Bangor progressed to the fourth round of the Steel and Sons Cup after battling past Glebe Rangers on Saturday.
A tetchy encounter saw the referee brandish three red cards in the second half – two for the Seasiders but it was Bangor who also scored two goals to Glebe’s one.
The home side took the lead in the 7th minute as the Seasiders struggled to find any rhythm in their play. The marauding Jackie Morrison burst past Gareth Beattie and centred the ball for Ian Christie to nod past Darren Gibbons.
Bangor’s first foray with any intent saw Jack Mallin, Ben Roy and Michael Halliday all exchange passes before Halliday was upended in the penalty area in the 26th minute. Despite protestations from the home side, the referee awarded the penalty and following a lengthy delay, Mark Cooling made no mistake as he slotted into the bottom corner past Josh Dunn.
That goal galvanised Bangor and they should have been in front moments later but Ben Roy passed up the chance when he only had Josh Dunn to beat.
The first half became stretched as both sides created chances as they attacked. For Glebe, Peter Kennoway wastefully headed over when well placed before David Reid lifted a much tougher effort over the crossbar from 16-yards.
At the other end, Ben Roy was twice the provider for Michael Halliday but the veteran striker saw his first header well saved by Dunn while his second effort, on the stroke of half time, dropped just over the crossbar.
Bangor kept the home side waiting at the start of the second half as Hugh Sinclair made sure his side understood his instructions, and from the restart there was a noticeable improvement compared to the disjointed first half performance.
A double change saw Jack Mallin and Sammy Devine replaced by Ben Arthurs and Colum Curtis, and it was Bangor’s debutant who took the attack to Glebe.
Curtis skipped past Chad Dobbin on the right wing and pulled the ball back for Halliday but the Bangor man saw his effort blocked while Mark Cooling’s 18-yard follow up bounced just wide of the target.
It was Bangor’s third substitute who put the Seasiders in front. Ethan Boylan, making his first appearance of the season following injury, glanced Mark Cooling’s free kick into the far corner with his first touch of the match in the 74th minute.
The competitive nature of the match boiled over with ten minutes to play following a mistimed tackle from Jack Wasson. When referee Ryan Hanna eventually restored order, he showed Wasson his second yellow card of the match while Ben Roy and Glebe’s Daniel Brown were both shown straight red cards for their involvement.
Bangor reshuffled their pack and defended resolutely as they looked to see out the closing stages. But it wasn’t backs to the wall for the Seasiders. Ben Arthurs could have sealed the game in the 91st minute but he dragged his shot wide of the far post following a Brandon Nelson pass while the substitute could have done better in teeing up Ethen Boylan as Bangor caught the home side with a counter attack.
With the last kick of the game, a low shot from David Reid flew across the Bangor goal just missing the final touch from a number of sprawling Glebe attackers.
Bangor: Gibbons, Arthur, Beattie, Devine (53′ Curtis), Wray, Wasson, Mallin (53′ Arthurs), Cooling, Halliday (73′ Boylan), Roy, Nelson. Subs not used: Long, Getty
Scorers: Cooling (26′ pen), Boylan (74′)
Booked: Roy, Nelson, Wray, Wasson
Sent off: Wasson, Roy
Glebe Rangers: Dunn, Shaw (’40 Mitchell), Sheppard, Brown, Kennoway, Reid, Christie, McWhirter (’75 Woods), Dobbin, Morrison, Blair (’67 Francis). Subs not used: McAllister, Harte
Scorer: Christie (‘7)
Booked: Kennoway, Shaw
Sent off: Brown
