Swifts round off season with a win

BANBRIDGE Rangers Swifts finished off the season for all the senior teams in the club with a convincing 5-1 win over Silverwood United Reserves at Cheney Park on Saturday afternoon.

The Swifts last game of the season saw them edge into second place with better goal difference than Coalisland Athletic Reserves who sit one point off but with one game remaining on Wednesday evening.

Banbridge Rangers got off to the best start possible by opening the scoring in less than a minute when Neil Wilson forged a way down the left hand side and squared for John McCahon who swept in his 29th goal of the season. McCahon was instrumental in the next goal which arrived after thirteen minutes with his inswinging corner being deflected in by a United defender who was under pressure from Jordan McCracken.

Silverwood stemmed the flow off attacks and gradually started to come back into the game more through simple mistakes from the Rangers contingent. A scramble in the Rangers area on 25e minutes allowed Silverwood to halve the arrears and give the Gers the push they needed to stay in contention for their promotion push.

With nine minutes to go until half time the two goal lead was extended again when McCahon set up Neily Wilson who drilled his shot low past the keeper to make it 3-1 heading into the break. After the interval Rangers were determined to get three goals in front which would see them with superior goal difference to their nearest rivals in the event of a draw in the Coalisland vs Seagoe game on Wednesday.

The fourth goal arrive on 61 minutes when Wilson notched up another assist put the ball into the six yard box where Jordy McCracken curled the ball deftly over the onrushing goalkeeper. The game was wrapped up with over a quarter of an hour to go when Neil Wilson broke free on a counter attack and squared for Dean Gordon who shifted the ball out of his feet and pinged the top corner from twenty five yards.

Player Manager Robin Butler was unlucky not to record the final goal of the season when he headed a corner goalwards and it looked to have crossed the line by a couple of yards before being hooked out with the referee unable to call the goal.

- Banbridge Rangers FC will have almost 100 club members in attendance at Ibrox this weekend when Rangers are presented with the league title. This is the second successive year Banbridge Rangers will make their way across the water to Scotland although this year it is an extended trip. The club will be in Glasgow for three days with four junior teams taking part in games against their namesakes at Murray Park. This will be a great experience for many of the young players making the trip and it will give them a insight into playing football in different surroundings. The club would like to thank Mark Rice and John Patterson for their intrumental roles in making the tour come together.

- Banbridge Rangers Football Club have got their plans underway to increase the size of their Youth Academy for next season. There are openings for new coaches and assistants to come on board with preparation for next year beginning at the start of May after the return from the clubs tour to Glasgow. Banbridge Rangers have put over 30 new volunteers through various coaching courses over the last year to help create a sustainable future for the club. If you would like to come on board in any capacity then contact Junior Secretary Mark Wilson on 07933877922.

- Banbridge Rangers Ladies begin their 3rd season in the NIWFA this Wednesday evening with a trip to Drumaness outside Ballynahinch. The Ladies will be looking to build on their 4th place finish from last season and with a few new recruits there is a lot of optomism in the camp this year. Make a note of their fixtures below and show your support.

FIXTURES (all 7.30pm kick offs): Wed 1st May (a) Drumaness Mills, Mon 13th May (a) Craigavon City, Thu 23rd May (h) Carnmoney, Mon 3rd June (a) Dromara Village, Thu 27th June (h) Killen Rangers, Thu 18th July (h) Drumaness Mills, Thu 25th July (h) Craigavon City, Fri 9th Aug (a) Carnmoney, Thu 15th Aug (h) Dromara Village, Tue 20th Aug (a) Killen Rangers

Training takes place on Monday evenings at Cheney Park from 7-8pm and all girls aged 14 or over are welcome to join. Banbridge Rangers also have girls teams at Under 11 and Under 9 level who train from 6-7pm and is open to all girls of Primary School age.

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