After a brief fortnight-long hiatus, normal service is resumed with the return this week of ‘Seasider Summer Weekly’ to document the latest goings-on in and around Bangor FC. There was matchday action last Wednesday, with Bangor FC Ladies embarking on the next phase of their season adventure when they faced up to the test of Ballyclare Comrades Ladies in the NIWFA Championship Cup.
Meanwhile, the Under-14s were the stars of the show at the end of the month of May, capping off an excellent crusade with another piece of silver to show for their continued efforts last campaign, while last weekend the Under-12 outfit represented the Girls Academy with distinction with a semi-final performance in a tournament. Moreover, confirmation of two important contract extensions were revealed, with the club captain putting pen to paper on a two-year deal last week before a starring defensive component committed his future to the seaside in advance of next term.
There was to be no giant-killing in the NIWFA Championship Cup last Wednesday as Bangor FC Ladies exited the competition with defeat to Ballyclare Comrades at Clandeboye Park.
With the sides having already faced off in league play, the Seasiders inspired confidence in that first clash when, after the Co Antrim travellers raced into a two-goal advantage early in proceedings, they put on a tremendous show of fighting spirit to claw the scoreline back even at 2-2 by the interval.
But in this meet, the damage was done by that same point, with the Comrades four unanswered goals to the good at half-time.
A salvo between the seventh and 26th minutes where their clinical edge was on peak display, they struck the iron while it was hot and laid down their gauntlet in emphatic fashion.
And with the visitors adding another to their tally shortly before the end, it definitively spelt out a quarter-final elimination for a Bangor team that was hampered by an injury-enforced lack of firepower up top.
With sharp-shooter Amber Dempster and in-form Olivia Brown both absent, Ethan Boylan’s preferred 4-4-2 set-up struggled to ask questions of their Dixon Park adversaries in the first period, although tactical tweaks following the break did deliver some belief for the Yellows supremo.
Robyn McFadden’s introduction as the leading striker, with support from Toni Stewart and Janine Jess to the wings, caused the Ballyclare backline more concern as Bangor repeatedly claimed back possession higher up the pitch.
A sterling second-half performance from goalkeeper Giulia McLaughlin helped to keep the margin at four – she was in the right place at the right time to pull off a swathe of stunning stops – while dependable centre-back pairing Lucy Hollies and captain Sarah McKillen were solid as a spine in front.
Player spotlight:
As well as the prowess of Robyn McFadden in the frontline, whose display after entering as a substitute came in for praise from manager Ethan Boylan, Francesca Costa‘s industry and all-action nature in midfield helped Bangor enjoy a greater deal of possession higher up the pitch during the second half thanks to winning the ball from the centre. Image from Joe McEwan.
It would be the current second-place occupiers in the women’s second-tier who enjoyed the last laugh, though.
A lightning counter from one end of the pitch to the other fed the ball perfectly in stride for the onrushing Comrades striker, who placed incisively beyond McLaughlin and broke her post-interval resistance in the first minute of additional time.
With that, the traditional red-and-white-coloured outfit donning their changed away strip for this encounter booked their semi-final ticket.
Boylan admitted he was left frustrated following a first half that left the Seasiders with a four-goal mountain to climb.
While encouraged by the response offered by his troops in the second period and explaining that the absence of two of his most formidable goal-getters called for solutions to be found, he lamented an opening 45 minutes in which Ballyclare Comrades had that Midas touch.
“I was disappointed at half time, to be honest,” he stated. “We started to come out to play more in the second half but it’s not really ideal when you’re doing it at 4-0 down, you know?
“We worked hard from the front in the second half especially, winning the ball higher up the pitch and created chances”
Bangor FC Ladies manager Ethan Boylan garnered sartisfaction from an improved second-half display
“In fairness, we also had a few players missing through injury – with Amber (Dempster) and Olivia (Brown) out, we had to try something new up top. But I thought when Robyn (McFadden) came on, she did really well as she held the ball up, she brought others into play and worked really hard off the ball.
“There was a change in system and there was an improvement. We worked hard from the front in the second half especially, winning the ball higher up the pitch and created chances.
“From the first half, I think it’s still a learning experience, it’s better to go through these sorts of things and work your way through them and come back stronger, we’ve got a bit of a break now and that’s what we need to do.”
“From the first half, I think it’s still a learning experience”
Bangor FC Ladies supremo Ethan Boylan has called for lessons to be learned and taken on board going into the tests that are to come
McLaughlin stood out when she made a number of vital stops that so nearly preserved a second-half shut-out, citing an improved performance in that stretch though also reflecting that a drop in standards occurred during the game’s first portion.
“We’d started quite fast, probably as fast as we’ve began all season, set a good tempo and then when the first goal went in, as a collective the heads just seemed to drop,” she felt.
“We had started to get a bit sloppy in our passing, we were giving the ball away cheaply, making mistakes and it just wasn’t clicking for us.
The quotes section:
“We’d started quite fast, probably as fast as we’ve began all season, set a good tempo and then when the first goal went in, as a collective the heads just seemed to drop. We had started to get a bit sloppy in our passing, we were giving the ball away cheaply, making mistakes and it just wasn’t clicking for us” – there was a sense of disappointment from goalkeeper Giulia McLaughlin after a first half that saw Bangor FC Ladies down four goals by the interval. Image from Sarah Harkness.
“In the second half, I thought we improved a lot, we defended better as a unit, we were passing the ball quick, got a few chances up the top end we were unlucky not to take and it took a really good goal for us not to keep the clean sheet in the second half.
“I was pleased to be in the right place to make saves but the spine of the team held up as well.”
For the home team, their next priority lies in the Electric Ireland Women’s Challenge Cup this weekend, when Boylan will send his refreshed charges into battle against Lisburn Distillery.
