Could Town mark anniversary with an Intermediate win?

Banbridge Town boss Ryan Watson wants to his side to make sure they get a run in this year’s Intermediate Cup.
Banbridge Town are now unbeaten in seven matches in all competitions. INBL1545-236EBBanbridge Town are now unbeaten in seven matches in all competitions. INBL1545-236EB
Banbridge Town are now unbeaten in seven matches in all competitions. INBL1545-236EB

They begin their campaign with a home game against Portaferry Rovers on Saturday (kick-off 1.30pm).

Rovers saw off Markethill Swifts 3-2 in round one and are sitting in fourth spot in the third tier of the Amateur League. That means they are currently 38 league places below Banbridge.

Town will, therefore, be hoping to make it safely through to round three but the Town manager isn’t counting his turkies.

“It’s hard to know what you’re going to get in a game like this but we will look after ourselves,” he said.

“We will take the match to them but we need to up our game from last Saturday. It’s all about getting through.

“We’re on a good run and we want to keep that going.”

Town have won the trophy just once in the 1985/86 season. There would be no better way to mark the 30th anniversary than by bringing it back to Crystal Park and while Watson knows that would be a tall order, he is keen to at least reach the latter stages.

He said: “The Intermediate Cup is a long, long process. Looking at the league programme, if you’re not involved in the Intermediate Cup for a few rounds, you can have a lot of free weekends.

“We’ve had enough of those already. It would be great to get through to the latter stages and we know that on our day, we are capable of producing a result so why not?”

Rovers will on Saturday visit a Crystal Park that has boasted an impressive playing surface so far this term.

After Town’s Irish Cup match was given the go-ahead when many fell by the wayside last Saturday, supporters were quick to praise council staff for the condition of the pitch.

“It has been great. It’s probably one of the reasons we’ve been playing such good football lately,” said the Town manager.

Related topics: