Banbridge Town Juniors Under 11s win Easter Cup in Preston

Banbridge Town Under 11's won the Preston Cup over Easter weekend.

The local side returned home after a great weekend of football and fun as winners on goal difference after pipping the five game tournament by a whisker.

With no matches on the Friday, the boys got the chance to go to the Preston North End v Rochdale match at Deepdale which resulted in a 1-0 win for the home side.

All the Under 11 games were 7-a-side but every boy in the 11 man squad was well used, rotated and needed in the 40 minute games, three on the first day and two on the second.

Town’s first game was against Scottish side St Peters FC which ended in a 2-2 draw with Banbridge twice coming back from a goal down through Patrick McGrath and Josh Kerr. Their second game against Port Glasgow seen the boys win 6 - 1 with Taylor Hill, Harry Annett, Josh Kerr, Adam Hamilton, Josh Noble and Owen Wilson getting the goals while goalkeeper Toby Jones made a couple of great saves ably supported defensively by Patrick McGrath, Alex Innocenzi and Ryan Meira with Lee Whitten volunteering to sit this one out due to a tight hamstring.

In the third and last game of the day against Bargeddie Colts the boys narrowly lost 1-0 with Lee Whitten making a fantastic last ditch tackle and both Josh Kerr and Harry Annett hitting the woodwork in the latter stages.

Day Two commenced with a 6-0 win against Glenvale Red again with a range of different goal scorers in Josh Kerr (2), Harry Annett, Adam Hamilton (2) and Taylor Hill and again another real team performance with the rest of the squad playing their part in a great win.

Going into the final game against local side Dungannon, Banbridge had to win by at least a one goal margin to claim group winners and this came with five minutes remaining in the shape of a super long range strike from Taylor Hill to leave a 1-0 scoreline.

On the final whistle there were scenes of jubilation and the boys went on to collect their medals and trophy rounding off a fantastic weekend.

A big thank you to Johnny Kerr for a really well organised itinerary and to all the other coaches and parents who supervised and supported the trip - one which surely has created a lot of memories for the boys and everyone involved.

Squad: Toby Jones, Lee Whitten, Josh Noble, Alex Innocenzi, Owen Wilson, Josh Kerr, Harry Annett, Patrick McGrath, Adam Hamilton, Ryan Meira, Taylor Hill.