U11s return to action with a defeat

Donegal Celtic U11s 7

AFTER a week off due to the frosty weather the young Banbridge boys were looking forward to a competitive game of football against Donegal Celtic at Gordon Playing Fields in Lurgan.

Both teams started really well with action in all areas of the pitch but it was Joel Reid who opened the scoring on six minutes when Mark McCullough made a lovely threaded pass with Reid making no mistake with a cool finish hitting the back of the net.

The young Banbridge Rangers Youth side continued to pressure the Donegal Celtic defence with Wheeler torturing the opposition on the left wing, and was to be rewarded on 15 minutes when he made an individual run from his own half, passing three players and slotting the ball into the right hand corner.

Alex Cochrane continued his good form and was very unlucky not to score on 20 minutes only to be denied by a cracking save from the young Celtic keeper.

The home side continued to press and didn’t sit back, and newcomer Ben Berry playing only his second match scored an excellent goal with 25 minutes gone.

Just on half time Simon McAllister made a great run and linked up with Bradley Harper to score before the whistle to leave the score 4-0 at the interval.

The Banbridge side’s defensive work on the day was superb with the back four of Crory, Burns, McCullough and Hilland in complete control.

Matty Burns won all the aerial battles with a few impressive headers with Mark McCullough making no mistake in clearing his lines.

The second half started exactly the same with Adamson replacing McAllister up front along with Jamie Adair, and Callum Gibson falling back into the right hand side of defence.

It wasn’t too long before the shooting boots of Ben Berry were back in action when a great pass from Reid resulted in goal number two.

Berry continued to work well along with Cochrane and Wheeler and was rewarded on 50 minutes with a well deserved hat trick.

The lads at the back continued to dominate with McIlvenna in nets controlling any Celtic attacks and all credit to the young keeper for a fantastic game and a clean sheet.

On the 56th minute young Cochrane was taken down just outside the box and was yet again denied by the Celtic keeper.

Adamson continued to push on and played a vital part in the final minute when a quick 1-2 with Reid resulted with the latter's second goal of the game to leave the boys returning to Banbridge on seventh heaven.

This was a fantastic team effort and this week’s man of the match went to Ben Berry for a cracking performance and a well deserved hat trick.

Next up is a game against Cookstown where another good performance could see the team move into the top three in the league.