U15s pull performance out of the bag

The proverbial games of two halves saw the Juniors recover from a half-time deficit to record a fully deserved victory.

The locals were well below par in a poor first half, midway through which Hillsborough took the lead with a long range strike beyond the reach of Stuart Wilson.

Clear-cut chances were few and far between in the opening period, but it was a different Banbridge side which emerged after the interval.

Gone was the lethargy of the first half to be replaced by a determination to turn things around, the Juniors putting pressure on the Hillsborough midfield and defence to enjoy the territorial advantage.

They went close to equalising on a few occasions, most notably when a goalbound Joel Copes shot was deflected wide off a defender, before eventually levelling matters 20 minutes from time.

And it was a super goal with Jack Fullerton swinging in a great cross from the left for Jack Canning to head home at the back post.

Within two minutes the locals had the lead, some impressive footwork from Ross Fitzpatrick setting up Luke Diamond whose pinpoint finish nestled just inside the right post.

The Juniors continued to boss matters and it was no surprise when, with seven minutes remaining, they made the game safe.

Luke Diamond’s second made it 3-1, the striker directing a great header into the far corner after an inch-perfect cross from Nathan Thompson wide on the right.

The goal completed a dominant second half display which should give the team confidence in the coming weeks.

Team: Stuart Wilson, Jack Canning, Daire McCluskey, Daniel Devlin, Nathan Weir, Joel Copes, Niall Massey, Chris Burns, Ross Fitzpatrick, Kyle Thompson, Luke Diamond, Jack Fullerton, Nathan Thompson.