The first chance of the match arrived on about fifteen minutes when after some good work in midfield, Dean Gordon delivered across slightly behind Lee McCullough on the edge of the six yard box. The agile striker connected perfectly with an overhead kick but the connection was almost too good being stopped by the centrally position goalkeeper.
Both sides seemed unable to make use of the space provided down the flanks but it was Gilford who took the initiative and on twenty minutes opened the scoring with a tap in from five yards after the Rangers backline were caught flatfooted. Ryan Burns had a two efforts close to the half but Rangers struggled to find the killer pass when in the final third. The sides went in at half time a goal apart with Timmy Topping being introduced to give Rangers a new impetus down the left hand side.
The second half opened with a lot of the ball in the air and chances few and far between. Gilford were always dangerous on the counter attack with Rangers seeing plenty of the ball but lacking the composure to make an impact on the match. Gilford doubled their lead midway through the second half when a shot from the edge of the area was initially stopped by keeper Mark Winters but the ball spun out of his hands and the momentum carried the ball agonisingly into the corner of the net. Nathan Copes was introduced to use his pace against the Gilford backline and Aaron Blakley replaced Jordan McCracken on the left hand side.
Rangers moved an extra man up front in search of a goal and when Matthew McCrum was introduced his first action was a shot on the away keeper. McCrum pulled his groin and was replaced by David Baird into centre midfield for the remainder of the match. Neither side carved out any significant chances towards the end with Gilford taking all three points. Next week Rangers Under 16s have no scheduled fixture.
Banbridge Rangers Under 16s.........0
Gilford Crusaders Under 16s...........2
Saturday 13th February 2010 10.30am
