Aiming to be Bang on form

Jim Magilton says Cliftonville must be on top of their game when they go toe-to-toe with an “outstanding” Bangor team tomorrow.

The Reds travel to Clandeboye Park for their penultimate away game of the calendar year and, while they do so on the back of a run of seven Sports Direct Premiership games without defeat, Magilton is more than aware of how the Seasiders have adapted to life back in the top flight – a return that commenced with victory over Cliftonville on the opening day of the campaign.

Since then, they have soared well clear of the relegation scrap that many pre-season observers expected them to become mired in, and they approach the term’s midway point firmly in the mix to claim a place in the table’s top six.

“Lee Feeney and his squad of players have been outstanding,” says Magilton.

“They’ve been absolutely fantastic this year.

“Bangor have proven their quality all season and we’ll have to go there and present ourselves in the best possible manner.

“We’ll look forward to the challenge and come out with what we have and hopefully our qualities can surpass theirs, but we certainly know it’s a tough game.”

Having credited his players for cutting out the defensive lapses that had cost them so dearly earlier in the season, Magilton acknowledges that, despite picking up seven points from recent clashes with Portadown, Glentoran and Glenavon, the Reds had conceded uncharacteristic goals in all three games.

“That’s something we’ll obviously look to rectify,” he adds.

“We had worked very hard on that to cut that out of our game and then we saw an upturn in results which has given us the bit of momentum we’ve felt over the last couple of months or so. Just in the last week or two, some of the goals we’ve given away have been very unlike us and that’s something we’ll look to tighten up on again.”

Bangor v Cliftonville
Saturday, December 20, 2025
Adults: £15
Concessions: £10
Aged 12-18: £5
Primary school kids: £2
Tickets: General Sale