‘Friday night is massive’: Newry City manager Barry Gray looks ahead to crunch clash against Bangor

Arguably the two favourites at the start of the season to push for the Playr-Fit Championship title, both Newry City and Bangor have got off to slow starts with just three combined wins out of a possible 10 and they meet tonight in what is already an important game.

However, if the two sides look at things through a positive lens they will reason that the season is still young and no trophies are handed out September.

For Newry though, the need to put together a run of form in the league soon won’t be lost on the playing squad – which is more than capable of pushing for promotion – and manager Barry Gray wants to see more points on the board.

“From our perspective we want to be winning games week-in, week-out,” he told the club’s social media channel.

“I still think that we have enough (quality) in the squad to do that. I was hoping that it wouldn’t have taken us this long to settle into Championship life, but that’s the way it is.

“Friday night is massive. Obviously, you have got two big clubs who have aspirations of winning the league. It won’t be a ‘win at all costs’ scenario, but for both teams – particularly us – we’re looking for a big performance and a big result against a big team, to spark our season into a wee bit of life.”

There have been green shoots, such as the team’s ability to find the back of the net (with 10 goals scored in five games), but there have also been negatives, such as the team’s inability to keep the ball out of their own net (as they have also conceded 10 goals).

New signing Ryan McNickle has certainly been a bright spark, as he has nailed four goals in six games in all competitions, including the only goal in Newry’s lone league victory (1-0 against Ballinamallard United) and a dramatic late winner against neighbours Warrenpoint Town in the Mid Ulster Cup earlier this week.

Bangor have been more resolute at the back – conceding just three goals in their opening four games – but a 3-1 loss at home to Limavady United certainly came as a surprise in Matchday 5.