Brady's brilliant brace seals Gers win

Broomhill is notoriously one of the toughest places to get a result with their compacted and saturated pitch in Richhill making it difficult to play flowing football.

The Gers dominated the opening 20 minutes without threatening the goal as Broomhill defended deep, playing for the counter attack.

In the 27th minute, that tactic almost paid dividends for the home side as Jake Harper raced free on goal but blasted his shot wide from only eight yards out.

Shots from Neil Clydesdale and Colin Cunningham were well saved by the Broomhill keeper but a lack of urgency in the final third was restricting Rangers’ clear cut chances.

That all changed in the second half as the Gers played with more pace and direct play right from the whistle. It took them just four minutes to get the all important breakthrough.

A storming run by Cunningham saw the striker weave his way through four challenges but when he was denied by a clearance off the line, Jeff Brady arrived to drill the ball low through a host of bodies and give Rangers the lead.

As the half progressed, it became clear Broomhill were showing less of a threat and it was a matter of when Banbridge Rangers would score next and not if.

As it turned out, it was quite some goal with Brady scoring directly from a long range free-kick in a wide position, which would normally have been put into the mix but Brady had other ideas with the keeper standing off his line.

Broomhill made a couple of personnel changes to get back into the match but each time they broke through the lines, the impressive Kyle Sergeant was on hand to make key tackles.

Chances were few and far between late on as the Rangers team comfortably took three vital league points.

William Maxwell secured his first clean sheet for Banbridge Rangers in an assured display in nets whilst there was a senior debut for 16 year old winger James McCann who came on as a late substitute.

This Saturday, the Banbridge Rangers will be playing their fourth derby of the season against Seapatrick at Cheney Park.

The home side have never lost against their local rivals and will be aiming for the same again this weekend with kick off at 2.15pm.

RANGERS: Maxwell, O’Neill, Sergeant, Chambers (Crooks 75), Frazer, Cousins (c), Wilton, Gregg, Brady (Andy Mallen 84), Clydesdale, Cunningham (McCann 83).