, when the Yellows took to the stage once more on Wednesday evening.
Bangor FC Ladies midfielder Francesca Costa I Fassunge comes under close attentions from her Crusaders Strikers counterpart during Monday night’s fixture in the Co Antrim Cup. Image from Sarah Harkness.
In an engaging game where goal-mouth action occurred at both ends of the pitch, the hosts twice took the lead – Amber Dempster curled home a sweet free-kick from the edge of the 18-yard area four minutes before the interval, while substitute Katie Magowan capitalised on a St James’ mix-up in defence to bundle in from close range – after the west Belfast travellers netted a couple of equalisers in the second half.
It was an NIWFA Championship encounter that proved somewhat draining, being a side that was missing quite a number of first-team components and that was further dented when the in-form Olivia Brown was carried off injured, but the perseverance of the Ladies to push on and claim a creditable draw came in for much praise from the coaching team.
“Happy with the result,” reflected coaches Chris Dougan and Josh Eynon, who oversaw proceedings in sterling fashion in the absence of manager Ethan Boylan on Wednesday.
“I can’t fault the effort, it was a depleted squad, we’d a lot of important players missing tonight and we battled well to get a result against a good side.”
“I can’t fault the effort, it was a depleted squad, we’d a lot of important players missing tonight and we battled well to get a result against a good side”
Bangor FC Ladies coaches Josh Eynon and Chris Dougan were pleased with the effort the players put in against St James’ Swifts
Adding on that heavy Monday night reverse, they felt that, while it was a harsh experience, the forward-minded approach of the squad means that the positives have been taken from it and steps back in the right direction have been made.
“I think Monday night was tough, but I think it was also a lesson – and you can see tonight that the players have already started to take things on board. They were playing a team who are at a level where we want to be in four, five, six years’ time and playing that sort of calibre of opponent, there’s always going to be things to take from it,” they added.
“This was a team that was expected at the start of the season to be battling for relegation, to be closer to the bottom, but they’ve exceeded expectations every single game, their attitude and application’s spot on and our target right now I think definitely has to be top three.
“The players are a credit to themselves, they’re great to work with. (They) Play for the badge, play for the shirt, play for the club.”
Player spotlight:
Substitute Katie Magowan (19) showed intuition to pounce on defensive uncertainty in the St James’ backline, and made the most of it with a close-range finish that rewarded her alertness to the situation. She is a player capable of providing goals from midfield and making enterprising runs into the box, and she delivered on that stylishly once more in what was to finish an eventual draw. Image from Sarah Harkness.
Despite the absences of centre-back and captain Sarah McKillen, left-back Emilia Quinlan and midfielder Francesca Costa I Fassunge – mainstays in the starting side this term – they still were able to claim the spoils against a St James’ side who had already recorded victories over Comber Rec and Belfast Celtic.
Themselves a depleted panel on Wednesday with no substitutes to hand, their front-footed approach presented a tough examination of their hosts’ credentials, and made for a game that was combative in places but perennially intense.
Dougan and Eynon went on to single out those among the spine of the Bangor team for holding their own.
“In terms of a few stand-out players from tonight, I would pick out Lucy (Hollies) and Holly (Brookes), Holly coming in for her first start of the season at centre-back and she did really well, her positioning was super and she made a couple of really important interceptions,” they believed.
The quotes section:
Playing four games in seven days, that’s the reality and we have been able to get through that stretch, so we’re really confident on the back of that, when we’d a depleted bench with 13 or 14 players tonight that we can get a result. Before that, we’d been able to name full benches week in, week out and tonight it was a little bit tougher with not as much rest. It’s nice to see the patterns we’ve been working on in training come out in a matchday type of situation too. It’s well and good going over the top sometimes but using the width of the pitch and those diagonals through midfield, finding a runner who is able to get behind the defensive line, when those sorts of things work out, you know, it’s satisfying to see it work” – Bangor FC Ladies coaches Josh Eynon (pictured) and Chris Dougan were pleased at how their players came through a tricky patch.
“Giulia (McLaughlin) as well, after a tough game on the Monday, the way she came back in terms of her mentality and helped keep us in the game for long periods of the first half, she deserves a lot of credit for the way she came out and making a lot of important saves at a key point in the game. Amber (Dempster) played through a hamstring injury and the way she just kept soldiering on when we didn’t have any subs, she has the strength physically and the strength of mind and that’s great to have.
