Bann continue unbeaten run as Eugene Magee shines

Banbridge continued their unbeaten start to the league season with a 2-1 victory over Inst largely thanks to a piece of skill from Eugene Magee.

Before Scott Forbes bagged the winner, Inst felt they had netted a second of their own but neither umpire agreed that the ball had crossed the line and so the stage was left clear for Bann to claim the three points.

Coach Mark Tumilty was far from pleased with the officials’ performance on the day.

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He said: “We scored before that as well when Fraser Mills finished Eugene Magee’s corner but it wasn’t allowed.

“They had chances to win the game but so did we. Eugene Magee produced a great bit of skill, which was good enough to win any game.”

Magee was the star of the show, bagging his side’s opening goal before setting up Forbes’ winner with a real moment of magic.

He picked the ball up on the top of the D dazzled three defenders and crashed a shot off the keeper before defender Forbes reacted quickest to poke home the rebound.

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“I’ve no idea what our centre-half was doing in the circle but he did well to finish it anyway,” said coach Tumilty.

“It was a fantastic piece of skill by Eugene and it shows just what he is capable of.”

The result ensures Bann remain four points clear of Garvey going into the top of the table clash this weekend.

Tumilty was pleased with the win, even though his side didn’t play to their potential.

He said: “I suppose our performance was okay.

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“We showed a good bit more fight but that’s probably the first time we’ve needed to in the league so far.

“The conditions were horrific and the pitch was really wet so we struggled to get our corners in.

“Eugene showed a lot of experience in the second half.

“All in all, it wasn’t one of our best performances but sometimes you need to win when you’re playing like that in order to win league titles.

“We’re not going to win by five or six every week.

“We’ve got to be realistic about it. A lot of teams have made improvements, including Inst.

“If you had given me two one-goal victories before Christmas, I’d have taken them. We’ve got one now so we just have to get the other.”

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