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| Killymoon Rangers |
2 |
| Dundela |
1 |
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Sat 13 February 2010, Championship 2
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| 3.00 pm kick off |
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League leaders Dundela travelled to Cookstown last Saturday intent on taking another step towards promotion and keeping their unbeaten league record in tact. The home side on the other hand had won their previous games at the Sports Arena and were looking to continue their push up the table. David McMullan returned to the starting line up to add some physical strength against a strong Dundela side and new signing James McPartland started on the bench.
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| The first half set the tone for the game with both sides up for the battle. It was the Duns who started brighter, looking dangerous in the early stages as Killymoon took time to settle. The home side survived a couple of early scares before they began to create some chances of their own. The midfield of Johnny Young, Stuart Glasgow, Ali Young and Willie Ferguson, began get to grips with their opposition and supply the front two of Warren Smith and McMullan and as both sides probed for an opening Killymoon had a strong shout for a penalty on 14 minutes. A Young made a break from midfield and was pushed in the back when jumping for a cross in the Duns penalty area. The visitors were relieved when the referee waved play on, but 5 minutes later they felt aggrieved when the referee again turned down a penalty appeal, this time when a Duns played thought he had been pushed in the Killymoon penalty area. J Young then struck the crossbar as the game switched from end to end, but this was only a taster of what was to follow in the second half. |
| Five minutes after the restart Killymoon opened the scoring through J Young. In a sweeping move the ball was spread wide to Ferguson who got in behind the Duns defence before playing the ball dangerously across the goal where J Young had the simple task of scoring into an empty net from 5 yards (1-0). This shook the visitors and they should have been 2 down minutes later when Marc Stewart's pass split the Duns defence to release Smith, but the normally lethal striker took his shot early as the keeper rushed from his goal and the ball went harmlessly wide of the net. The Duns were keeping the Killymoon backline busy especially from long throws that caused more than a few anxious moments in the home goal mouth, but goalkeeper Gareth McElhatton and his defence of Stephen McElhatton, Conall Kilpatrick, Andy Neill and Stewart were determined not to be breached. Killymoon’s leading scorer Smith might have missed an earlier opportunity, but the striker never lets this affect him and with 20 minutes left he doubled his side's lead. Smith received the ball on the left wing before cutting in on his right foot past a number of defenders before shooting from 20 yards. The Duns keeper began to go down to his right, but a deflection changed the direction of the shot and the ball rolled into the bottom of the net with the keeper stranded (2-0). The inevitable response came from the league leaders as they piled on the pressure as Killymoon began their rearguard action. Again it was the long throws and free-kicks that were the Duns best weapon and the onslaught eventually paid dividends when a scramble in the penalty area was knocked in by the Duns substitute (2-1). This gave the visitors a boost as they pushed for the equaliser, but found themselves vulnerable to the counter attack. Lee Hunter, Dicky Donaghy and McPartland were brought off the bench to give the home side some fresh legs and with the game heading into injury time the Duns defence was caught pushing too far up the pitch. McPartland received the ball on the left and surged towards the goal line before putting the ball across the goal where Ferguson arrived to knock it into an empty net. This resulted in jubilant scenes on the Killymoon bench, but unfortunately the Duns officials took offence and left their technical area and went to the home side's technical area to confront the Killymoon officials. A scuffle ensued before the referee could restore order, but surprisingly the only action he took was to send the visiting officials back to their technical area. In all the confusion the assistant referee had somehow adjudged Ferguson to be off-side and the goal was ruled out leaving Killymoon to spend the final couple of minutes defending their lead. |
| When the final whistle did sound it ended an excellent game of football were both teams took a lot of credit for the part they played in it and showed that the young Killymoon side had finally coming of age by not only competing but also beating one of the top sides in the league. Unfortunately some of the Dundela management found their first league defeat difficult to take as they refused to shake hands after the game, but thankfully tempers had calmed in the Mint Café Bar after the game as everyone enjoyed their post match refreshments. |
| After winning their last 4 home games, Killymoon will be hoping to get some consistency away from home when they travel to Wakehurst on Saturday, kick-off 3pm. The game will take place at Mill Meadow in Castledawson. |
1. G McElhatton
2. A Neill
3. M Stewart
4. S McElhatton
5. C Kilpatrick
6. A Young
7. S Glasgow
8. W Smith
9. J Young
10. W Ferguson
11. D McMullan |
Subs.
12. L Hunter
13. D Donaghy
14. J McPartland |
