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Memories of Bangor 2006 Robbie Taylor Les Davies paid for a bus, so that all of us loyal fans could travel to Bangor City to watch what was promising to be a thrilling derby match. The tension and excitement had become greater and greater in the days leading up to the big match. Because it was not a normal match by a long way, oh no. The bus arrived about 30 minutes before kick-off and about thirty of us walked to Farrar Road in one big group. Bangor didn’t know what had hit them! As soon as we entered the stadium the sound erupted. It was against the old enemy. Much like Scotland v England or Celtic v Rangers. Anyway the game started and my fellow fans and me were drowning the Bangor city fans out, it was mostly down to Dillwyn and his horn. But then on 34 minutes the ball fell to (you guessed it) Les Davies just outside the area. You can probably guess what he did next, he turned quickly and stuck a thunderbolt in the top right corner of the net. Goal of the month you think? Just you wait. As the half went on Porthmadog grew in confidence. Les Davies almost added a second just before the break but his towering header was well saved by Bangor’s keeper Andy Price. When the half time whistle sounded Porthmadog were still pushing for a second, and we Port fans were taunting the Bangor fans in their own back yard. It was great. As the teams kicked off for the second half the feeling was that Bangor didn’t fancy another 45 minutes, as Port picked up where they had left odd. Until on 51 minutes, and a long throw reached Bangor’s Paul Roberts on the edge of the box, he did what he does best and drilled it into the bottom corner. Guess where he learnt to do that? The former Porthmadog forward was a fans favourite at the Traeth, until a big money move to Wrexham propelled him to stardom, or so we thought, he ended up lowering his standards considerably and moved to that small thing that calls it’s self a city. Back to the match then. The reaction to that goal symbolises exactly how good spirited our fans really are. As soon as the initial few seconds of shock had passed, our chants changed to “We’re gonna win 2-1”. That goal had a massive effect on both teams and after it was real end-to-end, edge of your seat stuff. Both teams had chances including Iwan Thomas, Gareth Caughter, Jason Sadler, John Rambo Jones, and Les Davies. But even though the match was exciting and very tense, most felt it was going to fizzle out towards the end and finish as a 1-1 draw. How wrong could we be! Jason Saddler and Les Davies were creating a very good partnership up front in the absence of Carl Owen, who was struggling with injury. Time was seriously running out when Jason “Andy Johnson” Saddler floated a very deep cross in the direction of Les Davies. Most people would have seen the cross and thought it was to long. But not us true fans. We spent all season standing down at the Traeth witnessing moments of pure magic from the midfield/strike maestro himself. Hearing again and again from Phil HaHa that the Bangor game was postponed was gut wrenching. All we wanted to do was have a chance to avenge the 2-1 defeat at home earlier that season, and show Bangor precisely what they had lost When Les Davies decided to join the best team in Gwynedd. That moment came when Saddlers deep cross fell to Les and he controlled it expertly on his chest, before smashing an unstoppable volley at the tightest of angles, which thundered into the top corner. I have never witnessed a scene like that one ever before in my life. That was something special; that I’m sure only Les Davies could pull off in the Welsh Premier League. I have never jumped, shouted and sang as much as that in my life before. I probably never will again. That was by far the best moment of football I have ever witnessed. My only regret is there were no camera’s there to capture what was truly magnificent. It also meant that Les was once again robbed of the goal of the month award, which either strike was worthy of winning. But at least it keeps Les’s incredible talent away from the prying eyes of top clubs like TNS and Llanelli! Now all that is left to say is beat that 2007! But knowing Les he probably will. |
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