A rare Sunday outing at Clandeboye Park, that Round One affair will kick off at 2:30pm as the players try to advance on another front.
Plus, as well as turning up on the afternoon itself, you can show your support by sponsoring a shirt for this term. A number of spots remain free, and at a cost of £75, you can have your name or business directly attributed and your support recognised on the club website, and you will receive your sponsored player’s shirt at the end of the current campaign.
Email sponsor@bangorfc.com to register your interest and find out more.
At Academy level, there was success to be had for the Under-14s, who prevailed in the 442 Teamwear Champions Cup.
The Bank Holiday Monday fixture on May 29 pitted the Seasiders against their Northend United equivalents, with Robbie Milling’s outfit coming out on top after an emphatic second half.
In a game where Bangor had gone behind early, Zak Magowan would go on to collect the match ball, while there were also strikes by Jack Quail, Matthew Britain and a brace from Owen Sharp that would yield Bangor an 8-2 victory.
With Magowan of particular influence – a dynamic attacker who Under-20s chief David Downes has already handed a debut to at that level – he found the net four times and assisted both of Sharp’s finishes with incisive balls into the box for his team-mate to head home.
The goals by both Quail and Britain were also quality, however, with the former taking yet another Magowan supply to slide low into the corner before the latter consolidated a 3-1 half time advantage with a placed side-foot from distance.
Player spotlight:
With a hat-trick of goals and assists during the 442 Teamwear Champions Cup decider, it proved to be a display for the big occasion by Bangor’s Zak Magowan, contributing on the goal front while also chipping in with support for his team-mates. Image from Sarah Harkness.
Toby Emerson struck the bar right at the start of the second period and, where the game had been hauled back to 4-2 by Northend, an eight-minute four-goal blitz would ultimately put the fixture beyond reach.
Claiming another piece of silverware to conclude the campaign, it caps off a highly successful year for Milling and his team.
And there was enjoyment to be had for the Girls Under-12s, who featured in an end-of-season tournament at Londonderry Park in Newtownards where they reached the semi-finals.
Taking on the competition organised by Ards Rangers last weekend, they were delighted to be playing in amongst the sunny conditions and warm weather. It wasn’t quite to be for them in the last-four, but it still represents a good way to round off a successful first year of the Girls Academy. With the new structure in place, the burgeoning set-up for young girls to showcase their abilities for their local team is getting ever stronger.
The final session for the Girls Academy is this Tuesday coming (June 20), with the players returning after a summer break on August 1 when there will be open sessions for Under-12, Under-11 and Under-10 teams to compete next term.
You can register your interest in these by emailing girlsacademy@bangorfc.com.
Meanwhile, there was another update on the contract front last week, when club captain Lewis Harrison put pen to paper on a fresh deal.
Signing a two-year professional contract just as top-scoring marksman Ben Arthurs had done before him, the 24-year-old would pass the half-decade mark as a Seasider should he serve the full duration under his new terms.
The stats that matter (2022/23):
- Age: 24
- Joined Bangor: January 2020
- Previous clubs: Linfield Swifts, Lisburn Distillery, Harland and Wolff Welders
- Position: central midfield
- Appearances (2022/23): 33
- Goals (2022/23): three (four overall)
- Assists (2022/23): three
- Minutes played (2022/23): 2,673 (29.7 full 90s)
The skipper – assigned that role by boss Lee Feeney at the age of just 21 – is a player held in exceptional regard by his manager and was all too delighted to prolong his stay this summer.
Belfast midfielder Harrison, a Steel and Sons Cup Finalist with Linfield Swifts in 2017, gained what he failed to clinch in the most recent decider, registering the assist for Arthurs’ leveller en route to the Yellows taking the winners’ stand for the latest iteration of the 128-year-old competition. The former Lisburn Distillery and Harland and Wolff Welders ace made 33 appearances in all competitions last term, scoring three goals with a further three set-ups mostly notched amid a hot end to the campaign.
Since arriving in January 2020, when Hugh Sinclair was the man in charge during Bangor’s first term back in the Premier Intermediate League, he has continued to go from strength to strength each year. Particularly in terms of the consistency of his performances and his all-action style as the heartbeat of the team, he really is a leader by example.
And his commitment to the next step of the journey in the Championship came as welcome news indeed to supporters and his coaches alike.
There was further delight at the news of mainstay centre-back Ryan Arthur also agreeing to a deal to ply his trade in yellow for next term.
The defender, who first joined Bangor in the Ballymena League 2018, has been a fan favourite throughout the past five years, returning last summer after a half-season spell away with Ballyclare Comrades and picking up where he left off by asserting himself in an authoritative style.
A vocal presence at the centre of Feeney’s backline of three, Arthur made 36 appearances across all competitions– playing every single minute available in that span – and registered five goals and five assists throughout 23 Premier Intermediate League fixtures. The 27-year-old, though, is an ever-ambitious individual and, after setting a target of “10 to 15 goals” at the start of last term, will have his sights on even loftier aims.
The stats that matter (2022/23):
- Age: 27
- Joined Bangor: July 2018 (first spell), June 2022 (second spell)
- Previous clubs: Carrick Rangers, Knockbreda, Larne, Ards, Ballyclare Comrades
- Position: centre-back
- Appearances (2022/23): 36
- Goals (2022/23): five (16 overall)
- Assists (2022/23): five
- Minutes played (2022/23): 3,260 (36.1 full 90s)
A highly regarded member of the squad and well-coveted by the manager, the Carrickfergus man clinched his second league-and-cup double at Clandeboye Park and is eager for more.
His 16 strikes overall for the club maps out at around one every six matches, and as he sits in and around the century mark for matches played, his eagerness to upgrade that tally will not be in any question of doubt.
Featured image from Joe McEwan.
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