PLAYR-FIT CHAMPIONSHIP
H&W WELDERS 0
BANGOR 1
Morgan 33’
A ONE-GOAL victory at the Blanchflower Stadium sealed the Championship title for Bangor on Saturday afternoon.
Mick Morgan’s header had the big Bangor support celebrating in the first half, but it was referee Louise Thompson’s final whistle that sparked wild scenes as the Seasiders secured a return to the Premiership for the first time since 2009.
It was a well timed run from Ben Arthurs that allowed for the first sight of goal after nine minutes but the Bangor striker couldn’t get enough elevation on his long range effort as he tried to catch out the stranded Jack Mills.
Lee Feeney was without the suspended Kyle Owens or the unavailable Callum Byers for the crunch showdown with H&W Welders but the makeshift pairing of Caomhan McGuinness and Liam Hassin settled into the game well early on.
Both players were in the thick of the action after 10 minutes when a perfectly timed tackle from McGuinness denied Josh Kee from 10 yards before Hassin positioned himself well to block Steven Ball’s follow-up.
Arthurs had another sight of goal, this time from inside the penalty box but the 26 year-old couldn’t get enough power behind his shot to trouble Mills at the back post.
The two sides continued to exchange chances and it was only some good goalkeeping and brave defending which stopped the home side from taking a 26th-minute lead.
Daylen Farren drove into the penalty area from wide on the right before cutting back to Kee, with the midfielder’s low shot kept out by the outstretched leg of Patrick Solis Grogan.
The loose ball bounced around the Bangor penalty area and when Steven Ball took control, his low shot flew through a crowd of bodies only to be cleared on the goal line by Robbie Garrett.
As it turned out, the decisive moment of the game arrived a couple of minutes later. Jack O’Mahony, an early replacement for the injured Tiarnan Mulvenna, played the ball in the direction of Ben Arthurs who showed great determination to keep it in play. And the striker hooked the ball across goal, where Mick Morgan outmuscled the Welders defence to nod home from close range.
The Welders carried their own threat, particularly from out wide, but a dangerous cross from Ball fizzed across the Bangor six yard-box with no one on hand to apply the finish before Ball headed tamely at Solis Grogan on the stroke of half-time.
In search of the goal they needed, the Welders pushed further and further forward in the second half, but Bangor could have punished the home side. Morgan broke clear of the home defence from the halfway line but he could find no way past Mills after 50 minutes.
At the other end, the league’s top scorer Michael McLellan was off target as he stretched to connect with an inswinging cross from Steven Ball.
Bangor soaked up a lot of pressure with Solis Grogan well protected by a determined Bangor defence superbly led by Hassin, McGuinness, Reece Neale and Tom Mathieson.
The Seasiders should have given themselves more breathing space with around 20 minutes remaining.
Arthurs this time raced clear of the absent Welders back line and when he cut inside two recovering challenges, he squared to Scott McArthur but the substitute saw his effort superbly blocked by a sprawling Lewis Patterson.
While McLellan was once more off target with a glancing header, the Bangor rearguard wasn’t stretched until stoppage time.
A Welders set piece was spilled by Solis Grogan as he came a long way to gather the danger and the loose ball was hooked back across goal, but thankfully for Bangor there was no telling touch as the majority in the Blanchflower Stadium breathed a sigh of relief.
