DERBY DAY APPROACHES

By Dave Jones on Nov 22, 07 03:26 PM

RHYL v BANGOR CITY
SATURDAY 2.30PM
IT is quite an astonishing statistic that the 26 League of Wales/Welsh Premier meetings between Rhyl and Bangor City since 1994/95 have not produced one draw.
City lead by 16 victories to 10 in the series, although in recent times things have gone very much the way of the Lilywhites who have won the last four and six of the last eight.

John Hulse’s side are unbeaten in their last 10 league and cup meetings with Bangor, winning nine and drawing the most recent one – a League Cup tie in October which ended 1-1.
So the omens are with Rhyl for Saturday's meeting at Belle Vue but the old cliché, the form book often goes out the window in local derbies, certainly rings true.
After a spell where they struggled to get goals, the Lilies burst into life with seven at Caersws on Sunday, while City, defeated just once in their last 12 games, were held 1-1 at home by Carmarthen that same afternoon.
Saturday’s clash will see quite a few players come up against their former clubs. Rhyl’s Lee Hunt, Mark Connolly and Paul O’Neill once wore the colours of City, while Bangor’s Marc Limbert, Michael Walsh and Peter Hoy are ex-Lilywhites.
Two local lads could hold the key for City – forwards Les Davies and Sion Edwards – who are both in fine form and recently turned out for the Wales Under 23 semi-professional side in Italy, a game which also featured Rhyl speedster Craig Jones.
Taking recent results into account it might be a fair bet that elusive first league draw between these great rivals could come about on Saturday.
HEAD-TO-HEAD
2006/07 – Rhyl 3 Bangor 1; Bangor 1 Rhyl 3.
2005/06 – Bangor 0 Rhyl 3;Rhyl 4 Bangor 1.
2004/05 – Bangor 2 Rhyl 1;Rhyl 2 Bangor 3.
2003/04 – Bangor 2 Rhyl 3;Rhyl 2 Bangor 0.
2002/03 – Rhyl 0 Bangor 1;Bangor 1 Rhyl 0.
2001/02 – Rhyl 0 Bangor 3;Bangor 3 Rhyl 0.
2000/01 – Rhyl 6 Bangor 1; Bangor 0 Rhyl 3.
1999/00 – Rhyl 1 Bangor 0; Bangor 3 Rhyl 2.
1998/99 – Bangor 4 Rhyl 1;Rhyl 1 Bangor 2.
1997/98 – Bangor 2 Rhyl 0;Rhyl 2 Bangor 1.
1996/97 – Bangor 3 Rhyl 0;Rhyl 1 Bangor 2.
1995/96 – Rhyl 0 Bangor 3;Bangor 3 Rhyl 1.
1994/95 – Bangor 2 Rhyl 0;Rhyl 0 Bangor 1.