OTHER NEWS:
Dungannon Swifts have given Bangor permission to begin talks with midfielder Mark Magennis.

Happy New Year to one and all!
 

As part of Marty's transfer, Glenn Hand has agreed to join Larne and link up with us his old boss Tommy Leeman. We would wish Glenn every future success and thank him for his professionalism and dedication in his short time with us.

Our manager has indicated that he may wish to shake things up a bit further in the coming weeks and has been given permission to enter the transfer market again if he so wishes. Without doubt we are thrilled at having secured Marty Verner's services and look forward to him filling the undoubted void left by the injury to Paul McDowell, who will have his cruciate operation on January 10th. We would like to wish Paul a very speedy recovery and on behalf of everyone at Clandeboye Park a very Happy New Year to you all."

Bill Peden

FINAL SCORE FROM LAKEVIEW PARK:
LOUGHGALL 3 - 1 BANGOR

Bangor Goalscorer: Ryan Brown(ii)

Bangor recorded their first League defeat of the season this afternoon in a below par performance at Lakeview Park. The Seasiders struggled to find their way in the first half and were 3-0 down within the first 15 minutes. Bangor rallied in the second half, and had a couple of excellent chances to score before Ryan Brown slotted home a consolation goal for the Seasiders.

MATCH REPORT by Neil Watson
VIDEO & PHOTOS NOW SHOWING on BangorFC.tv

OTHER NEWS...
Stephen Collier and Colin Beggs have each received a one match ban from the IFA Disciplinary Committee.  Both players will miss next Saturday's home match against Banbridge Town.

Tickets for the Bangor v. Liverpool Legends XI match next July are now on  sale through Ticketmaster. (See below for full match details)
Click Here to purchase tickets.

Bangor take on First Division League leaders Loughgall at Lakeview Park on Saturday - 2:30pm Kick Off. Andy Morrow is suspended while new striker Tony Smith is expected to make his debut for Bangor. The Supporters Club Bus leaves Clandeboye Park at 12:45pm.

The Bangor FC 2008 Calendar goes on sale tomorrow and will be available from club officials at Lakeview Park. Price £5.00.

A STATEMENT FROM BANGOR FC CHIEF EXEC. BILL PEDEN.....

"On Wednesday evening, after many hours negotiating, we were able to agree a transfer deal with new Larne boss Tommy Leeman for Marty Verner. During the course of the day we have verbally agreed terms with Marty with a view to joining us until at least the end of the current season. As far we are concerned, everything is in place to allow Marty to join us and the final decision now rests with the player, from whom we expect to hear on Friday at the latest.

We are aware that a number of Premier league clubs are interested in securing Marty's services and take some pleasure from the fact that Larne have decided to accept our offer subject to the player's agreement.

At this minute in time, the ball is firmly at Marty's feet. If he shows the desire to return to Clandeboye, we will make it happen, if not we wish him continued success in his career.

As you are all no doubt aware, Tony Smith has joined us on loan from Newry. We are delighted to have Tony onboard for Saturday and he comes highly recommended by Gerry Flynn.

I would like to finish by thanking our manager Paul Millar for his tireless efforts over the last week or so, and on behalf of the Board, Managemyers, I would like to wish you all a very Merry Christmas and a prosperous New Year."

Bill Peden

Paul Millar has completed the loan signing of 28 year old striker Tony Smith from Newry City. Tony will be on loan at Bangor until the end of January.

Paul is still hopeful of adding another player to the squad within the next few days.

JJB IRISH CUP DRAW
The draw for the 5th Round of the JJB Sports Irish Cup has taken place this afternoon in Belfast:

Bangor have been drawn away to Glenavon.

The full draw is as follows:
Institute v Dunmurry Rec, Banbridge Town v Abbey Villa, Dundela v Portstewart, Killyleagh YC v Downpatrick,  Ballymoney United v Ballyclare Comrades, Ards v Brantwood,  Armagh City v Crusaders,  Coleraine v Tobermore United, Glenavon v Bangor,  Glentoran v Lisburn Distillery,  Larne v Cliftonville,  Loughgall v Linfield,  Limavady United v Dungannon Swifts, Newry City v Ballymena United, Portadown v Newington YC, Donegal Celtic v. Carrick Rangers 

Ties to be played on Saturday, 12th January 2008.

