Banbridge Hockey Club

Huge weekend beckons for Seconds in Irish Junior Cup

Richard — Sun, 19 Feb 2012 18:36:54 +0000

Dougie Anderson’s second eleven travel to Carryduff this Saturday to face Annadale in a bid to reach the Irish Junior Cup semi finals. Annadale will be out for revenge after being defeated at the semi final venue by the same opponents at the same venue last season. For Bann, they hope to go one better this year and pick up the trophy, after being defeated in the final lasy year by Lisnagarvey.

The Seconds play Annadale next week in the quarter final of the Irish Junior Cup at Lough Moss at 2.30pm, all support welcome.

On Saturday they warmed up for their cup clash with a comprehensive 4-0 win over Lisnagarvye 3rds. This keeps them top of the league and on target to be challenging for the Junior League One title come the end of the season.

Banbridge II’s 4 – Garvey III’s 0 (Scorers McShane 2, McCague, McCandless)

After last weeks victory against Annadale Banbridge entertained Garvey 3′s at Havelock and welcomed back MacAnulty from his travels. The game started at a frantic pace without Banbridge finding a fluency to their play. As the game progressed Banbridge began to exert pressure on the Garvey defence and opened the scoring through Hugh McShane, who after good support play found himself well positioned in the circle to slot the ball past the Garvey keeper. Doyle was causing the Garvey defence problems with his constant pressure and strong running and this lead to the second goal. The ball was intercepted in midfield after Doyle had applied good pressure and again the onrushing McShane was on had to apply the finishing touch. Banbridge were now in control and extended their lead through McCague who found himself free in the circle to fire the ball home. It didn’t take long to add a further goal when after good attacking play on the right from McCracken found McCandless who calmly dispatched the ball low into the corner of the Garvey goal. Garvey managed to work their way back into the game but failed to trouble Mooney in the Banbridge goal.

Half time score Banbridge II’s 4 – Garvey III’s 0

Banbridge continued to control the game throughout the second half but failed to increase their lead with several good chances going astray. Good play between Bennington and Dickson exposed space on the right-hand side of the pitch and lead to several corners being won. Anderson and Burns failed to convert from the top of the circle and Doyle was unlucky to see with deflection go across the face of the goal. Garvey only threatened on sporadic attacks which the Banbridge defence managed to counter well.

Bann’s faltering 2012 season goes from bad to worse in four days at Havelock

Richard — Sun, 19 Feb 2012 18:27:07 +0000

Banbridge Ulster Premier League title campaign went up in smoke this week as they suffered home defeats to Cookstown and Instonians in quick succession. This, coupled with draws against NICS and Kilkeel in recent weeks, has left Bann with a mountain to climb. They will now need to regroup and concentrate on securing a top four finish as well as focus on the IHL and Irish Senior Cup.

Instonians, well marshalled by ex-internationals Paddy Brown and Mark Irwin, secured a 3-2 win for the Belfast side, despite Bann taking an early two goal lead through Ross McCandless and Ben Cosgrove. Cookstown defeated Bann 2-1 in midweek to edge them closer to current league champions Lisnagarvey, who subsequently lost at home to Annadale.

Bann v Mossley – Saturday 11th February

Bann first eleven made the journey to The Glade last Saturday to play Mossley in what is never an easy game. This was the first time that Ross Beattie had returned to his former club.

Bann started the brighter of the teams with some slick attacking hockey with Peter Brown, Matthew Bell and Stevie Dowds all prominent. Mossley found it difficult to gain a foothold in the game with their sporatic attacks capably dealt with by Ross McCandless and Drew Carlisle.

Bann opened the scoring ten minutes into the half when Ross McCandless powered home the visitors second penalty corner. This settled Bann who continued to dominate both territory and possession for long periods.

Bann stretched their lead on twenty minutes when Stevie Dowds beat the keeper with a reverse stick shot from the left of the circle. The remainder of the half was played out in the Mossley half with Bann continuing to look dangerous but unable to add to the scoreline.

