McComb's Coach Travel Intermediate Cup, Round Three
Belfast Celtic 1-2 Lisburn Distillery
TWO early goals by Lisburn Distillery’s Scott Brannigan and Michael Withers ensured they progressed in the Intermediate Cup against Belfast Celtic side in a fast-paced and heated game at Glen Road Heights on Saturday.
The game got off to a slow start, with complaints from both sides about the condition of the ball, only beginning properly by the fourth minute when a decent replacement was found.
It was very much a game of two halves, which saw Lisburn Distillery thoroughly dominate the first turn of play.
Five minutes in saw three free-kicks awarded to Distillery and a tumultuous raucous build on the pitch as the slippery field saw players from both sides crash into each other with reckless abandon.
By the seventh minute, Lisburn Distillery managed to nail back some form, with a shot on goal by Michael O’Hanlon which was saved by Belfast Celtic’s Padraig Nugent.
The Hoops put up a spirited defence, but it wasn’t enough to stop Distillery who were finally rewarded when Scott Brannigan put one away in the 12 minute.
The pitch continued to be a thorn in the side of both teams, which frustrated possession and led to players from both sides overreaching tackles, and earning each side numerous free-kicks.
Belfast Celtic seemed to be under pressure and the shots they did manage to get through, such as two shots towards the goalkeeper in the 16 and 17 minute went wide due to not having enough control of the ball.
In the middling minutes of the first half, Distillery’s Timothy Clarke was a standout player, frequently maintaining possession of the ball in the face of constant pressure from the Hoops, and also completing several noteworthy passes to play deep into Hoops’ territory.
The hosts fancied a shot on goal during the 22 minute, but again this went well over with the team looking increasingly under pressure from a relentless Distillery.
By the 24 minute mark, Distillery had increased their lead to two goals with a brilliant bit of play by Michael Withers who chipped the ball easily into the back of the net, much to the dismay of Celtic fans.
Distillery piled on more pressure with a header that went just over in the 33 minute by Christian Irvine, and the frustration felt by the Hoops was apparent with Mark Clarke being booked for a yellow card in the 35 minute for a dodgy tackle against Timothy Clarke.
Attempting to rally the team, the 37th minute saw Celtic switch Diarmuid O’Hanlon for Shane McKernan but the pressure and heat displayed by both teams in their tackling and play refused to dissipate.
In the five minutes before half-time, Distillery again ramped up the pressure with Distillery’s Timothy Clarke achieving a standout drive up the left-flank which left was quickly mobbed down by the hosts.
The second half saw Distillery continue to put on the pressure, with Celtic’s Darren Hyland scuppering their chances at a goal by tactically booting the ball over his own net to deny Distillery more room to attack.
Distillery’s Lee O’Brien shot in the 50 minute, only for it to be saved with solid keeping from Padraig Nugent.
This marked a noted turn in play wherein Celtic began a ruthless counter-attack and led to blistering goal from captain Kevin Lynch to pull one back.
While the Hoops did succeed in piling on the attack, Distillery still appeared firm, if a little shaken by the twist of events and this frustration resulted in fouls.
The 56th minute saw Celtic switch out Denver Taggart for Stephen Tully who proved a breath of fresh air, launching a shot on goal a few minutes later that was seized by Distillery’s goalkeeper Jonah Nicoll, who slipped during a goal-kick, due to pitch conditions, but didn’t stop Distillery from keeping momentum with the ball.
This led to a tense one on one standoff between Distillery’s Stephen Sullivan who in a masterful turn of play managed to wriggle around Celtic’s defence and face down Padraig Nugent in the net for a goal, which went wide by millimetres.
However, this rally by Distillery didn’t dissuade the hosts who launched themselves at Distillery’s lines, almost scoring a free-kick only for it to be caught by Jonah Nicoll in the 67 minute, and a minute later attempting a decent cross which was saved again.
The 71 minute saw Distillery replace Michael Withers with Jordan Lucas who inserted some energy into a flagging Distillery side amidst unrelenting attacks by the home team.
The 73rd and 74th minutes again saw shots on goal by Belfast Celtic’s Shane McKernan and Martin Bradley.
The 75th minute saw yet another poor tackle by Celtic’s Mark Clarke who earned his second yellow card, being sent off promptly and leaving the hosts down 10 men.
However, despite this, Belfast Celtic showed no sign of letting down their attack, with two shots on goal in the 79th minute, both of which were saved by Distillery’s goalkeeper.
Trying again and again for the equaliser, Belfast Celtic’s Darren Hyland shot again in the 81 minute, but it was again caught by Jonah Nicoll who displayed a keen eye for where the ball was going to end up throughout the match.
The 84th minute saw things get even worse for Belfast Celtic when Stephen Tully sustained a bad injury after less than half an hour on the field, leaving the hoops to finish the game with only nine men.
However, even this failed to break Belfast Celtic’s determination, with three more chances being taken before the close of play.
“It was a game of two half’s,” reflected Belfast Celtic manager Stephen McAlorum.
“Before the game we made changes to the formation from our usual style of play, and I take responsibility for that. We’re trying to give people game time, get players up to speed and it just didn’t work for us in the first half.
“The second half we reverted back to the way we usually play and made a few changes and it worked better. I don’t think we got the rub of the green today, and I think a few decisions went against us, and we ended up at the end with nine men, with one injured, but we were still the team that was putting on the pressure.
“We had some decent chances with Darren Hyland the cross by Shane McKernan, but at the end of the day, it just wasn’t our day and we’ll going to move on from it.
“I take responsibility for the change up and I think some of the boys need a bit more training to help them get up to speed, but we win as a team, and we lose as a team, and we’ll be back to the League next week.”
BELFAST CELTIC: P Nugent, K Reid, D Hyland, M Bradley, M Clarke, S Beatty, L O’Brien, J Lynch, K Lynch, D Taggart (S Tully), D O’Hanlon (S Kernan)
Goal: K Lynch (50)
LISBURN DISTILLERY: Joshua Nicoll, N Dillon, T Clarke, C Irvine, J Reid, S Sullivan, M O’Hanlon, A Harris, S Brannigan, M Withers (J Lucas), C McAuley
Goals: S Brannigan (12), M Withers (24)