“Playing four games in seven days, that’s the reality and we have been able to get through that stretch, so we’re really confident on the back of that, when we’d a depleted bench with 13 or 14 players tonight that we can get a result. Before that, we’d been able to name full benches week in, week out and tonight it was a little bit tougher with not as much rest.
“I think Monday night was tough, but I think it was also a lesson – and you can see tonight that the players have already started to take things on board”
Bangor FC Ladies coaches Chris Dougan and Josh Eynon felt there was a positive response on Wednsday to a tough fixture with Crusaders Strikers
“It’s nice to see the patterns we’ve been working on in training come out in a matchday type of situation too. It’s well and good going over the top sometimes but using the width of the pitch and those diagonals through midfield, finding a runner who is able to get behind the defensive line, when those sorts of things work out, you know, it’s satisfying to see it work.”
After a gruelling schedule of late, there is just the one match for Bangor FC Ladies to tackle next week when they entertain their Ballyclare Comrades equivalents in the League Cup.
The two sides have already met this season, with the Co Antrim club claiming the maximum spoils courtesy of a 2-4 success in the league, and there is expected to be a determination to atone for that when next Wednesday, June 7 dawns.
Kick-off at Clandeboye Park is at 7:45pm.
Secondly, in the annual Champions of Down competition, Bangor’s Under-18 side were to put in a creditable shift throughout the past week.
On Saturday, at the quarter-finals stage, Isaac Caldwell led his troops into battle when they faced off against Ards Rangers II – and they were to put their hosts firmly in the firing line.
Callum Johnston, who enjoyed a hot end to the campaign for Bangor Reserves – he bagged four finishes in his last trio of outings – continued such a streak of momentum with a six-minute hat-trick to establish a three-goal lead inside the opening 22 minutes.
Player spotlight:
A six-minute hat-trick during Bangor Under-18s’ resounding quarter-final victory over Ards Rangers II was a continuation of the impressive form Callum Johnston has put on display after the back end of the season. Image from Joe McEwan. Image from Joe McEwan.
Thereafter, Daniel Larmour hit the mark to go four-star before the half time break, while a Carter Maxwell finish made it five shortly before the first 45 minutes were completed.
The second period stayed scoreless until the dying embers. Talented midfielder Curtis Kenny completed the rout and put the final seal on a 6-0 away success at a sunny Davidson Park.
That set up a semi-final showdown with Ballywalter Rec on Wednesday evening where, despite a valiant second-half effort from the young Seasiders, it would be the homesters who booked their place in Saturday’s showpiece.
A couple of penalties in the second period for Ballywalter edged them into a two-goal advantage, and for Bangor pulling one back right at the end through Jamie Ferguson to make it a nerve-jangling finish, it was not quite to be for Caldwell and his troops who were just defeated 2-1.
Meanwhile, in a significant step in the senior men’s off-season, Bangor have confirmed that senior manager Lee Feeney has signed a two-year deal that will keep him in post until 2025.
The Kilkeel supremo, who has now spent three years in the Seasiders hotseat, inspired the club to a famous league-and-cup double-winning escapade last campaign, with Premier Intermediate and Steel and Sons triumphs making him the toast of the faithful just now.
And ahead of the upcoming Championship crusade his charges will soon embark on, the Seagulls is understandably delighted to tie the 45-year-old down to a new contract ahead of pre-season starting.
Having admitted he had a clear idea of what was needed to drive the Yellows up into the second-tier and back to senior football following that agonising play-off defeat to Knockbreda last year, the Mourne man has delivered on his promise and earned the appreciation of all of a yellow and blue persuasion.
The quotes section:
“I spoke at some length with the Board about the aims and objectives of the Club when I first joined. Some of the these have been achieved, but there is a lot more work to do. We are hungry to keep progressing and challenging ourselves. We’re never satisfied, we always want to improve and that will continue” – Bangor manager Lee Feeney is keen to get down to business ahead of the new season having freshly signed a two-year extension
“I’m delighted to have signed a two-year contract with this great club,” commented former Linfield hero Feeney to the Bangor website.
“I spoke at some length with the board about the aims and objectives of the club when I first joined. Some of these have been achieved, but there is a lot more work to do.
“I want to repay that faith by creating more special moments for the players, the fans and everyone involved with the club”
Bangor manager Lee Feeney is ready to push on and give the faithful more cause for cheer after his contract extension
“We are hungry to keep progressing and challenging ourselves. We’re never satisfied, we always want to improve and that will continue.
“My management team and I have received tremendous support since we arrived at Bangor. I want to repay that faith by creating more special moments for the players, the fans and everyone involved with the club.”
