Injury-hit Under-14s take the offensive but Maze dish out misery

A Banbridge Juniors side weakened by injuries travelled with only 11 players to face Lower Maze last Saturday in a Mid-Ulster League Cup clash.

The Juniors fielded their only 11 players, including two only about 70% fit, and took the game to Maze from the off. Town were fired up, and played all the football in the opposition half. The Juniors played some good pass and move football which created decent chances early on and they kept Maze penned back with a makeshift defence dealing with anything that came at them.

The locals nearly took the lead when intricate play between Jake Dennison and Caleb Schiess nearly created the opening goal - only for Jake’s strike to cannon off the crossbar.

The Juniors pushed forward and hit the post again before Maze broke and scored with their first real opportunity of the game 20 minutes in.

The second half began with Juniors asking all the questions again, trying to find a way back into the match; however it was Maze who scored the crucial second goal after an uncharacteristic error from the keeper.

The Juniors still had goals in their sights with an inspired performance by captain Jake Laffin spurring them and they nearly got a goal back when a run by Owen Byrne tore the Maze defence apart but he couldn’t find the finish.

This was proving to be one of those days for the Juniors, and to pile on their misery they conceded a third goal on 31 minutes.

Man of the match was captain Jake Laffin for showing warrior-like qualities as he played through the pain barrier of an injured shoulder and still turned in a top class performance.