Tandragee on top with Madden Road boost towards title drive

Tandragee Rovers finished with the derby plaudits but will point to the end product as holding greater significance in pursuit of Intermediate A leaders Newry City AFC.
Iain Latimer.Iain Latimer.
Iain Latimer.

The 3-0 defeat of Hanover offered cause for celebration given the clubs’ status as two of the leading outfits in the area.

However, both teams entered the meeting with one eye on the head of the standings and an opportunity to cut the gap on Newry.

Rovers carved out early openings for Jamie Uprichard and former Annagh United player Raymond Harpur, the latter on his debut.

Matthew Shortt was on hand to claw away AJ Gallagher’s long-range free-kick but the latter then provided a corner-kick assist which Uprichard forced home.

Another Gallagher corner-kick was then slotted in by Iain Latimer for a second-half lift and a last-gasp penalty from Johnny Black capped the victory.

“Tandragee made the better start and had lots of the ball but we felt in the game still and improved after the break,” said Hanover’s Dean Crowe. “We worked some good openings but Tandragee defended really well and we failed to get a goal back.

“Overall we got punished off set-pieces, which is disappointing, plus never made the most of our chances.”

TANDRAGEE ROVERS: Richard McGivern, Jamie Uprichard, Chris Mackle, Iain Latimer, Gary Whiteside, Gareth Dobbs, Lee Wells, Raymond Harpur, Johnny Black, Cecil Corbett, AJ Gallagher. Subs: Shea Skelton, Mark Bicker, Richard Dobbs, Simon McClean.

HANOVER: Matthew Shortt, James Sergeant, Shane McKinney, Neil Cochrane, Stephen Woods, Chris Kerr, Scott McCullough, Matthew Brown, Justin Bradley, Simon Foster, Regan McIlveen. Subs: Steven Douglas, William Kerr, Adam Kidd.