The effort was aided by a red card given to Oisin Devlin following a mistimed tackle from behind on Gibson earlier in the half, which saw Bangor down to 10 men for the crucial final minutes.
The sides met earlier in the season on 13th September, however the match was abandoned following an injury to Paul Heatley and will be replayed later this season. Carrick had a strong start to the match, as Heatley, Billy Joe Burns and Danny Gibson all came close before Bangor adjusted and evened the pace. The home side went on the attack with a header by Jay Boyd that came back off the crossbar, before Ben Arthurs headed wide from the resulting corner. Goalkeeper Nathan Gartside kept Rangers in the game with several crucial saves in the second half before Devlin was sent off for his ill-timed challenge, which allowed Manager Stephen Baxter's side to push forward for a late goal.
Gibson's dramatic game winner came in the last throes of stoppage time after an excellent long throw-in from Joe Crowe was headed by several players in the box, before Gibson turned a powerful strike past Gareth Deane into the top of the net. Adam Lecky's return to the squad as a late substitution for his first action since early September contributed to the 'Gers win, particularly with earning the ball back for Crowe's toss.
Boss Baxter was thrilled with both the effort and tactical execution of his team in his post-match comments and spoke highly of his back line's formidable neutralisation of Bangor's attack. He also commended his squad's continued effort to find a way to break through the Seasiders' defence, as although they were down a man, Bangor shifted their formation to spare a draw at any cost. Besides noting Adam Lecky's cameo, Baxter also commented on midfielder Seanan Clucas' return to the bench after being side-lined for the duration of the season so far and hopes to carefully ramp-up both players to contribute for the remainder of the campaign.
After two consecutive 1-0 defeats to Glenavon and Cliftonville, Carrick's win moves them up to 7th place in the standings, with most of the league set to play on Saturday. Next, they take on 11th place Crusaders on 8th November at Taylors Avenue, and have an opportunity to gain further ground in the table, having games-in-hand on a number of teams in the Sports Direct Premiership.