Half Time: Mossley 1 Banbridge 2

Mossley started the second half in more determined fashion and forcing ann onto the backfoot although not troubling Andrew Mooney in goal. Unfortunately Owen Magee had to leave the pitch with a back injury which hopefully will not keep him sidelined for too long.

Bann managed to create several chances of their own and a combiation of some lacklustre finishing and good defending kept Mossley in a game that could easily have been out of their grasp.

Late on in the second half Mossley forced several penalty corners all of which were capably dealt with by the Bann defence. Just as it appeared that the match was drifting to an end Mossley managed to scored a scrambled goal from mid circle.

Full Time: Mossley 1 Banbridge 2

All in all a reasonably satisfactory performance away from home at a venue where it is always difficult to gain maximum points.

Team: A. Mooney, M.Bell, R.McCandless, S Forbes. D Carlisle, R. Beattie, P. Brown, H.McShane, P. Brown, O.Magee, S.Dowds, D. Ward, B. Cosgrove, S. Forbes.

Bann v Cookstown – Wednesday 15th February

On Wednesday night Bann entertained Cookstown in their latest Premier League fixture. A match made more important to both teams following Lisnagarvey losing the previous evening to Annadale. Bann had been forced into making several changes from the Mossley match with Owen Magee missing through injury and Drew Carlisle who had exam committments. Into the squad came Academy schoolboy Thomas Sturgeon and Ulster U18 member David McCracken.

From the start it was Cookstown who started the quicker and forced Bann to build patiently from deep in their own half. Slowly the home side started to string some passes together with Peter Brown and Stevie Dowds prominent in attack. It was Cookstown who forced the first penalty corners of the match which where well dealt with by Aaron Appleton in the Bann goal. Midway through the half Bann won a penalty corner of their own from which Ross mcCandless was unlucky to see his powerful drag flick thunder off the crossbar with the keeper beaten. Five minutes later Bann took the lead when following a reverse stick cross from the left of the circle by Ross Beattie was deflected home by a diving Scott Caruth. Just before half time Cookstown got back on level terms when their centre forward was on hand to score from close in giving Appleton no chance.

Half Time: Banbridge 1 Cookstown 1

The second half started in a similar vein to the first with Bann having to be patient with the ball at the back as they tried to start meaningful attacks. As the half progressed play became more confined to midfield with neither side being able to create any clear cut chances. The home side pushed hard to make the breakthrough but where unable to trouble the visiting keeper despite having several circle penetrations midway through the half. Cookstown also had several chances but could not trouble the home defence. Just as the match was heading towards a draw which would probably have been a fair result Cookstown managed to scramble a winner in the final minute when Bann failed to clear the ball from the circle. The final whistle sounded soon after condeming Bann to defeat.

Final Score: Banbridge 1 Cookstown 2

Team: A. Appleton, M.Bell, R.McCandless, St. Forbes, Sc.Forbes, R. Beattie, P.Brown, H.McShane, P.Brown, S.Dowds, D. Ward, S. Caruth, T. Sturgeon, B. Cosgrove, D. McCracken

Five Star Seconds thump Dale

Scott — Wed, 15 Feb 2012 22:56:12 +0000

Banbridge travelled to lough moss for the top of the table clash buoyed with the knowledge that a win would put them in a commanding position in the league. Annadale have also been on fine form this season and the game was well set for a tough encounter. Banbridge were streghten with the return of Dickson from illness and Ryan O’Neill started his first game in goal for the seconds.

