Bangor followed up their midweek delight with a comprehensive victory over Wakehurst on Saturday.
Having swept aside St James Swifts on Wednesday night, the Seasiders had little time to ready themselves for their next league fixture.
With Gerard McMullan injured as well as Ben Roy and Ethan Boylan unavailable because of suspension, Bangor manager Hugh Sinclair had to shuffle his pack. It was one of those replacements – Scott McArthur – who tormented Wakehurst, scoring twice and setting up two more. Jack Mallin and Niall Atkinson were also on target as the Seasiders claimed a valuable three points.
McArthur was in the thick of the action from the start, constantly looking to drive at an unsuspecting Wakehurst defence. Goalkeeper Chris Fullerton did just enough to keep out the winger’s low effort in the 11th minute.
Three minutes later though, Bangor did have the lead. McArthur raced onto a perfectly weighted through ball from Matthew Johnston and squared the ball across goal for Ben Arthurs to tap in from close range – his 20th goal of the season.
Mark Cooling was forced off with a back injury in the 19th minute and he was replaced by Niall Atkinson. The midfielder did not take long to find his feet, stinging the palms of Fullerton from 20 yards.
Bangor doubled their lead just past the half hour mark when a looping cross from Jack Wasson was poorly dealt with by Fullerton. The loose ball landed at the feet of McArthur and the youngster brilliantly lifted his first time effort over the stranded Fullerton and the covering Wakehurst defenders to find the back of the net.
The relentless Bangor continued to push forward and added a third in somewhat fortuitous circumstances two minutes later when Jack Mallin’s in-swinging cross from the left looped over Fullerton and into the roof of the net.
Wakehurst’s Andrew Laughlin had his side’s first real sight of goal from 20 yards just before the break, but his drive whistled past the post.
Ben Arthurs grabbed his second of the game and Bangor’s 100th of the season when he tapped home another low McArthur cross two minutes after half time. That was to be the striker’s last contribution as he was replaced by Zac Fletcher.
Michael Halliday saw his header cleared off the line from an Atkinson corner in the 49th minute before the marauding Gareth Beattie directed his header wide of the target from Fletcher’s cross.
Bangor were enjoying complete control and a spectacular Jack Mallin overhead kick flew just wide of the target as the Seasiders showed no sign of sitting back and protecting their lead.
That mentality paid off when Johnston split the Wakehurst defense with a clever pass allowing McArthur to shift the ball onto his left foot and expertly bend his low shot into the bottom corner from the edge of the penalty area.
The scoring was complete in the 72nd minute when Niall Atkinson hammered the ball into the bottom corner after Fletcher’s initial effort was blocked by Fullerton.
While both Mallin and Fletcher were denied on the goal line late on, Bangor could be pleased with their performance at the Ballymena Showgrounds.
Bangor: Gibbons, Johnston, Beattie, Dickson, Wray, Wasson (’59 Hislop), Mallin, Cooling (19′ Atkinson), Halliday, Arthurs (48′ Fletcher), McArthur. Subs not used: Arthur, Lucas
Scorers: Arthurs (14′, 47′), McArthur (32′, 65′), Mallin (34′), Atkinson (72′)
Wakehurst: Fullerton, Doherty, McQuillan, Irwin, McAllister, Weir, Walker, Laughlin, Carson (73′ Hamilton), Hanna (69′ Campbell), Gregg. Subs not used: Milligan, Henderson, Reid
Booked: McQuillan, Laughlin, Hamilton, Gregg
