Countdown continues

Seasiders register for competition – Febaury 1st

Bangor Ladies 2009 division three champions

The countdown towards the 2012 season at Bangor Football Club (Ladies Section) continues this Sunday afternoon (5th) at Clandeboye Park, home of the 2009 League Champions, as the squad will be preparing for their first competitive game for over six months, taking on Limavady Ladies in the first of a series of pre-seasons matches.


With the recent loss of senior coach Peter Gilmore, who is taking up a post in Australia over the summer, the club will have to work extremely hard in order to aspire to the level of fitness needed when the league does kick off in earnest in just over10 weeks time.



Manager Andy Craig is adamant these games represent a vital part of the clubs preparation, and are important in regard to giving the squad a much needed run out, and hopefully a sustained progression in levels of performance in what is the very early stages of the ladies football season.



Bangor, competing once again in Division Two of the Northern Ireland Women’s Football Association (NIWFA) – the sports governing body, will kick off their season in late April, with the Seasiders looking to attempt to recapture the form that saw the Sammy Mellon and Sons sponsored club lift both the Division Three trophy and the North Down Sports Advisory Councils ‘Team of the Year’ following a record breaking 2009 season.



Bangor Ladies are planning to play all their home games on a Tuesday evening, and all are scheduled for evening (7.30 p.m.) kick offs. The preferred venue is of course Clandeboye Road, home to the championship side and 2011 Steel and Sons Cup winners. The ladies will probably switch to Bloomfield Road when the local ground will close for a short time during the summer to allow for important pitch maintenance and repair.



The divisional campaign continues throughout the whole of the summer though, and included two major cup competitions – The Divisional Cup and the Coca Cola Women’s F.A. Cup. Both will run consecutively with the five divisional championships with the season culminating with the respective Cup finals, which will take place in early September.



First though, the secretary attended the 2012 Registration Night last night (Wednesday, 1st) when as the NIWFA Council organised and collated the necessary information provided by representatives of all the participants in each of the fifty ladies football clubs scattered around the Province. The various league fixtures will then follow suit and all the registered teams will be given a full list of the 2012 matches very shortly. Bangor Ladies are also registered to compete in the Coca Cola Women’s Cup, the first round of which, will take place in late April.



It is the North Down club’s seventh successive season in competition and one which may well prove a very difficult one, as the club still looks to increase the size of the present squad. Although the Seasiders have has already made a few new signings, the ladies manager Craig is hopeful of building up a 28 player roster to accommodate what will be a very busy division two campaign.



Although waiting for confirmation of the teams who will be competing in Division Two in April, the league should consist of Cappagh Spurs, Ballymoney Ladies, Moyola Park, Bangor Ladies, Sion Swifts coming up from Division Three. While dropping down were Portaferry and Tollymore Ladies. Promoted last season as champions were Valley Rangers and also moving up were 1st Bangor (Newtownards).



With the brighter and hopefully a little warmer weather on the way, there are a number of pre-season (practice) friendly games being lined up – the first of which will be on Sunday, with at least two more before the end of February and two further games planned to take place in March which will give the players some much needed match fitness, before the NIWFA 2012 season officially kicks of in late April.



For additional information regarding training, matches, results and scores, just log on to the club website at www.bangorladiesfc.co.uk or contact secretary Andy Craig on 07732 277854. New players are always welcome at Clandeboye Park, irrespective of ability or experience. Training will commence at 1.30 p.m. until 3.30 p.m. and players are reminded that shin guards, as a safety precaution, should be worn at all times.




DIVISIONAL TABLE

April - League Standings

NIWFA DIVISION TWO 2012