Before Banbridge could settle into the game they found themselves a goal down after some excellent attacking play down the right hand side of the pitch the ball fell to the Annadale captain who fired the ball past O’Neill into the bottom hand corner. The goal sparked Banbridge into life and after some good attacking play they won their first short corner. Caruth who had scored three corners the week earlier stepped up to dispatch the ball into the bottom left hand corner to level the scores. Caruth and Woods were working well together up front and when Banbridge intercepted the ball in midfield a quick break by the two forwards tore apart the Annadale defence and young Woods after receiving the ball from Caruth swept the ball past the Annadale keeper. Banbridge were now in control of the fixture and when Woods was upended in the circle a penalty scroke was awarded. Anderson stepped up to fire the ball into the side netting to extend the lead. (Half time score Annadale II’s 1 – Banbridge II’s 3)

Into the second Banbridge continued to exert pressure on the Annadale defence with excellent support from midfield. Good play down the right hand side from Bennington and McCracken found Caruth in the circle and the tall striker made no mistake to the increase the lead further. Annadale tried to play their way back into the game, but failed to trouble O’Neill with some resolute defence from Banbridge. The final Banbridge goal was the best of the lot. After the ball was transferred round the back it was worked into midfield and after some intricate passing eliminating the Annadale midfield and defence the ball was passed to onrushing Jess who confidently slotted the ball past the Annadale keeper. Banbridge managed to play out the rest of the fixture and are now well position in the league with the quest to lift the junior league title.

Bann Man of the Match: Peter Bennington

The two teams will again square up against each other in the next round of the Irish junior cup on Saturday 24th February with Annadale seeking revenge. The seconds will look to continue their fine form when they take on Lisnagarvey thirds at home next Saturday.

Former Bann Stars continue to inspire Fourth Eleven revival

Scott — Wed, 15 Feb 2012 17:42:00 +0000

After last weeks emphatic win over Belfast Harlequins the 4XI lined up against Annadale this week, full of confidence and ready to go. The team welcomed back veteran Rory ‘Scout’ Madeley to the side after his long sabbatical in the wilderness, hoping his sharp skills and deadly finishing would add a new dynamic to the team and beef up the goal tally (if his hamstrings could hold together)
    Bann set the early pace with some superb passing around the midfield and some excellent forward movement, keeping possession and threatening the goal from set pieces and some great running down the wing from Joe Mcknight and John McCauge, the latter having a superb goal disallowed after some shocking umpiring from team captain Matthew Clarke.
    Against the run of play Annadale converted a penalty corner, knocking the wind out of the Bann sails and causing a tactical rethink. This season the 4XI have not done well when losing out to a first half goal but it was obvious that having overturned a 2 goal deficit the week before that the confidence that if we just stuck to simple ‘red shirt’ hockey that our forwards had the ability to get the goals and win the game! It wasn’t long before Bann settled back into the rhythm and Joe McKnight continued his terrific goal scoring form by roasting half the D from a short corner and flicking low past the keeper.
    Joe made it 2-1 minutes later from a free in on the dashed line, again the experienced played took advantage of his new knowledge and ‘auto passed’ running directly into the D leaving three Annadale defenders in his wake and firing home!
    Knowing how crucial the next goal was calm heads were called for, ‘nothing silly’ was screamed from 4XI nutcase Raymond Pollock at the back. His bad knock to the head last week obviously not affecting his motivational skills. It became slightly less worrying when some great passing down the right hand side released young Robbie Scott, who in only his 2nd ever senior game had the composure to beat the last defender and send a great shot into the bottom left hand corner.
   3-1 the match finished with another stand out performance from Joe McKnight, Joe is unavailable this week so the 4XI forwards will have to buck up their ideas in order to take the points when local rivals Armagh visit Havelock on Friday night. Pass Back at 7:30pm and all supporters are very welcome! Another few wins an Junior three hockey will be secured for another year. #UTB

Premier League match this week: Banbridge v Cookstown

Scott — Sun, 12 Feb 2012 13:51:40 +0000

Just a reminder the Ulster Premier League between Banbridge & Cookstown is scheduled for Wednesday evening at Havelock Park with a 7:45 pm hit off.

Get along and support the lads

You are invited to the Banbridge Hockey Club Winter Ball – Saturday 25th February

Scott — Fri, 03 Feb 2012 14:34:33 +0000

Tickets available from Alison Wilson, Neil Madeley & Matthew Clarke

Bann blow points at Havelock Park

Richard — Thu, 19 Jan 2012 18:03:47 +0000

On Saturday past Bann first eleven entertained Kilkeel in the early start at Havelock fully expecting to collect another three points to keep their league challange alive.

