The principal objective in football is, of course, to secure victorious results. That undeniably was the intention of Bangor on Saturday but, despite twice seizing the initiative on a tricky away trip to Ballyclare, they were to fall short of scooping up the fruits of success at the first time of asking when defeated by the odd goal in five against the Comrades at Dixon Park.
Where there is perhaps some room for caveating is taking into account that, as an established force in the Championship who were at times forced to scramble for their three-point reward, the performance from the visiting Seasiders was such that it inspires confidence that the next winning result is just a stone’s throw away. The cause for optimism was palpable that the panel is there to compete, and that a creditable bow back at this level was made.
Bangor come out brave and bold and hold their own against impressive Ballyclare
While the weather forecast indicated that Bangor may have brought a storm both on and off the pitch, such unexpectedly pristine playing conditions were to serve as the afternoon’s first surprise.
It was a gorgeous day, and it was hoped that the game action at Dixon Park would be just as bright as the blue skies hanging above.
Supporters were not to be left disappointed.
On the Seasiders’ long-awaited Championship return, manager Lee Feeney sent out a line-up that mixed the old guard with the new wave.
Bangor’s starting line-up had an air of familiarity about it due to the formation, although with teenage debutants Lewis Francis and Ben Walker, returnee Jack Henderson and the changed shirt numbers of both Neale brothers, there were also some noteworthy differences. Image from myself.
There were competitive bows for teenage loanees Lewis Francis and Ben Walker in defence, while midfielder Jack Henderson’s second debut came alongside captain Lewis Harrison in the centre of the park. Last term’s 58-goal strike pair Ben Arthurs and Adam Neale reprised their two-pronged role up top, while the re-committed Scott McArthur slotted just behind.
A selection that also saw flying full-back Reece Neale begin as the left-sided centre-back of three – David Hume, oft-seen in that area, opposite him to the right – and Marc Orbinson preferred between the sticks over the absent James Taylor, there was attacking impetus all across the side and high hopes that a positive first impression could be made.
The substitutes’ bench featured a few fresh faces, with new arrivals in centre-back Jamie Black – joining permanently having trialled with Bangor all summer – and Larne loanee Sean Brown included among the list of reserves. Tom Mathieson is a former Ballyclare Comrade, while 16-year-old shot-stopper Ben McConkey also made his first senior squad appearance. Image from myself.
Ballyclare Comrades’ starting panel similarly would have inspired confidence in the tipsters among us that the goals would flow.
Darius Roohi, Calvin McCurry and Michael Morgan were young, attack-minded choices up top who aspired to interlink and poke holes in their visitors’ backline; forward thinkers Caomhán McGuinness and Bobby Higgins, meanwhile, had their sights on supplying them from wide.
But Stephen Small’s charges were not to find things go all their own way during the match’s burgeoning phases.
After referee Louise Thompson signalled for kick-off, merely 10 minutes had elapsed by the time the scoresheet was marked – and it wasn’t against the run of play.
With Arthurs having glanced a header goalward from Gareth Beattie’s inswinging cross from the right before Adam Neale’s presence forced a brave punch from Comrades shot-stopper Declan Breen – that was all within 180 seconds of the start, by the way – Bangor’s early threat would pay due dividends.
When the elder Neale sibling ran behind the defensive line from Arthurs’ flick-on, he was to be forced into a wider zone – but that did not wane his threat, given he was able to pick out McArthur’s surging run.
Not one to ever show panic, cold-blooded Neale resurrected the danger speedily after his initial effort was blocked. He played in his 23-year-old team-mate, who agreed on fresh terms to stay at Clandeboye Park in midweek, and McArthur pulled the trigger on the defensive blind side from which, assisted by a deflection off Cónall McGrandles’ outstretched boot, he put the PIL champions in front.
Sparking scenes of wild celebration from the sea of yellow and blue behind the goal, it felt like reality was just starting to kick in.
Bangor were back in senior football.
But that wasn’t the only reality, for better or for worse.
Player spotlight:
There was a debut in defence for centre-back Lewis Francis, whose arrival on loan from Dungannon Swifts was confirmed following the pre-season friendly victory over Linfield seven days prior. Thrust straight into the starting line-up, he is a highly regarded prospect among the Tyrone side’s set-up. Image from Jordan Connolly/Life Through A Lens NI.
Neale and Arthurs were showing signs of being just as devastating a duo in the Championship as they were in the third-tier, and the two combined to give the Yellows a crucial second goal.
Or so they thought, given the linesman’s flag was, at no short notice, to cut celebrations short after Neale was ruled offside.
