New-look Bangor men make solid start

BANGOR City men’s first team got off to a solid start to their North West Hockey League Division Three campaign with a 1-1 draw at Liverpool Sefton 2nds.

A summer of change for the club saw the men’s team join forces with the university and play under City’s badge. That saw the club assume the University’s place in NWHL Division 3, with a second team occupying City’s place in Division 6.

And despite stepping up a few divisions, the first team did not look out of their depth by any means, giving as good as they got in a tough opening game in Merseyside.

In a fast-paced opening, Bangor began brightly and put the home side under early pressure, with Arran Butterworth and Jack Brookes posing an attacking threat.

Sefton, with a full bench, slowly began to take control and pin City back and, after flashing a few shots wide, they got through and scored the opening goal in the 22nd minute.

The score remained 1-0 at half time and, after the break, the game resumed in a very end-to-end fashion. However, Bangor pushed forward with more confidence, with Brookes almost finding the bottom corner with a shot after rounding the last defender.

Minutes later, City equalised when a low finish from Tomos Hughes found the bottom corner after good pressure from Brookes and Dave Paterson put the ball in his path.

The home side ended the game looking for a winning goal, but found debutant keeper Rhayshauun Suen in inspired form. The glovesman made several saves, including one crucial intervention that deflected the ball onto the crossbar and to safety in the dying moments, to secure a point for battling City.

A youthful second team began the campaign with a tough 9-1 loss against Bowden 5s.

This weekend sees the first team on the road again to take on Stockport Bramhall (1.30pm), while the seconds host Oxton 4s at the Brailsford Centre 3G pitch (2.15pm).