BANGOR’S VERY OWN CITY SLICKERS

One question which generations of City fans have argued about is "which is the greatest Bangor team of all time?" So many spring to mind – the 1896 treble winners, the Tommy Jones XI of the early ‘60s, Nigel Adkins’ double LoW Championship winners – the list goes on. But one team that always crops up in any all-time favourite list is the wonder team of the late ‘60s - early ‘70s. Whilst everyone rightly remembers Tommy Jones as the greatest player ever to wear a Bangor shirt, people tend to overlook Mick McGrath, who came to Farrar Road in the twilight of his career in the late ‘60s as player/manager. McGrath won a string of Irish Full International caps, and had been a key member of the legendary Blackburn Rovers side of the late ‘50s. With goalkeeper Len Davies - the sole surviving member of the team that played Napoli in 1963, he built up a City side full of maverick talent – the sublime, Brazilian-like skills of George Morton, the aerial power of Jimmy Conde and the commitment of Tony Broadhead, whose career at Farrar Road was to span three decades.

After having spent two decades in the Cheshire League, City became founder members of the Northern Premier League in 1968. City’s start to the new campaign was somewhat erratic to say the least. A 2-1 defeat away at Altrincham on the opening day of the season was followed by two wins on the trot – including a spectacular 2-7 victory at Hyde, with a hat-trick from George Morton. That was followed by four heavy away defeats on the trot, with City scoring just twice and conceding 12. City then found a pattern, and between mid-October to the beginning of March, remained unbeaten in the league, winning 12 out of 15 games. During this amazing run they were quite simply breathtaking, and their free-scoring attacking football mesmerised an army of fans. They scored a total of 49 goals and conceded just 12. Some of the results speak for themselves; 5-0 away at Worksop, 6-0 at home to Netherfield, 6-1 at home to Worksop, 7-1 away to Goole and two 5-2 home victories on the trot against Chorley and Boston.

By March 2, they were battling it out near the top of the table and in with a real chance of clinching the title, but then the inconsistency which they had shown at the start of the season came back to haunt them with a vengeance. They failed to win a single one of their last ten league games of the season – six draws and four defeats left them with just six points out of a possible twenty and they finished the campaign in a disappointing sixth position. However, they were to achieve the glory that their undoubted talent deserved by becoming the first-ever winners of the Northern Premier League Cup, beating Runcorn over two legs – over 6000 fans turned out for the home leg. Out of the 78 goals scored by City during their league campaign, 61 came from Conde, Morton and Broadhead – one of the most devastating attack forces ever to grace the Farrar Road turf.