Bangor manager Lee Feeney on why his newly promoted side are set for ‘huge challenge' to stay up
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South Wales Guardian
2 minutes ago
- South Wales Guardian
John McGlynn hails his battle-ready Falkirk squad after draw with Dundee United
The Bairns won back-to-back promotions under their experienced boss and the fans watched the Championship flag being unfurled before the game, marking their return to the top flight after a 15-year absence. On-loan Barnsley forward Max Watters scored his first United goal in the 39th minute with a terrific volley, but midfielder Dylan Tait levelled in the 50th minute with a fine finish. Ivan Dolcek restored the Tannadice side's lead in the 71st minute with his first goal for the club before home defender Ethan Ross equalised with a deflected strike two minutes later for a deserved share of the spoils. McGlynn said: 'I don't think we've got our eyes closed. We know that the margins are finer in this league. 'We'll all look to learn from that and we will need to learn from that. But there's so many positives to take. 'A lot of these players have played in League One, they've stepped up to the Championship dealt with that, and today, I think they looked like Premiership players against Premiership players. 'We were 15 years out of it, the same group of players almost, stepping up to the challenge, 5700 season tickets. 'Dundee United filled their allocation as well. So great atmosphere. 'People want to come and be entertained. That was entertainment. That was definitely entertainment.' United boss Jim Goodwin was proud of his under-strength side's efforts in gaining a point after they had advanced to the Conference League third qualifying round against Rapid Wien with a 2-0 aggregate win over Luxembourg side UNA Strassen on Thursday night. He said: 'It's really strange to be sitting here on the opening day of the season and talking about the number of injuries we have. 'But there's no getting away from it. There's no excuses here. 'We're missing some real key players. Our captain and vice-captain, Ross Graham and Will Ferry. Ferry was a suspension. 'Ryan Strain, Amar Fatah and Kristijan Trapanovski were all missing and they can be great options for us off the bench or starting the game. 'A draw away from home, more often than not in this league, is not a bad result. 'On the back of us playing in Europe on Thursday, with the short turnaround and the lack of recovery time, I think we've got to be satisfied with a point. 'It was only a couple of years ago we were travelling to Arbroath to kick off the Championship season. 'In the space of two years, we're slightly disappointed to pick up a point on the opening day of the Premiership but looking forward to a game in Europe against Rapid Wien. 'When you put things in perspective, we've come a long way in a short period of time.' Ferry will be back from suspension for the midweek trip to Austria and Goodwin hopes some others will be available, although Trapanovski will see a specialist about his hamstring problem on Monday.
Daily Record
2 minutes ago
- Daily Record
Alfie Dorrington wants Aberdeen statement win at Hearts as he reveals Europa League draw preference
The Dons haven't won away from home against the Jambos in over eight years ahead of their opening Preiership trip to Tynecastle Alfie Dorrington wants Aberdeen to open their Premiership campaign with a statement win at Hearts. The Scottish Cup winners head to Tynecastle to take on former boss Derek McInnes ' new-look Jambos' side Hearts have invested heavily over the summer and have made a 100% start to their Premier Sports Cup campaign and they are tipped to be up there with the Dons and Hibs battling for top three, or even higher. 'It would be a statement win as I've heard it's a hard place to go,' the defender, who has returned for a second loan spell from Tottenham Hotspur, stated. 'Last season I played against them and they were a pretty good team but hopefully we can make a statement by winning. 'It will be a real fight at the top because it was for third, fourth and fifth last season as well.' Tynecastle hasn't been a good stomping ground for the Dons. Their last league win there was back in 2017 when McInnes was ironically the manager. In saying that, this fixture normally goes with home form as none of the away teams have won this fixture in the last 23 outings. Also, away form is something Jimmy Thelin's side need to improve on. Dorrington claimed: 'When we play the likes of Hibs or Hearts away treat it the same as we would at home. 'I feel like the performances on the road weren't bad but maybe the results and the way it was going went the other team's way. 'You need a bit of luck in football in terms of chances or mistakes leading to a goal but we are trying to rectify all those things. 'But I don't see that being a problem this season as the Aberdeen away support is always good. 'Most of the games that we played away, our fans packed out the away end and it felt more like a home one. 'But I feel we need the mental resilience to block things out when we're not at Pittodrie to help us more.'That's something we want to sort out in terms of what we do as we weren't happy with fifth place. 'The manager has been big on habits and daily stuff that you have to do right and so we're ready to go again.' Aberdeen will also know their Europa League play-off opponents before they take to the field in Gorgie. The Dons go into the draw unseeded with the likes of Panathinaikos, Copenhagen, Braga Ferencvaros, Malmo and PAOK all on the other side of the draw. Dorrington wants a big gun and to progress. He plans to lean on his experiences being on the bench for Tottenham's early Europa League run against the likes of Rangers and Galatasaray. 