Footballing Legends Alan Kennedy and Paul Parker are in the Province this week launching something special for local fans’ Christmas stockings.

Tickets for Legends XI, a week long Northern Ireland July 2008 tour by Manchester Utd Legends and Liverpool Legends will go on general sale on Ticketmaster Friday December 21 – Lucky local fans of Bangor F.C. will have the opportunity to be the first people to purchases tickets to see their club take on Liverpool Legends on Sunday the 20th July with 3.00pm KO, what a great privilege it will be to be watching this exciting exhibition match being played on their home pitch. This is an event football fans won’t want to miss, log on to www.ticketmaster.ie on Friday December 21st to get your tickets.

Eugene McLaughlin, Grow Sport explains “We’re releasing a small quantity of tickets especially for local clubs. Going on the initial response to the offer, we’re expecting demand to be really high. Legends XI tickets are the perfect Christmas present…as well as buying a really memorable experience for a friend or family member, you’re doing your bit to help raise much needed funds for the local game”.

Football Legends including Alan Kennedy, Frank Stapleton, Phil Neal, Paul Parker, John Aldridge, Lee Sharpe, Jason McAteer, Andre Kanchelskis and Bruce Grobbelaar will challenge local Irish league teams in 6 exciting exhibition matches next July and one very special tournament the Legends XI Belfast Cup which will see the Manchester and Liverpool Legends battle it out against the local big two Linfield and Glentoran Legends.

Liverpool Legend John Aldridge said “I’m so looking forward to coming back to Northern Ireland. We played two exhibition matches here last summer and the welcome and support we received was just amazing. I’m delighted that Legends XI ticket sales will help local Northern Irish clubs develop their game and improve their grounds. And hopefully our 3 exhibition matches will outsell the 3 Manchester United Legends games!” he laughed.

Fans will also be able to see the Liverpool Legends and Manchester United Legends pit their talents against the local big two team’s Glentoran and Linfield Legends XI in the first ever Legends XI Belfast Cup at the Oval Belfast on July 26 2008.

Manchester Legends, Liverpool Legends, Linfield Legends and Glentoran Legends will battle it out over 4 games to see who will claim the first Legends XI Belfast Cup.

Bangor had no match scheduled for this weekend and are next in action against Loughgall at Lakeview Park on Saturday 22nd December.
Referee: I. Hall

OTHER NEWS:
The IFA Disciplinary Committee have issued Bangor Captain Andy Morrow with a one match ban (5th caution). Andy will miss out on the trip to Loughgall.

MIDWEEK FIRST DIVISION RESULTS.....
Carrick Rangers 4 -1 Lurgan Celtic : Ballyclare Comrades 2 - 0 Coagh United : Loughgall 1 - 0 Banbridge Town.

WKD INTERMEDIATE CUP UPDATE....
Bangor will travel to Carrickfergus on 5th January to play Barn United in the Third Round of the WKD Intermediate Cup. Barn secured a 2 -1 victory over Ballycastle United yesterday in their second round tie.

JJB IRISH CUP DRAW ON MONDAY
The draw for the 5th Round of the JJB Irish Cup takes place on Monday. Full details of the draw will be published here as soon as they become available.

There was bad news for Bangor today when the club learned that top goalscorer Paul McDowell will be out for the rest of the season.

Paul was stretchered off in a recent League match against Tobermore United. Initially it was thought that the injury would keep him out for around 4 weeks, but the latest tests have revealed that Paul has a full rupture of a cruciate ligament. A costly operation will now be required in January and the recovery period is estimated to be around six months.

We wish Paul a very speedy recovery and look forward to seeing him pull on a Bangor shirt again early next season.

Paul Millar has already begun his search to find a replacement quality striker.

The fixture will be played on Saturday 5th January with a 1:30pm kick off.

Click on image left for the full draw.

Congratulations to Niall Currie's Loughgall on lifting the Carnegie League Cup.

MATCH REPORT by Neil Watson
MATCH PHOTOS NOW AVAILABLE ON BANGORFC.TV
MATCH VIDEO NOW AVAILABLE ON BANGORFC.TV

In the second half Colin Beggs chipped in a third and substitute David Irvine wrapped things up with another header to make it 4-0.

MATCH REPORT by Neil Watson