Garvey end Bann’s winning run with a hard-fought draw at Havelock

The match was a credit to both sides who, throughout the 70 minutes produced top quality skill and commitment with Garvey coming back from a two goal deficit to grab a point from the IHL group leaders, who had won their previous 15 matches.

The visitors began at speed, forcing a penalty corner in the fourth minute. However, the Timmy Cockram effort was well blocked by keeper Gareth Lennox and a few seconds later, his counterpart in the Garvey goal John Tormey had to save from Drew Carlisle at his right post.

A great Timmy Cockram run down the right wing in the 10th minute led to nothing as his cross went untouched and Jason Lynch just failed to set himself up on the reverse but he was well-tackled in the process and that left the first quarter without a goal.

The 21st minute saw Garvey open the scoring with a well worked goal. Good work from Daniel Buser and Richard Arneill led to Andy Williamson shooting past Lennox on his reverse side to give his team a deserved lead.

Banbridge took only three minutes to find an equaliser. It came after a fine James Lorimer tackle but the loose ball fell to Bruce McCandless who swivelled and shot crisply past Tormey from five metres.

Garvey’s second penalty corner came in the 28th minute but again Lennox was more than equal to Cockram’s drag-flick but four minutes later Garvey took the lead for the second time.

Sean Murray found himself with space to shoot but after his initial effort was blocked by Lennox, the youngster kept his composure and scored with a reverse shot under severe pressure.

Again, Banbridge responded immediately with a brilliant penalty corner strike by Stephen Dowds, beating Tormey in the top left corner of the Garvey net.

The Banbridge equaliser brought the first half to a close with the score at 2-2 and with the prospect of more goals in a fine open encounter.

If the first half was good, the second half had everything. Two more superb, unstoppable penalty corners from Stephen Dowds in the 38th and 45th minute gave the home side more than an edge but Garvey raised their game to another level.

Firstly Gareth Lennox saved full length from Garvey’s second set-piece and then after great work by Garvey skipper Jonny Bell, his cross found Timmy Cockram who knocked the ball past Lennox from three metres out in the middle of the goal-mouth.

The Garvey midfield of Buser, Arneill, Jason Lynch and Sean Murray were now in full-flow with Buser shooting narrowly past the post in the 49th minute.

However, in the 51st, another penalty corner led to a retake and after the ball was cleared. Steven Arbuthnot gained possession and saw his shot enter the Banbridge net having been half stopped by a defender en route.

The third quarter ended with the scoring tally at 4-4 with the big crowd expecting more but with both teams tiring and Banbridge, at one stage, down to nine players, trying to hold onto their point.

Garvey, however, were still looking for a result and they very nearly grabbed a win but again Lennox saved his team with a save from Richard Arneill in the 67th minute.

Fraser Mills shot high over the crossbar in the 69th minute for Banbridge and Andy Williamson had a goal disallowed in the final seconds to leave Havelock Park more than pleased with the treat they had seen from both teams with a 4-4 draw a fair result at the end of 70 minutes of classical club hockey.

Garvey return to the ‘bread and butter’ of the Ulster Premier League on Saturday with a visit to Kilkeel. This has proved a difficult fixture in the past few seasons and with the home side recording some good results recently, Garvey will have to work hard for the vital points.