Bangor star Iestyn Hughes hopes the Seasiders can use their maiden Premiership win of the season as a springboard for more positive results.

The Clandeboye Park outfit endured a difficult start to the current campaign, losing five and drawing two of their opening seven matches, before collecting a crucial victory against fellow strugglers Portadown last weekend.

It marked Bangor’s first home Premiership win since January 17 – that result also came against the Ports – and was the perfect reaction to a 3-1 loss to Limavady United, who sit only one place better off in Northern Ireland’s top-flight.

Bangor enjoyed a dream start to their Premiership return last season, winning six of their opening 11 games, but will now hope to transform their fortunes with victory acting as a source of inspiration.

placeholder image — Bangor's Iestyn Hughes (right) is hoping his side can build on their first win. (Photo by David Maginnis/Pacemaker Press)

Former Manchester United youngster Hughes scored his first goal of the season in last weekend’s 3-1 win over the Ports and has full faith there’s more to come from Bangor as they prepare for a weekend trip to Crusaders.

“We played Glentoran and we got a decent result (1-1 draw) and we thought that might kick us on, but then the Limavady game was a bit of a nightmare,” said Hughes on the club’s website. “With getting a win, hopefully we can build on it and start putting a few more points on the board.

“It’s been a tough start, to be fair, some of the results haven’t gone our way.

“(Limavady) was tough to take, especially when you’ve travelled all that way, where it was just a mad 20 minutes that cost us the game, really.

“But I think (beating Portadown) was a good reaction – it needed to be, to be fair.

“I thought we owed it to the fans and the staff as well who have been working hard behind the scenes...it was good to win and obviously nice to get another goal.”

Teenager Alfie Mitchell has started in Bangor’s last four Premiership matches after racking up 10 league appearances last term.

The 18-year-old made his Northern Ireland U19 debut earlier this year and is enjoying an opportunity to gain senior experience.

However, Mitchell is clear the Co Down club won’t just settle for battling to preserve Premiership status with a strong desire for more.

“It’s massive and you can see what it means to the boys in there,” said Mitchell. “All of the players in that changing room want to play for Bangor and I think that’s what the fans want.

“They want to see boys playing for the badge and I feel like (against Portadown) we had 11 men and the boys that came on as well so the 18 lads in the squad.

“All over the park, that’s what you need and we just need to keep going and keep pushing on and use the momentum because it’s not done.

“There’s a long way to go and we want to push on – we don’t just want to be surviving relegation, we want to push up the board.”