U12s comeback to stay top of league

Shankhill U12s 1

Banbridge recovered from an early setback to record a 2-1 victory in a tight encounter with Shankhill at a very cold Ballymacoss.

Banbridge had the upper hand for most of the opening spell, with midfield dynamo Andrew Wilson a constant thorn in the side of the Shankhill defence.

However it was Shankhill who opened the scoring, capitalising on a lack of concentration in the Banbridge defence to slot home coolly with twenty minutes gone.

But Shankhill’s lead was shortlived- less than five mimutes later, Daniel Devlin produced a magnificent solo effort, beating four Shankhill defenders before blasting the ball into the roof of the net to equalise.

Banbridge asserted their authority in the second half, with Stephen McKey contantly threatening, but failed to find the elusive second goal. It took substitute Ryan Stevenson to turn the tie in Banbridge’s favour- Armstrong, McCluskey and Devlin linking up superbly on the right hand side freeing Stevenson to finish beautifully to give Banbridge the lead with less than five minutes remaining.

Shankhill proved tough opposition to a Banbridge side that had to dig deep to salvage all three points to remain top of the league. A great way to end 2009!