1st XI Vs Friends School Lisburn The match began at an intense pace with both teams having their fair share of chances but no one converting any opportunities.  Luke Roleston made some very good saves for Banbridge Academy and at the opposing end the Friends keeper kept a clean sheet against penetrating shots from Kyle Marshall, Jake Rowe and Peter McKnight. The defence were very solid with Kyle Marshall making various runs up and down the pitch and Mark Adair picking out good passes into the midfield of Jake Rowe, Mark Barlow and Charlie Norris. The half was characterised by good phases of play between Mark Barlow and Charlie Norris linking but the final pass was never just there. Both teams had chances from short corners but good saves from Luke Roleston and accurate blocks by Kyle Marshall prevented any goals. One Friends shot was picked off the line expertly by James Anderson to keep the scores level. Banbridge Academy were unable to score from their short corners as Jake Rowe’s numerous drag flicks were saved.   The second half brought continued pressure with Banbridge’s Nathan Liggett breaking the deadlock. He sprinted down the left hand side of the pitch and brought the ball across on to the reverse side with good stick control and calmly finished it passed what seemed like an unstoppable Friends keeper. Many substitutions occurred with Harry Lockhart, Philip Campbell and Joel Reid making impacts of the bench. Harry Lockhart providing good passes between the defence, midfield and forwards with Joel Reid providing a threat upfront. Ryan Simms and Callum Gibson coming into the defence to hold out the 1-0 lead with Dylan Cowan being versatile in the midfield and defence, playing good passes and making sure Banbridge kept possession under pressure.   The game finished 1-0 to the Academy. Special thanks goes to team sponsors The Belmont Hotel

2nd XI Vs Friends School Lisburn   Banbridge Academy 2nd XI met Friends 2ndXI. In their first match against a 2nd XI since early September. The 2ndXI went out eager to put the losses of their McCullough cup campaign behind them. From the whistle both sides showed great intensity with both Banbridge and Friends creating many chances. This high pressure soon created a chance which Matthew Young fired into the net, keeping Matty Young as the 2s top goalscorer. However it seemed the defence of Banbridge couldn’t no longer stand up to the relentless Friends attack. Friends soon equalised. The second half was much like the first with high pressure from both sides. Banbridge squandered a number of short corners and some defensive lapses from both sides showed it was anyones game. However Chris Campbell came to the rescue of the 2nd XI tapping in a back-post shot. Leaving the game at 2-1. Banbridge Academy showed they still have a lot to improve on if they are to show any success in the future.

U15s Vs Friends School Lisburn The match started on Saturday morning with some quick and scintillating play from Banbridge who dominated  both sides of the pitch, with some darting runs down the right and left wings from Ryan  Jones and Harry Lockhart creating some very exciting chances. The Academy dominated with the majority of possession and some great distribution of the ball from Barlow, Farson and Simms in the centre of the park. Eventually one of Banbridge’s many chances started the scoring with Ross Scott playing a good ball down the line to Phillip Campbell who took it past 3 defenders and hit it in to McAdam who confidently swept it into the bottom right corner from the flick spot to make it 1-0 to Banbridge. However Friends bounced back and looked threatening on the counter attack but thanks to some superb defending from Ryan Simms and Lewis Bingham stopped the opposition from getting anywhere near the goals. Just before the end of the first half Banbridge got another goal,  after taking a deflection off a defenders stick McAdam hit a superb volley into the goal. The first half ended 2-0 Banbridge.

The second half started swiftly with two short corners being won by Banbridge but neither of them troubled the Friends keeper the back of the net. However Banbridge’s third goal came from Phillip Campbell who expertly beat three players inside the circle and then precisely lobbed the flat footed keeper to make the score 3-0. After keeping the ball on the opponents half for a long spell Banbridge were hungry for another goal. The fourth goal came near the end of the second half with a penalty corner won by Shimmons after showing some confident skills inside the circle. After a scramble at the top of the ‘D’ John Scott played the ball to Barlow who managed to squeeze it through the keepers legs to end the game. The final score was 4-0 to well deserving Banbridge Academy side who showed real talent throughout the match.

U14s Vs Friends School Lisburn On Saturday 17th October, Banbridge Academy U14s travelled to Friends School Lisburn.  The game started with Friends on the attack.  Bann started slowly, and were punished as Friends scored 2 quickfire goals in the first 10 minutes.  Bann slowly got back into the game with some good patient passing.  Friends then grabbed a third goal, after a tidy finish from their striker.  Bann pulled a goal back, with David Douglas using his blistering pace to burst past the Friends backline.  He then showed great composure to slot the ball past the Friends goalkeeper.  Bann started to play how they knew they could, but were unlucky to concede a 4th goal, which meant they went into the halftime break 4-1 down. After the break, neither team could take any of their opportunities.  Friends then scored another goal, after a mistake in the Bann defence.  Near the end of the game, Luke McConnell played a through ball to David Douglas, who sprinted into the Friends circle.  His shot took a deflection, before finding the back of the net.  This meant the game ended Friends 5-2 Banbridge.     U13s Vs Friends School Lisburn On Saturday Banbridge Academy U13s travelled to Lisburn to play a well drilled, tough and strong Friends side. The match started slowly as both teams defended well with Josh Gibson, Edward Rowe, Christian Fee and Jamie McArdle holding strong and making sure that nothing got past them. Drawing close to halftime, 2 goals were well taken by Edward Rowe and Christopher Curry. At the half time break the score was 2-0 to the Academy. The second half started very fast as Matthew McClimonds added another goal. Fatigue was starting to show as FSL scored 2 goals in quick succession. After that, Bann dominated the match. Matthew McClimonds scored soon after good play from Mark Cowan and Chris Curry. Chris Curry added another to his tally for the day to score his second and Banbridge’s 5th goal of the day. The game finished 5-2 to Bann which was a well-deserved result for the consistent effort of the side.