From the start the home side had a lot of possession but with Kilkeel packing the midfield area in an effort to suffocate the home sides attacking threat chances were few and far between. The first real shot in anger came after Stevie Dowds burst into the circle and fired a reverse shot over the crossbar. Five minutes later Bann took the lead when Dane Ward was on hand to finish from close range following a slick attack. Bann continued to boss the match with Kilkeel only seen as a threat on the occasional breakaway. It seemed that it would be a matter of how many the home side would score. On twenty minutes Ross McCandless powered a penalty corner into the roof of the net to give the home side the comfort of a two goal lead. Bann could and probably should have been further ahead but a combination of sloppy finishing and some inspired goalkeeping kept the score down. Five minutes from halftime Bann conceded a soft goal to give Kilkeel a foothold in the match they barely deserved.

Half Time Bann 2 Kilkeel 1

The second half turned out to be a dour atritional affair with neither side creating any clear cut chances. Bann had had to reshuffle their defence when Ross McCandless was forced to retire with a toe injury first suffered earlier in the season. Just as the game appeared to be petering out Kilkeel were awarded a penalty corner from which they forced the equaliser. This seemed to instill confidence in the visitors as they pressed for an unlikely winner. This left them open to the counter attack and from one of these the visiting keeper produced a top class save from a Ben Cosgrove reverse. Bann continued to attack during the remaining five minutes but failed to show sufficient composure to create one final chance. This result while not terminal in the race for the league certainly makes it even more difficult for the locals as they endeavour catching Garvey at the top of the table.

Final Score Bann 2 Kilkeel 2

Team: Aaron Appleton, Matthew Bell, Ross McCandless, Stephen Forbes, Drew Carlisle, Philip Brown, Hugh McShane, Ross Beattie, Owen Magee, Dane Ward, Stephen Dowds. Subs. Scott McCandless, Peter Brown, Ben Cosgrove.

Seconds win local derby

Mic — Tue, 10 Jan 2012 09:00:10 +0000

Saturday the 7th saw Bann 2nds travel to local rivals Lisnagarvey in a top of the league, title crunch match. With Garvey 2s two points ahead, this was a must win game for the Bann men even though they had a game in hand.

The match started brightly for the away side with some good possession and passing manoeuvres being constructed by the experienced Scott ‘Ted’ McCandless who was playing an unusual holding role in the centre of the park. Excellent link up play between Jess, McCraken and Magowan on the right hand side of the pitch saw Bann quickly create a chance to score via a short corner. As expected of the reliable captain; Anderson placed the ball into the side netting past the Garvey keeper with a powerful and accurate dragflick to give Bann the lead.

However, the remaining 15 minutes of the 1st half saw the home team pick up their pace of play and put the Bann men under some serious pressure. They soon created their attempt on goal after winning a short corner but a trio of saves in quick succession from goalkeeper Appleton ensured the visitors stayed in the lead. Unfortunately the Bann men went into the half time team talk slightly disappointed when Garvey scored from a well worked short corner routine with approximately eight minutes left to play.

Garvey maintained their quick pace of play in the early stages of the second half which in turn pushed Bann deeper into their own half. During this period of the game Bann relied on some cool headed defending from Burns, Anderson and Sturgeon which ensured the home team had a limited number of goal scoring opportunities. However, with 20 minutes left to play, some inexperienced defending eventually prevailed on Banbridge’s behalf and this saw Garvey win their 3rd short corner opportunity – only to be denied by an excellent reaction save by Appleton.

In the latter stages of the game, Bann began to take the initiative and started to look like the dangerous, offensive side they had shown they were capable off in the early period of the 1st half. Good work upfront ensured more short corners were won for the away side, with the Garvey keeper dealing well with one opportunity and a ball stopped by a Garvey player’s body on the line another. The resulting penalty flick was dispatched calmly by Anderson to secure his brace and give the Bann men the lead once more.

