Bangor City's blue kit was synonymous with success in the League of Wales in its early days, and after a feet-finding year in 1992/93, the Blues dominated the LoW in 1993/94 and 1994/95 with Nigel Adkins' Blue and White Army flocking to Farrar Road to watch a successful football side which took the league by storm.
Amongst Bangor's big days back then were their Welsh Cup semi-final matches against us and their first League of Wales game at home to us in September, 1994, when a crowd of nearly 1000 saw City coast to victory against Barry, the then-Welsh Cup holders.
Bangor have always been one of the hardest teams to beat in the LoW, and prior to our defeat against Afan Lido were the last side to win an LoW match in Jenner Park. That game was just after we turned professional, in September, 1995, when a Frank Mottram goal was enough for Adkins and his team to head home with all three points.
Since then, Barry have been on top in our encounters, although it hasn't always been easy. Quickly springing to mind are our two epic encounters in the Gilbert League Cup, where, two years running, the final has gone first to extra time and then to penalties between us and the Blues. On both occasions, we've been the winners, but it's been tight, and none more so than at Aberystwyth's Park Avenue, where we scored the equaliser with three minutes of extra-time remaining.
Last season, Bangor went one better than their semi-final of 1994, and won the Welsh Cup, ironically on the same penalty kicks that had lost the Gilbert Cup to us five days earlier. They beat our conquerors, Connah's Quay, despite Bangor having had a player sent off after just six minutes of the game. However, for many of those players it was their final game for City, and a very different side, under the management of former Caernarfon boss, John King, took the field for the European Cup Winners' Cup against Haka of Finland. City were desperately unlucky in Europe, losing 2-0 at home and then falling prey to a sucker-punch goal in Finland, going out 3-0 on aggregate.
For a few months afterwards, Farrar Road was in turmoil, and John King resigned his post after a 3-2 home defeat to Newtown. That came about despite a 1-0 away win over Cardiff City in the Premier Cup.
The King was replaced by goalkeeper Leigh Williams, who made his name by scoring a free-kick from his own half in the match that day. Williams hasn't found it easy in charge of a club where success is expected, even though at one point he was the club top scorer (he takes the penalties as well).
However, recent weeks have seen City put together a string of decent results, which have taken them to the fringes of the European race. A comfortable 3-0 win over Haverfordwest County, was followed by an easy 5-2 win over Holywell Town. Sure, they aren't the big clubs of the LoW, but Bangor are pushing up the table, and won't want to lose points here at Jenner Park.
the Yellow Dragon.
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This page edited by the Yellow Dragon, 1999.
This article first published in the Barry Town Matchday Magazine, v Total Network Solutions, League of Wales, 20.02.1999
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