By Chris O'Brien
June 23 2005

Another European defeat. Bangor City miss a great opportunity to break Wales' hapless Intertoto Cup record after missing numerous chances against FC Dinaburg. A first-leg defeat at Belle Vue means Peter Davenport's men face the improbable task of turning around the 2-1 scoreline as they travel East.

Bangor City look set to crash out of the Intertoto Cup at the first hurdle after a 2-1 reverse in the first-leg at Belle Vue. 832 were in attendance at Rhyl’s ground on Sunday to see the Citizens narrowly lose to the Latvian outfit, leaving them with a mountain to climb as they travel to Eastern Europe next weekend.

The North Welsh outfit were confident of breaking Wales’ hoodoo in Europe’s much-criticised summer competition. No side from the Principality has ever recorded an Intertoto Cup victory, but despite having only a friendly win over Anglesey as warm-up against a side in the midfield of their domestic season, City boss Peter Davenport believed his side was capable of an upset.

This looked unlikely as early as the fifth minute with the visitors racing into an early lead. Sloppy play from the hosts allowed Deniss Sokolskis to head home unmarked leaving debutant goalkeeper Andy Ralph with no chance. It was all too familiar for the majority Welsh contingent in attendance.

To their credit, Bangor City fought back and dominated the rest of the first-half. After squandering chances, the home side had to rely on a shocking defensive error from their opponents to restore parity. Dinaburg goalkeeper Eltermanis, who had a nightmare afternoon, punched the ball into his own net from a corner to the delight of the Bangor supporters in attendance - sadly they failed to build on this and become Wales' first ever Intertoto Cup victors.

The killer punch came on 67 minutes when Valuskins got into space and tucked the ball home in some style. This was a major blow for City, who had put the Latvians under pressure for the first 20 second-half minutes only to be caught out on the break. Despite continuous endeavour, an equaliser never looked likely and surely Dinaburg will be too strong in their own back yard with two away goals and a slim lead.

This was undoubtedly a chance missed and European misery goes on for the Welsh Premier.