If the Ballynahinch marksman was behind the last man – McGrandles again – it wasn’t by much. The 30-year-old, embarking on his second campaign since joining from Rathfriland, had marginally miscontrolled moments earlier as Breen captured at his feet, too.
The ‘goal’ was on 25 minutes. By the half-hour, it was all square.
As the hosts – who finished sixth-place in last term’s Championship – forged forward, it was to culminate on 30 minutes in an eye-of-the-needle finish from distance by Morgan.
On loan from Cliftonville and with first-team pedigree at Newington in 2022-23, the young forward picked out the bottom left with aplomb despite a crowd of bodies in front of him; Orbinson was rooted.
Scenes of celebration:
Bangor’s early lead was not to last for the duration of the first half, as young centre-forward Michael Morgan was on target for Ballyclare Comrades and brought the fixture back to an even footing. It was an impressive goal, too; one that nestled in the bottom left corner. Image from Jordan Connolly/Life Through A Lens NI.
Level once more at one apiece, it didn’t dampen spirits. If there was talk of crests of waves, Bangor were riding a tall one.
Harrison had actually forced a smart stop by Breen while the visitors were in front (27’) after drilling a grounded drive goal-bound, while versatile McArthur drew the Cliftonville loanee into action on 37 minutes when letting fly from a tight angle. For the closest of them all, seven minutes from half-time, there then was a goalline clearance.
The resultant corner after Breen had turned the livewire McArthur’s attempt past the post saw Francis stand tall in the area.
On corner duties was Henderson; he lifted the ball high and the centre-back on loan from Dungannon Swifts guided authoritatively, thinking he’d done enough to open his account.
Alas, Liam Hassin had other ideas. It was right place, right time from the Ballyclare man, who hooked off the line with Breen beaten.
Match-defining moment:
It took an alert piece of goalline defending from Liam Hassin to ensure Ballyclare Comrades stayed on level terms. His clearance was done with goalkeeper Declan Breen beaten between the sticks, ensuring that Bangor did not take their second lead of the game at that moment. Image from Jordan Connolly/Life Through A Lens NI.
The reprieve, though, was short.
On 41 minutes, the away end erupted once more. Because it was McArthur once more. Fitting that a local lad should come up trumps.
He scored five in the entirety of last term. Now he had a couple in his first half of second-tier football. That’s also the third league he’s scored in while wearing those famous colours.
Stat attack:
While the first finish Scott McArthur bagged went down in the referee’s notebook as a Cónall McGrandles own goal, there can be no doubt of the fact that he is the first Bangor player since the current board’s arrival to score in all of the Ballymena League, Premier Intermediate League and Championship.
It was an effortless finish. Or, at least, he made it look that way.
When Arthurs nodded the ball into his trajectory, the former Stirling University ace took one touch; one touch to sweep low into the bottom right, and despite Breen getting a connection to the ball, the venom took it in.
Another roar behind the goal. A new injection of belief that the new boys were not to be confused with whipping boys.
But then, reality struck again.
Two minutes from the half’s conclusion, it was back on even terms – and it was a player who knows where the net is who hauled Ballyclare on a level footing for a second time.
Roohi, the division’s third-highest goalscorer in 2022-23, was off the mark for the new one when he trapped a threaded supply under his spell.
With expert precision, the line-leader unleashed a rising effort that sailed beyond Orbinson, kissing the underside of the bar and bouncing across the goalline to ensure that an even status to the game was restored.
And it was a quality take. The hosts’ second such; if finesse was the main factor behind Morgan’s finish, Roohi’s was the type you’d come to expect from a talent touching 20 league goals in the last year.
Fine margins can prove decisive; a point that had all but been proved within the first 45 minutes of the season – and, doubtless, not for the final time.
Stat attack:
For the first time, Ben Arthurs and Adam Neale have registered an assist in the same game for Bangor.
Nevertheless, it made for pulsating stuff and the sort of theatre we are accustomed to in the Irish League.
Half-time, 2-2. And with more to come.
In the second period, it look somewhat longer for things to ignite – an Arthurs chance around 10 minutes following the restart that again forced Breen to remain on his guard was probably the closest either team came to seizing the initiative – but by the final 20 minutes, the Comrades were beginning to show their steel.
Orbinson had to have his near post marshalled, and he was cat-like in tipping a McGuinness cross that could well have been creeping under the crossbar. That naturally forced a corner, what would become a common theme, although home skipper Gary Donnelly was not to make the most of it.
