Garvey surrender title to Banbridge

No one would begrudge Banbridge their long awaited success but for 40 minutes of this fiercely contested match, Garvey were by far the better side; they were more constructive and positive but with all their pressure they could only manage a single goal in a one sided first half.

Garvey immediately grabbed the initiative and Peter MacDonnell set the tone when he worked his way through the Banbridge defence and struck his reverse stick shot narrowly past the upright.

The locals had grabbed the upper hand in midfield with Mark Raphael, Daniel Buser and MacDonnell setting the pace and their efforts led to a salient moment in the seventh minute. A fine move down the left led to Timmy Cockram slipping the ball into the net but the goal was disallowed for an infringement.

The first significant Banbridge raid in the 14th minute saw Simon Magowan slide his reverse effort narrowly past the post while at the other end a superb Garvey move led to Stuart McNiece also missing the target as his team were threatening to score more as the first half developed.

A rare mistake by Daniel Buser in midfield led to a great chance for the visitors but John Tormey in the Garvey goal came to the rescue with a very timely save from Dale Ward in the 22nd minute.

The Garvey pressure eventually told in the 26th minute when Andy Forrest had a run and shot which was well blocked by Gareth Lennox in the Banbridge goal but the alert Timmy Cockram was on hand to slot the rebound in giving his side a well deserved lead.

Banbridge immediately struck back with the first penalty corner of the game in the 28th minute. Their prolific striker Stephen Dowds saw his drag flick brilliantly saved by Tormey but Garvey returned to the attack with two more half chances to extend their slender lead without reward.

First, Philip Stirling shot from a very narrow angle when he might have slipped the ball square to a better placed player and Johnny Quigley, operating in the middle, saw his shot well saved by Lennox in the 34th minute and when the half time whistle blew, Garvey reflected on 35 minutes with just a single goal to show for their domination.

The second half began as the first ended with Garvey on top and they immediately forced their second penalty corner in the 38th minute. The set piece was delayed and in the end wasted while three minutes later, Banbridge made the best of another defensive error by Garvey to firstly force a save for Tormey but in the process concede their 2nd corner of the game. This time Stephen Dowds beat John Tormey with a rocket of a drag flick and the visitors were suddenly back in a match where a draw would be enough to take the title.

The goal inspired Banbridge into their most positive phase of the game and they could have added to their tally but saw their next scoring effort sail past the post in the 45th minute.

With just 10 minutes left in a game which would decide their league season, Garvey seemed reluctant to push players forward which allowed Banbridge the space to attack the Garvey circle and their hesitance gave Bruce McCandless a fleeting chance to grab the full three points but again John Tormey proved his worth to Garvey this season with another great block.

Garvey were briefly without Richard Arneill as the game reached a heated last five minutes but Garvey had one last effort to extend the destination of the title but Stuart McNiece could not make the best of a chance set up by Timmy Cockram in the 69th minute and a few seconds later, Banbridge were cracking open the champagne and having the Keightly Cup presented to them by the Ulster Hockey Union President, Pat Hall.

The match had produced a fine contest between the two best sides in the league and even though Garvey could only draw, their performance showed a great improvement over those in recent weeks.

It will raise their confidence level on the way into their last two league matches against Cookstown and Annadale but more importantly for the massive hurdle facing them in Amsterdam and the critical IHL programme later through the month of April.

One great plus factor for Garvey must be the performance of 18 year old James Lorimer who played at the back for Garvey throughout the full 70 minutes; he has all the attributes of a first class defender showing great poise and composure for such a young player and looks to have a great career in front of him.