Rathfriland Rangers Reserves knock out Laurelvale in thriller

From the outset the game was finely balanced with half chances for both teams but no clear cut chances of note until Rathfriland failed to clear the ball which was played back into the box and David Gilmore was judged to have fouled the striker to concede a penalty. Laurelvale scored from the spot to make the half time score 0-1.

Two minutes into the second half Jamie Fitzpatrick burst through and squared the ball towards Shea Byrne only for the Laurelvale defender to deflect the ball into this own goal.

After 60 minutes Rathfriland introduced Càolan Teer who is on a fine goal scoring run of 16 in five appearances.

It was Teer who duly obliged when, Byrne took advantage of a keeper miss kick and squared to Teer to put the hosts ahead.

Rathfriland looked like holding on for the win despite relentless Laurelvale pressure which seem them hit the post.

However in the 92nd minute a corner fell to a Laurelvale player to bundle in the equaliser to force extra time.

In the first half of extra time Teer was in the right place again to slot home the winner and ensure progression into the next round. Full time 3-2.

Team: Adam Rowland, David Gilmore, Mark Bronte, Zach Annett, John Dickson (captain), Jack Casey, Ryan Sloane, Shea Byrne, Adam Loughlin, Jamie Fitzpatrick, Sam Johnston. Subs: Darryl O’Reilly, Caolan Teer, Jervis McCaul.

A precious away win for Rangers

Ards Rangers 2 Rathfriland Rangers 3

Rathfriland Rangers travelled to Ards Rangers for their first competitive match since the Border Cup final and registered a 3-2 away win and three precious away points in their quest for league glory.

Rathfriland started the strongest and went a goal up on the half hour mark after the home side had a man sent off – Adam Neale netting his 20th goal of the season.

Both sides had chances before the break but Rathfriland went in with their noses in front.

Ards Rangers were awarded a penalty in the early stages of the second half to level at 1-1 but the game then swung back in Rathfriland’s favour with Lee Newell notching them in front again only for the home side to claw back again to level at 2- 2.

The dramatic final minutes of this fixture was not over yet as Neale had time to score his second goal of the afternoon and make it 3-2 to the visitors with minutes remaining.

Overall a vital away win for Rangers and manager Ally Wilson will have been delighted to make the long journey home with the three valuable points in their push up the Premier League table.

Team: Johnny Parr, Daniel Devlin, Jack Graham, John Scannell, Ruiari Fitzpatrick, Andy Kilmartin, Lee Newell, Adam Neale, Jordan Hayes, Jesse Carson, Brian Johnston.

Subs: Harry Campbell, Sam McCallister, Stephen Greene.

Swifts pick up a point on the road

Caledon Rovers 1 Rathfriland Swifts 1

Last Saturday a very youthful Swift’s side with no less than 12 under 20s including three under 16s took the long trip to face Caledon in the league.

The young side started brightly and had scored within five minutes when a ball over the top of the Caledon defence was latched onto by the speedy Jerome Travers who fired the ball high into the net.

Rathfriland continued to play some neat passing football and had shots well saved from Ethan Trimble and Ben Johnston before a dubious penalty was awarded to Caledon which was converted to level the score before half time,

The second half saw both teams go for the win with the young Rathfriland team working hard all over the pitch and almost got their reward who almost got their reward when with five minutes to go a Ben Johnston free kick just skimmed the outside of the post leaving both teams at full time with a share of the spoils.

Team: Dillan Magill, Alexander Fitzsimmons, Isaac Waddell, Callum Donnan, Terry Toal, Jerome Travers, Conan Power, Ben Johnston, Ethan Trimble, Thomas Ingram, Jordan Hylands.

Subs: Jack McCartan, Eoghan Travers, Alfie Geoghegan.

Pat McGibbon mental health training at community hub

Last Thursday evening Rathfriland FC were pleased to host former Manchester United star Pat McGibbon at the Community Hub for an overview of his time in the professional football scene plus a talk on mental health particularly in relation to resilience and how working in a team environment can help your support network.

A big thank you to Paul Gibbons for organising the event and to Pat for his time and delivery of the talk.

S M VINT sponsors training gear for reserves

A big thank you to S M Vints Accountants in Banbridge for their generous sponsorship of training gear for Rangers Reserves.

Rathfriland FC member Brian Magennis who is employed by the firm is pictured here presenting the new gear to Rangers Reserves captain John Dickson.