The remaining eight minutes, surprisingly, were not as nervy as expected. With the home team becoming increasingly frustrated, Bann sat back, soaked up pressure and responded explosively on the counter attack. After a hard game, Magowan got his reward for his endless persistence on the Garvey defence as he broke away, alone, towards the lonesome Garvey keeper. The experienced forward coolly placed the ball into the net to seal the win for the away side.

The win has not only let Bann leapfrog their local rivals in the league table, but it has firmly put them in pole position as the race for the league title gets down to the business end of the season.

Other Results

Banbridge 3rds 0-2 Annadale 2nds

Spoils shared at Havelock

Mic — Tue, 10 Jan 2012 08:44:04 +0000

Bann welcomed Lisnagarvey to Havelock Park for their first game of 2012. Bann were hoping to get revenge for the defeat to the Hillsborough boys prior to Christmas.

Banbridge were missing current International Bruce McCandless, as he is currently training with the Irish team, who are preparing for their Olympic Qualifying tournament in Dublin. Bruce will not be available to play club hockey until the end of March. Garvey were also missing there prolific forward Timmy Cockram.

Bann started the sharper of the two sides and found themselves forcing Garvey back but were unable to create any clear cut chances in the final third. Bann did nearly get caught out early on as Garvey counter attacked from well inside their own half only to shoot narrowly wide. This break seemed to spur Garvey into their stride as they began to force the Bann defence back. As a result of this pressure Bann were reduced to 10 men as Ross McCandless was harshly sin binned for a professional foul at the edge of the Bann circle. Garvey were awarded a penalty corner from this foul and they dispatched the corner to take a 1 nil lead. Garvey continued to press forward and tried to extend their lead while Bann were reduced to 10 men. The Bann defence held strong, with Lennox having to make a couple of saves and Forbes and Carilsle making some last ditch tackles.

When Ross returned from his 5mins on the sidelines, Bann seemed to step up a gear and increased the intensity. Bann finally got a glimpse of goal when good work down the right hand side with Hugh McShane slipping the ball to Stevie Dowds who took off towards the circle and was fouled by two Garvey defenders before being awarded a penalty corner. Unfortunately Bann could not capitalise on this as Ross fired wide of the target.

Bann started the 2^nd half with tempo and took the game to Garvey but once again were unable to force the Garvey keeper into action. The game became open with both teams searching for goals. It was Bann that finally got their break through when Bruno Brown in centre mid turned two players to find Stevie Dowds on the right hand side who slipped the ball to Ben Cosgrove in the Garvey circle. Ben unleashed an unstoppable shot across the Garvey Keeper into the side netting to get the score back onto level terms. Both teams had their chances to snatch all 3 points. Dowd’s broke free down the left and when he entered the circle he chose to shoot rather than pick a pass to the back post and leaving this glorious chance going wide. Garvey went close only for Lennox to make two saves late on, one from a penalty corner and a snap shot from Garvey’s Mark Raphael.

No more goals left both teams having to settle for a share of the points; however this result will suit Garvey better than Bann, as this leaves Garvey at the top of the Ulster league. Bann will now be without Lennox for the rest of the season as he undergoes surgery on his foot. Bann’s next game is a midweek home game against Kilkeel on the 18^th January.

Dates for the Diary

Richard — Sun, 11 Dec 2011 21:46:06 +0000

Banbridge Hockey Club have announced a number of important dates for YOUR diary. With a vibrant season well under way and the Christmas season now upon us the Club have organised several events for your enjoyment!

Boxing Day – Mixed hockey event starting at 2pm – 4pm, team captains to confirm player availability

New Years Eve Party – Music and late bar, more details to follow
Hockey Club Quiz – Fri 27^th Jan 2012

Hockey Club Formal – Sat 25^th Feb 2012, sell-out expected, numbers limited book early
Night at the Races – Sat 24^th Mar 2012 – a great night out with a BHC twist!

Club BBQ – date to be agreed May 2012
BHC EHL Night – date to be confirmed, highlights on the big screen of our trip to Dragons HC.