By Neil Watson
Bangor 3
Owens ‘42, Arthurs ‘70, Morgan ‘87
Cliftonville 1
Curran ‘52
BANGOR began life in the Sports Direct Premiership with bang as they defeated Cliftonville at a packed Clandeboye Park on Sunday afternoon.
Nearly 1,900 spectators journeyed to the Clandeboye Road to witness the Seasiders’ first top flight fixture in over 15 years. And Bangor supporters weren’t disappointed with what they witnessed.
Lee Feeney’s men worked hard and remained disciplined as they matched their counterparts for long periods of the game. While Cliftonville rattled the woodwork and were out of luck, Bangor struck first through Kyle Owens.
Despite the visitors levelling things just into the second half, Bangor were not to be deterred with Ben Arthurs and Mick Morgan both on target in the final 20 minutes to seal a stunning win for the league’s new boys.
There was nothing to separate the two sides in the opening exchanges and it took until the 12th minute for the first real sight of goal as Odhran Casey’s looping header flicked the Bangor crossbar following Ronan Hale’s corner.
Casey’s effort was relatively tame in comparison to his next attempt after 28 minutes. The 23 year-old pounced on a loose ball in the Bangor penalty area and his shot left the crossbar shaking as the ball bounced clear to safety as the Seasiders breathed a sigh of relief.
At the other end of the pitch Bangor couldn’t capitalise on moments of uncertainty in the visiting defence, with Ben Arthurs delaying his shot and allowing a covering defender to get back to make a crucial intervention.
Cliftonville’s goalkeeper Lewis Ridd had to dive full stretch to his left to push away Reece Neale’s bending free kick as the Seasiders began to build some momentum.
That paid off three minutes before the break. This time Ridd was deceived by Neale’s low free kick as the ‘keeper fumbled the shot back into danger. Stephen McGuinness reacted quickly to drill the ball back across the face of goal where Kyle Owens waited at the back post to knock home from close range.
Bangor were on a high but it was Cliftonville who began the second half looking like a team with a point to prove. Following a frenetic five minutes, Ryan Curran made sure the pressure paid off as he bundled home a cross from the left with the Seasiders adamant that Gareth Deane had been impeded as he attempted to claim the cross.
The goal stood and the Reds had their tails up but another shaky moment at the back presented Tiarnan Mulvenna with an unexpected sight of an unguarded goal moments later. But to the relief of Ridd, Mulvenna skewed his effort wide of the target from 35 yards.
Jack O’Mahony looked to have something to shout about when he was upended in the Cliftonville penalty area, the versatile 25 year-old was in the thick of the action with 70 minutes played.
The former Ballymena United man sent a pin-point cross into the head of Ben Arthurs who brilliantly steered his effort into the far corner past the sprawling Ridd to score at the first time of asking in the top flight.
The dangerous Adebayo Fapetu was a whisker away from an instant equaliser when his dipping 25 yard shot slammed off the face of the crossbar as Jim Magilton’s men looked to fight back.
But as it turned out it was Bangor who struck next to seal the win. Liam Burns, a second half debutant, delivered his free kick from wide of the left onto the head of fellow teenager Mick Morgan who did the rest by glancing past Ridd to round off an incredible day for the Seasiders.
