Banbridge Town goalkeeper Lewis Hunter will be hoping to get one over his manager Frankie Wilson when he plays for Queen’s University in next month’s Collingwood Cup final.
QUB will be hoping to end 37 years of hurt when they play UCD in the showpiece decider on Tuesday, April 5 at Dundalk’s Oriel Park stadium.
Queen’s haven’t won the Collingwood since 1985, and were beaten by UCD in the final four years ago.
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It is a fate Banbridge boss Wilson (circled) became accustomed to as a student, as he lost out in three finals – all to UCD.
“Frankie keeps winding me up and telling me he played in three finals against UCD and lost all three. I think he played for UUJ,” Hunter told Match on Tuesday.
“Hopefully I can do one better than him. It would be a huge achievement for Queen’s.
“We can’t wait for it. It is a massive competition and one we would love to win.
“Thirty-seven years is a long time and if we managed to win the cup it would be massive for Queen’s.
‘UCD are obviously a quality team and have League of Ireland experience in their squad, and they will be favourites on the day. They are a League of Ireland team so it will be tough.”
Queen’s have scored nine goals without conceding in this season’s Collingwood Cup.
They beat holders DCU 5-0 before seeing off NUI Galway 4-0 in the semi-finals, with talismanic striker John McGovern scoring hat-tricks in both games – their semi-final winning team pictured below.
“The good thing about the Collingwood is it is free-flowing football, and there is no fear in our team,” Hunter added.
“It is like playing in the park, and you don’t have the stress of playing a league game for your club. We are playing with our university mates, and you have seen that in our performances this season.
“This is university football, and the shackles are off to an extent. We just go out and play our game and it has worked well for us so far.
“Galway had beaten UUJ 7-1 in the opening round, so for us to then beat Galway 5-0 was a big win. We didn’t give them a sniff all game.”
Hunter admits Newry City striker and Northern Ireland Under 21 international McGovern has been a “big player” for Queen’s.
He added: “I played with John at Newry so I have always known his quality.
“A lot of his goals have actually come from corners, and Ronan Young’s deliveries have been first class.
“But every time you get the ball to John and he is one-on-one, he puts the ball in the back of the net.”
Hunter has also excelled for Banbridge Town this season, with the Crystal Park club firmly in the PIL title mix as they approach the business end of the campaign.
A lot of their success stems from a rigid backline that has only conceded eight league goals in 2021/22.
They were also boosted last week when disciplinary measures against Moyola Park and Tobermore United saw Banbridge awarded five points.
“That has given us a big lift, but it will mean nothing if we don’t capitalise and pick up positive results,” Hunter said.
“The top six are all in the title mix, and there will be some huge games once the split comes in to play.
“We had been in some good form recently until losing to Newington, but we have a great game to bounce back in this weekend against Armagh City.
“We believe we are firmly in the promotion mix, but all of the top six sides could argue the same, so there’s a lot to play for.
“We are where we want to be at this stage of the season. We have so much to fight for and we can’t wait for the big games coming up.”
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