Fult-On the Money
Wednesday, 25 January 2012
Banbridge Rangers 2. Moneyslane 1.
A GARETH Fulton strike seven minutes from time saw Banbridge Rangers win the first Bann Classico of the season, in a game which didn't quite live up to expectations.
It occasionally threatened to boil over and the opening minutes of the second half gave rise to hopes of a barnstormer of a game, but it often flattered to deceive.
And it looked set to end in a draw until Fulton, the man for the big occasion, latched on to a flick from former 'Slane man Cliffy Sterritt to poke past Nigel Fry in the away goal.
Banbridge Rangers manager Dan Thornton said he was "over the moon" with the victory and dedicated the win to the fans after the previous week's extremely disappointing result against AFC Banbridge."I'm over the moon," said Dan. "In a game with few chances we managed to take what came our way and it gives us bragging rights for the next few months. It was a harder game than I sort of expected but this result goes down for the fans after last week."
And losing manager Glenn Moffett was naturally disappointed by defeat, but saw reason for optimism, despite several players picking up knocks on the field.
“It was a pretty even match. We dominated possession but at the same time they took their chances, and we had three boys had to come off with knocks. But that's football."
The big surprise as the two sides lined up was the absence of Moneyslane captain John Davenport, who had apparently picked up a knock to his ankle. Back in defence after an extended absence was Cullen Feeney, while Johnny O'Neill strode forward as captain to shake hands with Rangers captain Chris Chambers.
In a fairly quiet opening five minutes it was quite even, Davy Boyd of Moneyslane and Rangers' Gareth Fulton coming closest to opening the scoring.
Banbridge Rangers were settling the better and, after impressive play from Colly Cousins set up Clydesdale for a crack at goal, just a minute later Dan Thornton's men did take the lead.
A left wing cross found Fulton in the inside right position. He found Cousins, whose shot was blocked off but it fell kindly to Mark Wilton on the edge of the area and, with no 'Slane defender anywhere near him, he coolly struck the ball into the bottom left hand corner of Nigel Fry's goal.
The early goal led to hopes the game would really kick off but very little happened in the next 10 minutes. There were some fine individual performances, with Moneyslane's Thomas McCann and Rangers' Colin Cousins both playing well in the midfield and Cullen Feeney putting in a good shift, putting to bed any worries over his match fitness.
Dan Thornton's men were looking the more composed but midway through the half 'Slane started to have their best period of the game so far and just under half an hour in they wasted a gilt-edged opportunity.
A long ball over the top should have been dealt with comfortably but Chambers, who had a somewhat uncertain evening, miscontrolled the ball and Mark Ervine raced on to the loose ball, with a clear run on goal.
He looked absolutely certain to score but somehow knocked the ball wide of Blevins' right hand post as Banbridge Rangers, and Chambers in particular, breathed a huge sigh of relief.
Chambers looked a little bit more comfortable playing the ball forward and, clipped an excellent ball over the top for Sterritt to run on to. He raced 'Slane keeper Fry to meet the ball, the keeper scuffing it and lucky to see the ball going beyond Clydesdale's reach.
A few tasty tackles were flying in, with the referee being overly lenient in the awarding of cards, McCann and Cousins both lucky not to go into the referee's book.
An ambitious effort from Clydesdale five minutes from half time was the last action of consequence in the first half.
The second period started with a bang as Banbridge Rangers had a solid penalty appeal turned down before a matter of seconds later Moneyslane were awarded a penalty of their own, Chambers the man judged to be at fault, handling the ball inside the box, though Rangers fans can say this incident wouldn't have happened had a penalty been given at the other end.
Lee Feeney stepped up and struck the ball home from 12 yards. It wasn't a brilliant penalty and Blevins guessed the right way, but he seemed to dive over it and the scores were level.
Rangers' frustration grew a minute later when what appeared to be the strongest penalty appeal of the three was turned down, but it nearly didn't matter a minute later.
Chambers connected with an outswinging corner, placing his head corner towards the corner of the goal. Fry was beaten but Colin Brown was on hand to clear the ball off the line.
Both sides created a few half chances as the tempo picked up and both sides began to look more comfortable in possession. However, the pace wasn't sustained and the game quietened down considerably.
Lee Feeney was added to the list of those lucky not to go into the referee's notebook. After catching Blevins with a late tackle, Rangers complaints fell on deaf ears and they were further angered when Blevins was booked for dissent.
On 71 minutes substitute Jason Gourley came close to breaking the deadlock after latching on to an excellent long pass from Chris Chambers. He cut inside his man from the left flank but his shot was well saved by Fry.
Both sides were lacking a bit of inspiration in crafting opportunities and Moneyslane looked short of pace when attempting to break through. Rangers were doing all the pressurising without really making any headway.
But Dan Thornton's men finally made the breakthrough with 83 minutes on the clock.
A ball was played into the 'Slane box, Cliffy Sterritt, who had been fairly subdued all evening, flicked it on for Gareth Fulton and he beat Nigel Fry in a race for the ball and directed it into the bottom left hand corner of the net, sending the Rangers fans into delirium.
Despite the fact they had so little time to get back level, 'Slane seemed to lack a bit of urgency to level the scores and, with the exception of a few half chances for McCann and sub John Thompson, Banbridge Rangers held on fairly comfortably to take the three points, which, on balance, they just about deserved, and the all-important bragging rights.
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