Daily Mirror (Northern Ireland)
12MATCH ANDY WANTS TO CAP THE SEASON WITH A TROPHY..
England Deaf international Reay hoping to help his new club Bangor Rangers survive 2B and pick up a trophy in the process
ANDY REAY says he’s determined to repay Bangor Rangers for the welcome he has received by helping drag them clear of danger.
The 30-year-old striker is new to the Aurora-based club and the Amateur League, having made the switch over the close season from Belfast Deaf United.
After a couple of title tilts under the stewardship of former manager Stuart Lally, the Bangor Gers are still adjusting to their new reality, with a change of management and the attendant exodus of players over the summer forcing a readjustment of expectations.
With four defeats from their opening seven games in Division 2B, the early indications are that a battle for survival rather than another championship challenge lies ahead.
But Reay, for one, has had few problems settling in, grabbing five goals already for his new club.
And despite the obvious difficulties which come with being the only deaf player at the club, never mind the challenges of assimilating into a new squad, the Geordie says it feels like he’s been given a new lease of life.
“I moved to Northern Ireland nearly three years ago and I knew some deaf people that played for Belfast Deaf United. I wanted to keep playing football so I joined them,” explained Reay, who played for the likes of Whitley Bay and Rutherford AFC in his native north east.
“They are the only deaf team in Northern Ireland, a great club that has been running over 100 years.
“But I am 30 years old now and I still want to keep going.
“I am enjoying my season with Bangor Rangers because everything is new to me.
“A lot of players from last season have sadly left and the management too.
“We have a new management team and a few new faces and some new players coming in from the under-19s too, so everything is new for us and we are still learning to play with each other. But I believe we will do better after Christmas to make sure we stay in this league.
“We have been doing well in cup matches and I hope we can continue that and maybe win a cup.
“Personally, I think my form has been good with five games so far for the first team and five goals from various positions, but I would prefer to swap all my goals for six points in the league.”
Indeed, Reay’s impressive form is all the more admirable considering how disadvantageous it must be to play the game without the normal means of communication.
But the Gers new boy, capped 22 times for the Great Britain deaf team, and who represented his country at the Deaflympics 2009 in
Taiwan, the European
Championship at Denmark in 2011, and also the World Cup 2016 in Italy humbly thanked his teammates for their patience with him.
“Being deaf and playing for deaf teams and playing for the national team is fairly easy because we all communicate using the same language and that’s British sign language,” explained Reay, who also represents the England deaf Futsal team and is preparing for the European Futsal Championships in Finland this December.
“But playing for a local hearing team is a different story altogether, there are so many challenges for me.
“I cannot hear and speak so trying to keep up with everybody can be such a task – it doesn’t stop me though because I am absolutely passionate about football and I am lucky I play for a great club at Bangor Rangers with a great bunch of lads who have welcomed me into the team. “During training sessions can also be difficult but the lads do all sorts of gestures for me so I can keep up with what’s going on. “They have been very patient with me and I appreciate that. “Bangor Rangers will be back, watch this space.”