Nerves were shredding on 74 minutes – and McCurry was casting a glance to the heavens above. With the Co Antrim hosts in transition, the former Cliftonville youngster rounded Orbinson, but then lost his footing when casting his sights on a cut-back.
Another lay-off was received much more welcomely by the away fans four minutes later, though. Harrison was the architect this time; the midfield maestro sending low along the face of goal, but out of reach of all concerned in the penalty area.
A cut-back from former Comrade Tom Mathieson yielded much the same – the substitute searched out Adam Neale but to no avail – before, three minutes from time, Orbinson pulled off an amazing one-on-one stop after Morgan slipped in Roohi. The former Ards and Warrenpoint Town frontman had the bottom right corner in sight, but the ‘keeper stubbornly denied him.
Yet players like Roohi don’t suddenly become tamed animals, and he still had something up his sleeve as the match was winding down.
Two minutes from time, Donnelly floated in a flag-kick – yes, another one of those – and Roohi, having crept ahead of Arthurs, used his head to translate the situation into a shot.
That shot was to prove a heartbreaker.
Late dagger:
Although Bangor had put in a shift that did themselves and their following proud, it was not quite to result in any points to take back to north Down. Darius Roohi was on hand just a few minutes from time to clinch a late winner for Ballyclare Comrades that kept the three points inside Dixon Park. Image from Jordan Connolly/Life Through A Lens NI.
There was little Orbinson could have done, given a wicked and unbeknownst diversion off the unfortunate Arthurs was to take the ball into the back of the net. The pressure cooker was piling and, eventually, it yielded an explosion.
For the first time, the hosts led. They only led for two further minutes of regulation, plus stoppage time, but it was enough for three points.
Thompson signalled for time. And that was that.
Bangor’s first Championship outing in over seven years was to end in defeat. The odd goal in five took their established second-tier hosts over the line.
Disappointment, but with perspective.
| Playr-Fit Championship | Matchday One (5/8/23) | ||
| Annagh United | 5 | 2 | Dundela |
| Ards | 1 | 3 | Newington |
| Ballyclare Comrades | 3 | 2 | Bangor |
| Dergview | 2 | 3 | Portadown |
| Harland and Wolff Welders | 4 | 2 | Ballinamallard United |
| Institute | 2 | 0 | Knockbreda |
Lest we forget that five years ago, the Seagulls embarked on the Ballymena League as a perceived fallen giant in the fourth rung of the pyramid.
Half a decade on, in 2023, the second-flight just seems so right for a club of this stature.
Watch the highlights clips back and ask yourself; the joy etched on supporters’ faces when the goals went in, would you trade it?
A proud moment for the fans:
Bangor supporters were well-treated at Dixon Park, witnessing the occasion of the club’s first couple of goals at the second-tier in over seven years. While it was to end in defeat, a philosophical reaction was the gist of things with the faithful proud of the performance. Image from Jordan Connolly/Life Through A Lens NI.
Definitely not. That picture of delight tells you the faithful are more than happy to be here.
The pride in the work that has gone on to reach this point, and the purpose with which the players and management are intent on pushing on.
Now, it is just about tasting those first fruits of victory.
Finely poised indeed for this week’s North Down Derby. With the positives to take from Dixon Park, they can be applied at Clandeboye as the Friday night lights shine down on respective eternal rivals.
Down but not out. The best could well be yet to come.
Ladies go a dozen up and boost third-place hopes with big-scoring success
Earlier in the week, meanwhile, there were goals galore at Clandeboye Park in the penultimate outing of this season’s NIWFA Championship.
It was a delightful dozen for Bangor FC Ladies, who pulled off a remarkable 12-2 victory in midweek over Foyle Belles that enormously bolsters their chances of a third-place finish in the women’s second-tier with just one match remaining.
Player spotlight:
She may not have contributed on the scoresheet in the end, but the attacking impetus of Toni Stewart down the wing proved instrumental behind Bangor FC Ladies’ success against Foyle Belles last Wednesday night. She always seemed to have the beating of her opposite number and her quick feet meant she regularly glided by challenges. Image from Sarah Harkness.
The Seasiders were eight goals to the good against their north west opponents at half-time, with Leah Robinson’s first two goals of the season accompanying a brace from Amber Dempster to inspire the goal-getting fun. Francesca Costa, Lydia Clarke and Lone Bretlau were also on target, while Toni Stewart’s cross was diverted into her own net by a visiting defender too.
Following the interval, substitutes Robyn McFadden and Claire Oakley got in on the scoring act, as well as midfielders Erin Hennity and Janine Jess who each contributed to the Yellows’ best single-game goal return this year.
