On Saturday, Bangor will host Comber Rec in the third round of the McComb’s Travel
Intermediate Cup. The 1.30pm kick-off is a re-match of June’s Bangor FC Invitational Tournament fixture, when the Parkway side recorded a 6-5 victory in a chaotic clash, that saw Comber lead 6-0. The team managed by former Irish
League stars Mark Picking and Gareth McKeown lead Amateur League 1A, having tasted defeat just twice in their 17
fixtures to date. Last Saturday, 46 year-old Picking scored in a 6-0 win over Orangefield. Intermediate Cup rules mean that none of Bangor’s January signings – Kyle Calderwood, Jamie Glover, Jordan Hughes, Dylan O’Kane – are eligible for Saturday’s third round tie as they have all made more than 12 senior appearances this season.
However, Lee Feeney’s men can take confidence from Saturday’s 1-0 Lough 41 Premier Intermediate League victory over Tobermore United at Fortwilliam Park. “There were a few tough decisions in terms of selection,” admitted Feeney. “We had 23 players available for Saturday. I can only pick 18 on a match day and four of the squad then turned out
for the reserves. “There is lots of competition for places across the squad at the minute which is what we want. It speaks volumes of where we are at that I had to leave Michael Halliday out of the match day squad. With
the shape and game plan we had it just wasn’t the match for Michael on Saturday. “I had a really strong bench at my
disposal as well. I was able to bring on Jordan Hughes, Dylan O’Kane and Ben Arthurs all of whom could be in the
starting line-up on another day. I thought all three did well when they came on and I thought Dylan and Jordan both showed glimpses of why we signed them. “There were boys like Mark Cooling and Kyle Calderwood, two top players,
that didn’t get on the pitch on Saturday and that just shows the strength we have in the squad at the minute.” It’s not just Bangor who have been busy building their squad, with Tobermore United having added nine new faces to their ranks. Those additions made a difference to the Fortwilliam Park side as the basement club in the Premier
Intermediate League made Bangor work hard for the three points. “Tobermore United have made a whole
host of new signings since the start of January, and credit to them, they are a different animal to the team we faced at the start of the season,” explained Feeney. “Although they played well and worked very hard, we deserved the win, and I don’t think there would be any arguments with that. “I was really pleased with how we played across the park. Defensively we were very good and going forward we created a host of chances. My only complaint would be that we didn’t take more of the chances. “When you are only in front by a goal it can be a precarious position, because one mistake or bad bounce of the ball and suddenly the lead you have worked for is gone. We need to make sure that we are
more clinical to put games to bed earlier.”