'There are some tough teams in there but it's all about backing yourself to get through,' he insisted 'I actually fancy one of the big teams like Braga or maybe Ferencvaros as I was on the bench for Spurs there. 'That is a crazy atmosphere there and I have a few Greek friends so they'll be buzzing if we get Panathinaikos. 'I was also on the bench for Rangers away and Galatasaray away so three really good atmospheres. 'My dad said the atmosphere at Ibrox was proper good but it was completely different being on the bench for Tottenham and on the field with Aberdeen. 'It was my third day at this club and I understood the rivalry straight away.' The 22-year-old admitted he came to Scottish football as a boy last season but now returns as a man. He admitted: 'I got told it was going to be physical before I came here so I was prepared for that. 'But I feel as though I've toughened up as I kind of came here as a boy then left and came back as a man.' Tottenham Hotspur now has a new manager in Thomas Frank, who came in and replaced Europa League-winning boss Ange Postecoglou over the summer. Dorrington has still to speak to him but hopes to catch his eye during his latest spell at Pittodrie. 'I saw him about but I didn't really have a conversation with him to be honest,' the Dons defender confirmed. 'All the players I've spoken to who have gone up and trained with the first team seem to really like him. 'They say he is a really good manager who cares about his players but that's the same as Ange to be honest. 'But I've still got time on my contract to make it at Spurs and once I get more games at Aberdeen I'll maybe get a chance there. 'For now I'm just looking to continue developing myself here as I'm still young and hopefully in a couple of years I'll get my opportunity. 'In the meantime the loans manager comes up to watch, checks in on me regularly and I get a lot of feedback. 'But Aberdeen are a big club in Scotland and with European football this season that heightens my profile. 'That means new experiences with different opposition and different styles of play to come up against. 'It's such a big competition to play in as Spurs showed by winning it last season so I can't wait to be involved.' The Dons head south without Kristers Tobers and Emmanuel Gyamfi but Ester Sokler returns.
The Guardian
2 minutes ago
- The Guardian
Scottish Premiership: Celtic leave it late while Hibernian add to Dundee's woes
Luke McCowan's deflected strike earned Celtic a 1-0 victory in their Premiership opener after St Mirren had frustrated the champions for 87 minutes at Parkhead. The substitute collected Daizen Maeda's square pass on the edge of a crowded penalty box and fired a shot which appeared to spin off Mark O'Hara's leg and nestle into the bottom corner of the net. Celtic had earlier hit the frame of the goal through Benjamin Nygren, Reo Hatate and Adam Idah, while Callum McGregor had a goal disallowed after a VAR intervention. Brendan Rodgers was pleased that his side were able to find a way thorugh and pick up all three points. 'It is a tough game and I thought it was an excellent win,' he said. 'They are a very well organised team. We just had to stay persistent and we were able to do that.' Kieron Bowie struck a first-half double as Hibernian overcame their European exertions to inflict more early-season woe on the new Dundee manager, Steven Pressley, with a 2-1 win at Dens Park. The Scotland forward scored twice in the space of three minutes to give the away side the initiative. Dundee, bidding to ignite some positivity after a demoralising Premier Sports Cup group-stage exit that included defeats by Airdrie and Alloa, hit back swiftly through Finlay Robertson. But Hibs – who arrived on Tayside on the back of a gruelling 120-minute encounter with Midtjylland in the Europa League on Thursday – were able to see out the second half in relatively comfortable fashion. David Gray praised his Hibernian players for making light of their European endeavours and securing all three points. 'I'm delighted because after everything the players put in Thursday night, everybody would be looking at today's game wondering would there be a hangover,' he said. 'The players reacted in the best possible way with a real professional performance. I thought we controlled the game from start to finish.' Newly promoted Falkirk came from behind twice to draw 2-2 with Dundee United in an entertaining match at Falkirk Stadium. Sign up to Football Daily Kick off your evenings with the Guardian's take on the world of football after newsletter promotion The home fans watched the Championship flag being unfurled on the pitch before the game, marking their return to the top flight after a 15-year absence but against the general run of play Max Watters scored his first United goal in the 39th minute with a terrific volley from 14 yards. Dylan Tait levelled in the 50th minute with a fine finish but Ivan Dolcek restored the Tannadice side's lead in the 71st minute, with his first counter for United – only for home defender Ethan Ross to level with a deflected strike two minutes later. A share of the spoils was probably the correct outcome. The Falkirk manager, John McGlynn, believes the result showed that his players are ready for the Premiership. 'A lot of these players have played in League One, they've stepped up to the Championship dealt with that, and today, I think they looked like Premiership players against Premiership players,' he said.
