Match Sponsor: Ballyclare Comrades Supporters Club

Ball Sponsor: Ballyclare Comrades Supporters Club

Friday 2nd April 2010 - Ladbrokes.com Championship 1

Ballyclare Comrades team

Subs: 12.Sam McWilliams 14.Marty McAvoy 15.Neil McGrath 16.Andy Simms 17.Johnny Gowdy

Banbridge Town: Wilton, Hall, Brady, Copeland, King, Matier, Malone, Robb, Grant, Clydesdale, McParland. Subs - Whitla, Mallon, McCartan.

Comrades substitutes

Darren Munster (61')

Johnny Gowdy (61')

David Officer (74')

Andy Simms (74')

Ronnie Burns (88')

Marty McAvoy (88')

Goals

Neil Clydesdale (26')

Timmy Grant (60')

Michael Matier (90')

Comrades cards

Mark McClelland (67')

Comrades man of the match

Scott Irvine

On a dreary wet Good Friday night at Dixon Park, Comrades gave a performance to match the weather as they succumbed to 3-0 defeat by Banbridge Town.

For this match Gordon Chambers was forced into one change from the side which had won so convincingly at Armagh City the previous Saturday; with Lee Rushe injured, Gareth Curlett got a recall to team at centre-back

Comrades’ fans were hopeful that their side could turn around recent poor home form and beat a team near them in the league table, but from the kick-off the visitors looked the sharper side on the difficult surface.

The first chance came in the 5th minute when a deep cross into the box from the right found the head of Clydesdale, but he headed wide from a decent position 8 yards from goal.

Although there was little goalmouth action early on, Banbridge were asking most of the questions, whilst Comrades toiled ponderously to create anything. It was no real surprise therefore when the visitors took the lead in the 26th minute. A long ball down the right side caught out the home defence and left Clydesdale to take on Darren Munster inside the box. The Banbridge striker did well to trick his way into a shooting position and fired an unstoppable shot high into the net from 10 yards, past Allen Huxley.

Comrades briefly rallied after going behind and two minutes later had a good claim for a penalty turned down when Ronnie Burns appeared to be bundled over by a defender as he attempted to get on the end of a Scott Irvine cross from the right.

On 32 minutes the home side had a half chance when a low Mark McClelland cross into the box from the right was only cleared to Stuart Galbraith at the edge of the area, but his shot went a yard or so wide of the target.

At the other end, on 36 minutes, Banbridge had a chance to go two up when a ball from deep was played high into the box and found the head of King, but his effort went over the bar from 11 yards.

Right at the end of the half, a minute into injury-time, Comrades had another sniff of a chance, when a free-kick played into the Banbridge box broke to Davy Officer, but his shot from 16 yards failed to test the keeper, flying wide of the target.

The second half started in the same pattern as the first had played out, with not much to excite the spectators, particularly those cheering for the home side.

The onus was on Comrades to get back into the game, but their efforts met with little success against a dominant Banbridge defence. The only glimpse of a chance in the early stages of the half came on 54 minutes, when Mark McClelland headed well over from 9 yards after getting on the end of a corner.

Banbridge still looked by far the more fluid side going forward and they increased their lead on the hour when a great ball, whipped into the box from the right by Malone, was met by a powerful diving header from 7 yards by Grant, which gave Allen Huxley no chance.

Gordon Chambers tried to change things by going to three at the back and bringing on an extra striker in Johnny Gowdy, but to little effect. Comrades still frustrated their fans by failing to trouble the home defence, too many moves breaking down with stray passes or players dwelling on the ball for too long.

The Banbridge keeper was having a quiet time, with no saves to make. Comrades, in truth, did not look like scoring.

The home side only had a couple of efforts in the remainder of the game. On 72 minutes Stuart McCullough improvised a hooked effort from 12 yards, as he got on the end of a free-kick into the box, but the ball flew comfortably wide of the goal. Then, on 82 minutes, they came rather closer to scoring when a well delivered Scott Irvine corner from the left was met by a glancing Andy Long header, amongst a crowd of players in the 6-yard box, but his effort went narrowly wide of the far post.

As the match drew to its conclusion, Comrades looked more and more demoralised and Banbridge seemed likelier to score again. On 89 minutes a swift break ended with Clydesdale sending a well struck shot from 16 yards just over the bar. However, a minute later, the visitors sealed a deserved victory with a third goal, Matier sending a crisp shot into the net from 15 yards.

This was a very disappointing performance from Comrades, who seem to have lost their spark playing at Dixon Park. There can be no arguments about the result, with the home side’s lacklustre performance exploited well by a lively Banbridge side.