On Saturday a weakened Killymoon Rangers Reserve side held title contenders Armagh Celtic to a credible one all draw in their own back yard in what was possibly their most resilient performance of the season to date. On a cold December afternoon at Ardmore in Armagh, Killymoon started the brighter despite the loss of Marty Daly, Eddie Hudson and Peter Sloan due to work commitments and the call up of Cameron Stewart and Kyle Smith to the first team squad for their match against Lurgan Town.

With a five man midfield Killymoon's management team of Warwick and Fluke tried to stifle Celtic's fast flowing football which bagged them a 4-1 result and the three points at Beech earlier in the season. Kill piled on the pressure from the kick-off against a sluggish Armagh defence with lone striker Johnny Scott eagerly supported by Nigel Campbell and Mustafa Kaplan on the flanks. This early pressure came mainly through a series of corners in the opening twenty minutes with Armagh's defenders finding it difficult to defend against the twin threat of Mark Freeborn and Jason Devlin in the box. This pressure delivered the first goal in this period when Ryan Glasgow latched unto a loose Armagh clearance twenty yards out. His powerful drive was tipped unto the bar by the Armagh keeper, bounced downwards and into the net off an Armagh defender, a bit of luck which their good opening play deserved. It could have easily have been two when Devlin might have punished Armagh with a powerful header from a McCormack corner, the Armagh keeper pulling off a great save. Mark Freeborn then had another headed opportunity saved in this spell. This early goal by the Reserves jolted a sluggish Armagh into action with Glasgow, McCormack and Chucking in central midfield having to battle hard for every ball as the tempo of the game moved up a gear. McKiernan in goal had to be at his best yet again when Armagh bombarded the Kill goal mouth for the last twenty minutes of the first half. The pressure told when Armagh broke quickly down the left delivering the equaliser ten minutes from the half-time whistle.

Into the second half Celtic kept up their high tempo passing game with the back four of Jeff Hall, Mark Freeborn, Brian Smith and Jason Devlin having to withstand immense Armagh pressure. At times Kill rode their luck with Brian Smith making an outstanding goal line clearance on the hour mark when Armagh looked to have taken the lead. But it wasn't all one way traffic as Kill pushed for the winner. Lone striker Johnny Scott was replaced by Brian O'Donnell with Kaplan moving to the striker role and Jeff Hall moving into midfield. Ten minutes after this change Hall had a great opportunity to kill the game as he broke into the box. Unfortunately he delayed and the chance was snuffed out by the Celtic defender. Kaplan then had two further chances as Kill fitness started to change the pattern of the game. His first chance was well saved by the Armagh keeper and his second cleared off the line with five minutes to go. Armagh were happy to hold unto the point after a tremendous performance by the Kill lads. At times it was workmanlike and they did ride their luck but overall the work-rate and togetherness was the best witnessed by management in recent seasons, as they remain undefeated in their last seven fixtures with the best defensive record in the league. Happy Christmas and prosperous New Year to one and all from the management.
TEAM: Steven McKiernan, Jeff Hall, Mark Freeborn, Brian Smith, Jason Devlin, Nigel Campbell, Ryan Glasgow, Marty McCormack, Gavin Chucking, Mustafa Kaplan, Johnny Scott. Subs: Brian O'Donnell, Malcolm Steadman, Alan Fluke.