Backed by John Douglas, Dean Gordon and Michael McClelland in the coaching department, Feeney helped the Seasiders to a 70-point return last time out, but his appetite is never truly fulfilled unless he is continuing to win.
Chairman Graham Bailie added: “I am thrilled that Lee has signed a two-year deal at the club. He is a great fit for how we all see Bangor FC progressing forward.
“His commitment and ambition to bring sustained success to Bangor FC and to the town and community is unquestionable”
Bangor Chairman Graham Bailie saluted manager Lee Feeney’s desire and lust for success
“He is an excellent man-manager who sets high standards and is driving our club to the levels we all want to achieve. His commitment and ambition to bring sustained success to Bangor FC and to the town and community is unquestionable. We can now look forward to some exciting times ahead.”
And on Thursday, Ben Arthurs became the first of the playing camp to agree terms, as the 25-year-old goal centurion inked his signature on a two-year professional contract that extends his stay on the Clandeboye Road to 2025.
Arthurs, who notched up 100 goals thanks to a hat-trick at Dollingstown back in mid-March and who has been with the Seasiders since 2018, delivered 31 goals en route to two pieces of silverware last time out and will be eager to conjure up more of those goalscoring exploits in the Championship next term. As a renowned fan favourite, news of the Kircubbin star’s extension naturally delighted the supporters.
“Everyone’s starting to love it and there’s a lot of people who deserve it at the club, that turn up every week even back when we were in the Ballymena League or (when) times were tough, so it is great. It’s a big club, everyone talks about a sleeping giant, this and that, and it is true – when you’re about the club, you do get that feeling, there are high expectations and I feel we can kick on with them” – Bangor striker Ben Arthurs spoke following his clinching of the PIL Player of the Season award about pushing on in the Championship from next season onwards.
And with four trophies under his belt since making the move from Harland and Wolff Welders, the Peninsula marksman has his sights set on bringing more memorable moments to the seaside.
The club has also confirmed a major announcement for their first pre-season friendly.
Bangor will play host to Rangers ‘B’ at Clandeboye Park on Tuesday, July 18 – a Tuesday night 7:30pm kick-off which promises to be a big occasion for the Seasiders and is not one you would want to miss.
Admission costs £12 for adults and £8 for concession, and you can buy your ticket through the enclosed embedded link.
“I’m really looking forward to the match because everyone involved should take something away from the occasion,” Feeney, who represented the ‘Gers from 1999 to 2002, beamed to Neil Watson in this week’s County Down Spectator.
“When I was at Rangers, I was lucky to go on a few tours, including to Chile, the USA and Northern Ireland. It’s a great experience for the players involved.
“I’m really looking forward to the match because everyone involved should take something away from the occasion”
Bangor manager Lee Feeney is ready for the prospective challenge that Rangers can pose his side
“Rangers ‘B’ will be an opponent who offers something completely different to what we are used to and it will give us an opportunity to learn from them.
“The Rangers squad is going to be made up of talented, full-time footballers who have aspirations of making it to the highest level. Most of them will have been at Rangers since they were kids, so will have grown up in a professional environment.
“They will be technically excellent, they will be athletic and they will be intelligent. It’ll be a good test for our players.”
The quotes section:
“Rangers ‘B’ will be an opponent who offers something completely different to what we are used to and it will give us an opportunity to learn from them. The Rangers squad is going to be made up of talented, full-time footballers who have aspirations of making it to the highest level. Most of them will have been at Rangers since they were kids, so will have grown up in a professional environment” – Bangor manager and former Rangers player Lee Feeney is excited by the challenge the ‘Gers can pose to his side.
Elsewhere, the Academy awards took place during the past week, with recognition for the achievements of all age groups within the structure.
Among Bangor Reserves, left-back Sam Millar was in receipt of the Under-20s Player of the Year accolade, while Charley Craig – who, alongside Millar, made his first-team debut in the seniors’ final game of the campaign versus Tobermore United – earned the Top Goalscorer award for his sharp-shooting exploits.
There was plenty more ceremony throughout the evening as the players and coaches of each age group were given their due acclaim for a season which has yielded much by way of silverware.
A successful first term of the Girls Academy was also paid tribute to.
Dr John Rainey, the Chairman of principal sponsor Denman, presented each player from the club’s Under-10 and Under-12 South Belfast Youth Football League (SBYFL) with a medal, as well as a special-edition Bangor FC hairbrush courtesy of Denman Brush.
Featured image from Joe McEwan.
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