Anderson’s late strike wins derby for Bann Men’s Threes

Banbridge Thirds edged their own derby game on Saturday as they overcame Garvey Fours 3-2 at Comber Road.

Bann welcomed back Ben Matson who had been unavailable in the last couple of fixtures but were missing Andrew Bennington who had stepped up to the Seconds.

Garvey came out of the traps quickly and took the game to Bann with some lively attacks but Matson, Green and the two Andersons at the back managed to thwart any early opportunities.

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Woods and McKnight eventually managed to get a handle on the game and linked up well with the forward pairing of Matthews and Dean. Midway through the first half Bann won their first short corner and after it was mis-controlled at the top of the circle Andreson found Scott who finished well whilst under pressure.

The quick pace of the Garvey forwards was causing Bann problems at the back and after a quick attack following an aerial, a Garvey forward deflected home from a strong cross from the right side of the circle.

Garvey were now on the ascendency and took the lead from another deflection which gave Adair little chance in the Bann goal. Bann did have their own chances but Matthews, Kennedy and Dean failed to convert. Late on in the half, Bann found the equaliser from another short corner. Again the corner was miscontrolled at the top of the circle but McKnight picked up the pieces and fired in a fierce reverse to take Bann into the break all square.

After a stern talk at half-time, Bann started to take the game by the scruff of the neck and were soon creating chances. Brown was causing Garvey problems down the right and a couple of crash balls just failed to find a Bann stick in the circle. Anderson and Scott were linking up well down the left as well and Scott was unlucky to see his shot well saved.

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Bann continued to press forward and after another short corner was won, Anderson converted from the top of the circle with only 10 minutes left.

The final 10 were frantic with both sides pushing forward at will. Bann coped with the pressure well until they conceded a short corner with only seconds remaining. Dean showed great courage to block the initial shot and when the ball left the circle, the final whistle went to Bann’s relief.

Bann entertain Belfast Harlequins at home on Saturday at 1pm.