Friends bidding to end 35 year wait in Burney Cup

But it is 35 years since they last got their hands on the trophy, something they are hoping they can rectify on Tuesday when they take on holders and favourites Banbridge Academy in this season’s final.

Looking through the Friend’s team of ’78, there is one name that jumps out, and that is Olympic hockey Gold medallist, Jimmy Kirkwood, who starred for the Lisburn school in the final.

Friends only missed out on last season’s final when they were pipped by Cookstown 4-3 in the semi-finals and last week they looked destined to be going out at the same stage, this time against their arch rivals Wallace.

Trailing Wallace 3-2 with 10 minutes remaining, Friends turned the game on its head to clinch it 4-3, with Matthew Getty levelling on 63 minutes and Robert Cummins grabbing the winner three minutes from time.

Ironically, the last time they won the cup they defeated Wallace in the semis 4-1.

They now face an in-form Banbridge Academy, who will be determined to retain the trophy.

But like Friends, Banbridge needed to dig deep to put their semi-final opponents, Campbell College to bed.

It has been 18 years since Friends last appeared in a Burney Cup final, when they lost 1-0 to RBAI.

But this time they are hoping they can go one better and stop Banbridge making it a hat-trick of Burney Cup wins.

Bully off at Lisnagarvey Hockey Club on Tuesday is 3.00pm.

SQUADS: Banbridge Academy Squad: Michael Anderson (GK), P Bingham (GK), Michael Duggan, Peter Bennington, Matthew Bell (VC), Thomas Sturgeon, Johnny McKee, Peter Brown, Ben Cosgrove, Rory Woods, Owen Magee (C), Andrew Dickson, John McCague, Matthew Warnock, Andrew Bingham

Friends School Squad: Michael Agnew (GK), Martin Bothwell, Matthew Sullivan, Mark Fair, Jordan McCready, Chris Alexander (GK), Robert Cumins, Haddyn Cartmill, Matthew Getty, Ben Conn, Andrew Allen, Nathan Gamble, Mark Conn, Paul Tinsley, John Semple, Jack Henderson.