An elated Dempster, whose revelatory instincts inside the penalty area have helped make Ethan Boylan’s first season in charge so successful, was keen to stress that her work in front of goal is imbued by the collective efforts of the squad.
“We had a couple of weeks off in July and two tough games back to back there, so it was nice to get it down to feet and get playing”
Bangor FC Ladies striker Amber Dempster was delighted to record a second successive league victory
“The players put in some shift,” the 30-year-old began. “We had a couple of weeks off in July and two tough games back to back there (against Belfast Celtic and Lisburn Rangers), so it was nice to get it down to feet and get playing.
“Everybody really dug deep and obviously getting a lot of people on the scoresheet was fantastic.
The quotes section:
“(For me) It’s always nice to get a goal or two and I owe a lot to the team really, obviously being in the centre-forward role, the build-up has to come from the whole team, so I certainly couldn’t do it without them. Our goal difference is looking really good, we’re obviously sitting third in the league and we actually do have the third-best goal difference. Certainly, playing for third-place is what we’re hoping for at this stage. We’ve got a tough game next week against St James’ Swifts and a Super Cup semi-final to prepare for, so, yeah, we’ll be putting in the graft (in training) come Sunday” – Bangor FC Ladies star Amber Dempster is keen to enjoy a strong end to the season. Image from Sarah Harkness.
“(For me) It’s always nice to get a goal or two and I owe a lot to the team really, obviously being in the centre-forward role, the build-up has to come from the whole team, so I certainly couldn’t do it without them.
“Our goal difference is looking really good, we’re obviously sitting third in the league and we actually do have the third-best goal difference.
“Everybody really dug deep and obviously getting a lot of people on the scoresheet was fantastic”
Bangor FC Ladies markswoman Amber Dempster had much cause for celebration after a 12-goal display
“Certainly, playing for third-place is what we’re hoping for at this stage. We’ve got a tough game next week against St James’ Swifts and a Super Cup semi-final to prepare for, so, yeah, we’ll be putting in the graft (in training) come Sunday.”
That final league encounter versus St James’ takes place at Whiterock Leisure Centre in west Belfast this Wednesday. Kick-off is at 7:30pm.
Downes delighted to lead the way as Reserves boss books Final say in SuperCupNI
Bangor also wish to congratulate Reserves manager David Downes, who guided the County Antrim Boys’ Junior side to the SuperCupNI Final on the north coast the week before last.
Under-20s chief Downes was brimming with pride at the effort and endeavour of his players throughout the tournament, enjoying a meteoric run that included a shoot-out triumph over County Armagh in the semi-finals and a comeback from three goals down to clinch victory on penalties against Glaswegian giants Rangers in the quarters.
Although Antrim were not quite to taste glory in the end, falling to defeat against a highly impressive West Ham unit, Downes saluted the mental resolve of his charges to overcome obstacle after obstacle on the way to the showpiece.
He reflected: “In the end, I think it was just a step too far for us, that Final.
“To come through what we did, coming from three goals down against Rangers and then the semi-final where we were taken to penalties, I was really proud of that, I was proud of that never-say-die attitude.
“They have everything to gain from being part of something like that too (the SuperCupNI), that’ll only benefit their development and build their experience going forward”
Bangor Reserves manager David Downes was delighted to be involved in the SuperCupNI
“To be fair, that West Ham team was quality. The way they played, how they knocked the ball about, they were always going to be a big test and I think it was a little too much for us.
“But I can’t speak highly enough of the players. They have everything to gain from being part of something like that too (the SuperCupNI), that’ll only benefit their development and build their experience going forward. To play teams from different countries and different places, different styles of play, that’ll really stand to them.
The quotes section:
“To be fair, that West Ham team was quality. The way they played, how they knocked the ball about, they were always going to be a big test and I think it was a little too much for us. But I can’t speak highly enough of the players. They have everything to gain from being part of something like that too (the SuperCupNI), that’ll only benefit their development and build their experience going forward. To play teams from different countries and different places, different styles of play, that’ll really stand to them” – Bangor Reserves chief David Downes saluted his County Antrim players for their efforts at the SuperCupNI.
“I’m thinking as well, that benefits the club (Bangor) too; I really enjoy being involved with Antrim, and if parents see their kids going out there and they have good relationships with their coaches and enjoying themselves, then that can attract players to join certain clubs.
“There’s some really talented players in that team who can develop with a club like Bangor, that rubs off on people, no doubt about it.”
Featured image from Gary Carson.
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