BANGOR manager Lee Feeney was left ruing what might have been for his side on Tuesday night if they had turned their first-half pressure into goals against Harland and Wolff Welders.
With eight points separating Bangor and the Welders at the top of the table before kick-off, a Bangor victory would have widened that gap to 11 with six games remaining.
But instead a devastating second-half performance from the east Belfast team saw them run out 4-1 winners at Clandeboye Park to close the gap to five points, leaving the Bangor boss annoyed with what he had seen.
“It was a game of two halves,” surmised Feeney.
“I thought we dominated the first half but we weren’t intelligent enough, clinical enough or good enough to get ourselves in front.
“Our final ball, our touch and our finishing all let us down in the first half. If we had been more ruthless with our opportunities, I think we would have come away sitting 11 points clear at the top. But because we weren’t, the gap is now five points.
“We spoke about it at half-time, that we had given the Welders some hope because we didn’t get ourselves ahead in the first half.
“Instead we were a goal behind but I was still confident we could come back and win it, or at least definitely not lose it. The way we capitulated in the second half was unbelievably disappointing.”
Feeney went on: “We didn’t show any leadership or character on the pitch and that was really disappointing.
“We felt sorry for ourselves and we became frantic and started to rush everything. The quality was so poor and we didn’t have one good performance across the pitch.
“I think our mentality was all wrong,” he added. “I believe if the Welders hadn’t lost on Saturday against Ards, we would have been a different animal because of what would have been at stake, and that’s disappointing.”
Now Bangor must bounce back as they head into the final six league games of the season, starting with a trip to Wilgar Park on Saturday (3pm) to face Dundela.
The Duns suffered their own setback on Tuesday night, losing out to Annagh United who moved above Stephen Gourley’s side into fourth position.
With little room for error in what is set to be a tense finish to the season, Feeney expects a big reaction from his troops as they look to bounce back.
“I can’t wait for Saturday – I know we will get a big response,” he said.
“I don’t think this defeat will derail us. It will certainly give the Welders a bit of hope for the remainder of the season, but we will focus on ourselves.
“It’s happened too much this season where every eight games or so we have a really bad performance, but we have always responded to it and I know come Saturday there will be a big reaction.”
