Bangor 1876 ended their pre-season with a very encouraging display in the Queen of Welsh resorts. We may not have played the entirety of Llandudno’s first eleven but the positive play on display will have warmed hearts

1876 made a very encouraging opening a left wing play provided a few chances. Liam Morris continued his pre-season form by almost helping to create a couple of goals, one of which involved Sion Edwards hitting the post. Corrig McGonigle also looked sharp and Luke Steele started to show his mettle in midfield. The hosts also contributed to the entertainment as they used the ball well.

Were it not for the flying intervention of the impressive ‘dudno keeper Les Davies could have opened the scoring at around the 15 minute mark. For the next ten minutes the match became an even tussle across the middle of the pitch. In the 25th minute Liam Morris hit the post with a shot.

In the 29th minute the goals began to arrive. Luke Steele’s tenacious skill and deft midfield touch found Liam Morris on the wing, who in turn found McGonigle in the box, whereupon a calm finish swiftly followed. Les Davies doubled the 1876 lead in the 31st minute after Sion Edwards created the chance with a left-wing dart.

The hosts pulled a goal back in the 35th minute but Liam Morris restored 1876’s two goal cushion with a close range finish. The home fans may regard the keeper as a little unfortunate to concede this particular goal as second earlier he had denied a certain 1876 goal with a fine save. In the last few minutes of the half, the keeper also denied Davies and Edwards with acrobatic saves.

HALF TIME - Llandudno 1 Bangor 1876 3

In the 51st minute McGonigle's pass provided Les Davies with a chance to calmly score from close range. Two minutes later McGonigle took the ball from the right wing to the box with a strong run and used a silky touch to caress the ball into the net to score his second goal of the match.

With an hour of the match elapsed 1876 continued to press, Edwards saw yet another shot hit the woodwork, then McGonigle narrowly missed with an overhead kick, the Edwards missed a chance created by McGonigle, then Harry Galeotti and McGonigle forced the home keeper to make more noteworthy saves. That wasn’t to say that Llandudno were idle, and they continued to play constructive football and create chances.

The final sixth of the match saw 1876 still in attack mode, one of the more notable examples being the combination of Galeotti’s wing play and Les Davies’ cushioned header. McGonigle completed the scoring with his hattrick goal in the 85th minute. And so, four minutes later the 1876 preseason was over.

FULL-TIME: Llandudno 1 Bangor 1876 6

We would like to thank Llandudno for their hospitality, and we wish them well for the season ahead. Our next game will be our first competitive match of the season, the home Welsh Cup tie against Llanberis next Friday (29 July). The match will kick-off at 7.30pm.