DONEGAL CELTIC 1 - 0 BANGOR
Carnegie First Division
Match Report by Neil Watson
Saturday 25th February 2006
 A
first half goal from Paul McVeigh was enough for Donegal
Celtic to beat Bangor at Suffolk Park. The win keeps
Celtic in the hunt for promotion while Bangor’s league
position continues to slide.
It was Bangor who created the first opening of the match
after only 2 minutes. A speculative 25-yard shot from Jim
McCloskey just evaded Ryan Brown 2 who closed in at the back
post looking to tap home.
At the other end, Ryan Brown 1 had to be alert to deny
Brendan Allsopp a fortuitous opener. The midfielder’s cross
from the right needed a back-peddling Brown to fingertip the
ball over the crossbar for a corner.
After 10 minutes, it was Declan Brown in the Donegal
Celtic goals who denied Andy Morrow scoring the opening
goal. Morrow collected a poor clearance before volleying low
from 18 yards. The Celtic keeper was down quickly to his
right to push the ball around the post for a corner.
The opening goal came after 15 minutes through Paul
McVeigh. Gary Clifford broke down the right flank before
picking out the perfect cross for the arriving McVeigh to
power his header home.
Declan Brown again had to be alert after 22 minutes to
smoother the ball at the feet of Ryan Brown 2. A good move
involving Andy Morrow and John Douglas allowed Brown 2 to
get a sight of goal, but the Celtic ‘keeper was quick to
avert any danger.
2 minutes later and former Bangor player Mal Harbinson
was denied a spectacular goal by the thickness of the
crossbar. Harbinson hit a rasping shot from 30 yards only to
see his effort clip off the top of the crossbar.
Ryan Brown 1 had to be on top of his game to deny
Anthony Lagan extending Donegal Celtic’s lead. Lagan found a
yard of space in the Bangor defence 18 yards from goal.
Fortunately for Bangor, the forward’s shot was well saved by
Ryan Brown 1.
As the half drew to a close, Ryan Brown 2 almost got
Bangor back on level terms. A long punt up field was flicked
on by a Bangor forward towards Brown 2. The speedy winger’s
first time effort from 10 yards was smartly blocked by
Declan Brown before a defender hooked the ball clear as Andy
Morrow looked to pounce on the rebound.
Half-time: 1 – 0
After 50 minutes, it was Bangor’s turn to rattle the
crossbar. A Douglas corner from the right was half cleared
to Massey on the edge of the penalty area. The centre half’s
powerful volley thumped against the woodwork before being
cleared by a defender.
3 minutes later, Bangor were grateful to Ryan Brown 1
for keeping the score at 1 nil. Anthony Lagan managed to
race clear of the Bangor back line but the Bangor ‘keeper
did well to block the forward’s effort before Johnny
Cheevers hooked the ball clear under pressure from Lagan.
It was again Ryan Brown 1 who came to Bangor’s rescue
after 55 minutes. An instinctive first-time shot from 25
yards from McVeigh was destined for the net until Brown 1
superbly saved the goal scorer’s vicious shot.
With Bangor replacing Douglas with Kenny Camlin, a
period of pressure was exerted on the Donegal Celtic penalty
area. Chris Nicholl shot low from 20 yards but the
fullback’s deflected shot flew just wide of the right hand
post.
Ryan Brown 1 again had to be on top form to deny McVeigh
after 36 minutes. A deep corner from the left picked out
McVeigh at the back post, but the forward’s effort was well
blocked by the Bangor shot stopper.
As the game drew to a close, both teams made
substitutions with Russell and McStravick replacing Nicholl
and McCloskey respectively for the visitors. These changes
encouraged Bangor to attack more often, but despite some
nervy moments for the Celtic rearguard, Bangor failed to
really test Declan Brown.
Full time: 1 – 0
Bangor: R Brown 1, Nicholl (Russell), Officer, Cheevers,
Massey, Dunlop, Douglas (Camlin), Kerr, Morrow, R Brown 2,
McCloskey (McStravick).
Donegal Celtic: D Brown, Duff, Harbinson (McDonald),
McClean, Clifford, Allsopp, Corrigan (Lyons), Fox (Hanna),
Lagan, McHugh, McVeigh.
Goal Scorer: McVeigh (’15)
Referee: Mr A Heron
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