Bangor’s current campaign gained a significant step forward thanks to long-serving striker Ben Arthurs – with boss Lee Feeney warning his players after the 1-0 win to embrace the present.

Arthurs made his mark around the hour mark with Saturday’s sole goal to see off Ballymena United and push Bangor off bottom spot in the Premiership standings thanks to a second league win of the season.

Feeney highlighted the individual quality of Arthurs within a superb team display.

"He's been playing well,” said Feeney on BBC Radio Ulster’s Sportsound. "I'm just glad he scored a goal with his foot and it was outside the box too, which is unheard of...so, fair play, it was a quality strike.

placeholder image — Bangor boss Lee Feeney. (Photo by Andrew McCarroll/Pacemaker Press)

"He led the line really, really well...he got pulled and tugged all day long and he has been getting that but he deals with it.

"Everyone's trying to stop him playing him but he has to get used to that, there's nothing wrong with that.

"But I'm just pleased for him because it was a big moment.

"You want to try and get the best out of all your players.

"Try and get them fitter, stronger, believing in themselves, technically better.

"If we can get Ben as good as his potential can be he'll be a really, really, really top player for a long, long time.

"So we need to realise that.

"I'm really pleased for him.

"Two big moments in the game...it was that save (Patrick Solis Grogan) and it was obviously Ben's goal.

"And, for me, I felt we were the better team for 70 minutes of the game.

"The last 20 minutes, we were making changes, players were maybe gambling for Ballymena so they were putting us under pressure.

"But our defence looked so in control of everything that was fired their way, we dealt with anything that came our way.

"But one or two times where the defence didn't maybe deal with it and then you had Patrick who bailed us out.

"And that's a complete team performance...we haven't been doing that.

"So I'm really, really pleased from the goalkeeper right up to through the pitch to the forwards.”

Feeney added an overall final message to embrace life on the big stage.

"We'll have to stay humble,” he said. "We've always spoke about we need to start enjoying ourselves when we're playing games.

"We're blessed and fortunate to be where we're at...we're in the Premiership.

"Sometimes we go home and we forget about it and we sulk and fall out with people.

"But, even if we lose, we've got to have appreciation where we're at."

BALLYMENA UNITED: David Walsh, David Toure, Scot Whiteside, Fuad Sule, Igor Rutkowski, Charlie Allen, Stephen Fallon, James Hood, Caoimhin McConnell, Len O'Sullivan, Kodi Lyons-Foster. Subs: Declan Breen, Chris McKee, Joshua Archer, Michael Leetch, Sean Murray, Success Edogun, Ben MacManus.

BANGOR: Patrick Solis Grogan, Caomhan McGuinness, Reece Neale, Lewis Francis, Harry Lynch, Lewis Harrison, Tiarnan Mulvenna, Ben Arthurs, Oisin Devlin, Mackenzie Strachan, Iestyn Hughes. Subs: Lawton McMahon, Liam Hassin, Ben Cushnie, Steven McCullough, Jack O'Mahony, Jay Boyd, Stephen McGuinness.