Rangers miss out on Final place

Hanover 2

BANBRIDGE Rangers’ Alan Wilson Cup run ended at the semi final stage on Saturday past when they went down by two goals against Hanover at Brownstown Park.

This result now sets up Hanover to play Lisanally Rangers in the final on Friday April 16.

Both sides also have the title run-ins to contest in Intermediate B with Rangers having five games remaining and Hanover with seven to push for League honours.

The weather on Saturday had a detrimental effect on the game as a whole with blustery showers contributing to cautious football from both teams. Banbridge Rangers had the influential Chris Chambers missing through suspension so Jonny Porter was assisted by Davy Smyth at centre half with Ryan Gregg and Willie Frazer either side at full back.

Chances were few and far between for both sides but Hanover had more territory and possession in the first half with Stephen Hyndes link up play the difference between the two teams.

The two well supported sides showed plenty of commitment in the first half but a lapse in concentration allowed Hyndes to put the ball across the six yard box with Richardson heading in unopposed past Craig Anderson in the Rangers nets.

The goal came just five minutes before the half time mark and could well have been ruled out as the initial control looked to be by the arm of Hyndes but the referee allowed play to continue. Banbridge Rangers went into the half a goal down and made a change on the left hand side with Aaron Buchanan replacing Bradley Hughes.

The second period mirrored the first with the game being played in the air a lot. With no fluidity or open play chances in the match the next goal of the game was going to be decisive and most likely to come from a set piece.

It was Hanover who scored next when a free kick on the halfway line was floated into the box with nobody meeting the run of Whitten who had time to place his header past Anderson into the far top corner from eight yards out.

Banbridge Rangers withdrew Ryan Gregg to bring on John Thompson in a bid to push for a goal back into the game but Hanover were content to soak up any pressure and play on the counter attack.

With the minutes fizzling away Banbridge Rangers failed to carve out any clearcut openings and their only efforts were from second phase play from corners. Richard McMinn came on for Davy Smyth for the last 10 minutes of the match, resulting in Rangers creating a bit of momentum going forward with one less man at the back but chances were still difficult to come by as Hanover's experienced back four held their concentration.

Chris Loney had a free kick tipped over by the home keeper with a couple minutes of the match left but a late flurry was too late to make any impact on the result.

Hanover edged it on the day in a closely contested match with the two sides meeting again on May 1 in a league decider.

Before that game Banbridge Rangers have a double header against Lisanally Rangers with the Armagh side visiting Cheney Park first this Saturday afternoon with a 2.15pm kick off.

For a full run down of the end of season fixtures please visit the clubs website at www.banbridgerangersfc.co.uk