After a long and turbulent title battle in the LockStock Ardal North-West between Denbigh and Bangor last term, we lock horns once more in North Wales’ premium division.

Bangor 1876 v Denbigh Town
Date: 12/08/2023
Kick-Off: 14:30
Location: Nantporth Stadium, Bangor
Competition: JD Cymru North

Form

Denbigh come into this one on the back of a superb 4-1 home victory in midweek that saw them put Caersws to the sword. The visitors took the lead on 13 minutes but this proved to be their only bright spot, as Craig Pritchard leveled before a Nathan Brown brace. Paul Fleming finished the rout early in the second half with the Bluebirds reduced to nine men.

It was the perfect follow-up to a 3-0 loss away to Buckley in the Nathaniel MG Cup and a narrow 2-1 loss away to Flint on the opening day of the league campaign.

Bangor have loved life in the second tier with a superb start to the new season. On Tuesday they travelled to Conwy to take on rivals Llandudno at their temporary home, and like Denbigh scored four. Goals from Dan Cox, Craig Whelan and a Corrig McGonigle brace was enough for the Citizens in the 4-2 success. It followed on from their opening day demolition of Llanidloes which saw Bangor record a 6-0 victory. Goal difference sees them top of the pile in the early stages.

Between their two league games, they faced Gresford Athletic in the Nathaniel MG Cup, losing 3-0 at Nantporth.

The Opposition

Bangor are no strangers to Denbigh having been pipped to the league title by Town on the final day of the season back in May. 1876 had to settle for the play-offs where they beat Cefn Albion at Prestatyn’s Bastion Gardens to secure promotion.

Formed in 2019 following the disastrous and frankly bizarre goings on at the old Bangor City, the supporter-owned club returned to Nantporth this season having previously played at Treborth. T

They began in the Gwynedd League and won promotion at the first attempt despite the season being curtailed due to the pandemic. They went on to play in the North Wales Coast West Football League after a season away, winning promotion and would repeat the feat a year later via the playoffs.

Head-to-Head

Denbigh and the breakaway 1876 have met three times, all coming last season in the Ardal North-West and the Ardal Northern League Cup, Denbigh have a 100% win record. The last game took place in March where second half goals from Matthew Worrall and Jason Foulkes secured the league double over the Gwynedd side at Treborth.

In February we faced off at Central Park where Worrall’s lone strike was the difference, whilst in December it was a night to remember for Paul Fleming who grabbed a hatrick in a 3-1 win in the cup, on route to winning the competition six months later.

The first competitive match played between Denbigh and a Bangor side came in the Welsh Cup back in 1891, where an initial 0-0 draw in Denbigh led to a replay. The match in Bangor finished 2-2. One more replay, this time at a neutral venue (Llandudno) saw Bangor advance 3-1.

Interestingly, the first league game between the sides two years later saw one side not under a name recognised today, but it wasn’t Bangor. Denbigh entered the season in 1893 having formed a breakaway club of their own after a sanction from the FAW, and competed as Caledfryn Rangers. That first game in 1893 finished 1-1 in Denbigh. It was the first game the club had ever played whilst not representing Denbigh within it’s name.

Stat Pack

Following his 50th appearance on Tuesday, Craig Pritchard needs one more goal to make it 20 for Denbigh, and two more in the league to bag 20 league goals.

Danny Clarke also needs two more goals to make it 20 for his Denbigh career.

Jason Foulkes needs one more appearance for 20 Denbigh games.

Keep Up

You can keep up to date with all the action via the club’s social media channels including live text commentary via our Twitter page and match-report on the club website post-match. For live updates as they happen follow Denbigh Town on the Cymru Football App.