Stand-in boss hails Bangor’s stand-out show
BANGOR City will aim to finish the regular Welsh Premier League season on a high when they host Carmarthen Town at Nantporth this Saturday (5.15pm).
The Citizens are assured of finishing fourth, which means they will be top seeds and guaranteed home advantage entering the Europa League play-offs.
Bangor have experienced mixed fortunes against Carmarthen this term, winning the most recent clash 3-2 at Richmond Park, where they also drew 1-1 last September, but losing 2-1 at home to Mark Aizlewood’s men two months later in what was the now deposed manager Ian Dawes’s first game in charge.
With former Blackpool and Leicester City striker Gary Taylor-Fletcher now at the helm as interim-manager, City are ending the campaign in fine form.
Their first game under Taylor-Fletcher delivered a 3-2 victory at Cardiff Met and last Friday, at the Bangor University Stadium, the allblues claimed their first league win over all-conquering The New Saints since November 2011.
City’s chief was delighted his team were at last able to give the champions a taste of their own medicine in a 3-0 triumph. It was the Saints’ heaviest league defeat since losing at home to Carmarthen Town by the same score in November 2012. TNS had won their previous 17 league fixtures against the Citizens, but the hoodoo was finally broken on Good Friday as the title-winners were swept aside by goals from Henry Jones, Daniel Nardiello and Taylor-Fletcher himself.
“We were absolutely spot on, every one of the lads worked their socks off,” said Taylor-Fletcher after the game.
“When we got the ball we wanted to play, we wanted to have a little bit more composure.
“Today we’ve done to TNS what they’ve done to a lot of teams in this league.
“We outplayed them, even with 11 men we were on top.
“You’ve got to be ruthless and today we were. I said to them before the game, the way we play, the way we have been playing, some team is going to get a good hiding.
“I’m not saying this was a good hiding, but we were by far the better team, all around the pitch.”
Greg Draper missed a glorious opportunity for the runaway champions before Paul Harrison somehow denied Nardiello from close range.
Harrison worked wonders again to thwart Jones.
Then five minutes before the break TNS were reduced to 10 men after substitute Romanian defender Mihai Leca was shown a straight red card for pulling back Nardiello when the striker was through on goal.
It did not take the Citizens long to make their man advantage count, as four minutes into the second period Jones headed in Brad Jackson’s cross.
Harrison saved from Gary Roberts before, in the 74th minute, Nardiello twisted and turned in the sixyard box and slotted in number two.
Taylor-Fletcher added a third from a last-minute corner.
Bangor: C Roberts, Wilson, Baio (Edwards 81), Connolly, G Roberts, Jones, Jackson, Allen, Nardiello (Uyi 86), Rittenberg, Taylor-Fletcher.