For the second week in a row Bangor lost 4-1 - this time it was in a home game against Annadale but there's a lot more positives to take from this week.

Coach Harry McNeill is starting to make his mark and Bangor would surely have pushed Annadale much closer with a full squad available.

Their preparation for the game was severely hampered by Michael Harte and Stephen McLean going down with flu in the run up to the game, Gareth Morton being delayed on honeymoon and Simon Scales still missing with a bad ankle. It meant a severe stretching of an already sparse squad, a promotion for some of the seconds players playing beforehand and an emergency return to action for veteran Nicky Blease.

All this meant it was no surprise when Bangor got off to the worst start possible. They were 1-0 down inside three minutes when Annadale attacked in numbers on the right flank and Fraser Mills was left with a simple tap in at the back post.

And it got much, much worse for the home side as they conceded three more goals in the next fifteen minutes. They did have one decent period where a couple of short corners were made and Conor Savage forced the Annadale goalkeeper into a sharp double save but it was little to show for a half that the visitors dominated.

Annadale's second goal came when Bangor struggled to get the ball out of defence. The hard work of Purcell caused a huge defensive mix up and Peter Caruth was gifted the easiest goal possible from close range. And he got his second just minutes later when after John Tormey made a comfortable first save at a penalty corner he had plenty of time to set himself and fire home on his reverse side.

Another cheap giveaway of the ball in the centre of the pitch led to the fourth goal when Annadale poured forward and Andrew Gowdy was left in an impossible position and gave away a penalty stroke. Ian Hamilton stylishly finished into the roof of the net and gave Annadale a 4-0 lead after just twenty minutes.

Through a mix of Annadale relaxing and Bangor finally finding their feet the steady flow of goals ended. In fact, Bangor matched the Belfast side for the remainder of the game and despite never realistically looking like being able to find their way back into the game they did improve and played some of the better hockey in what remained.

That was rewarded with the only goal of the second half when Michael Manogue's persistence freed up a chance and he fired under the goalkeeper on his reverse side.

The new coach will also be delighted with the second half performance of Chris Campbell who was a constant threat to Annadale. So much so that they repeatedly resorted to fouling him and several players were cautioned for hefty challenges before Mills finally received his marching orders for one bad tackle too many.

It's now three games into the league season and Bangor are bottom of the table with no points to show for their efforts. And this week they travel to the reigning champions Cookstown. It has been a tough start to the season for the Seasiders but they must remain confident that they can beat most of the teams immediately above them in the table in the crucial month of November and that should ensure Premier League survival for another year. But that's easier said than done.

 

 

Written by Simon Hunter