Ryan’s rocket not enough for Gers to see off Celtic

That saying rung true during last week’s Reserve team fixtures at Banbridge Rangers.

Both league games against Banbridge Town and Lurgan Celtic ended in 1-1 draws with stoppage time equalisers going for and against Davy Harvey’s young side.

Within the first 15 seconds against Celtic on Saturday, Rangers had a strong claim for a penalty waved away as Neily Wilson was taken down inside the box.

Matthew McCrum and Aaron Chambers linked up well on the left as Rangers got a lot of joy down the wings but ultimately the first half was a very even affair with both defences coming out on top.

A slight change of shape in the second half saw Banbridge Rangers on top with the midfield starting to dictate and control the game. Tired legs saw Ryan Weir and James Monteith come on with 35 minutes remaining.

Both players were immediately involved with Monteith recycling the ball for Weir to hit a thunderbolt half volley from 25 yards past the Celtic keeper and put Rangers 1-0 ahead.

This kicked the Lurgan team into gear but Rangers contained them and kept the ball well. With 10 minutes to go, Mark Ball was brought on to try and shore things up and all was looking well until the 92nd minute when Celtic’s centre half came up from the back and squared the ball to their striker for a tap in.

In the end, it was a very fair result for both teams and a very good performance to boot. Best for Rangers on the day were Parkes, Wilson and McCrum.