McComb's Coach Travel Intermediate Cup, Round Three
St James’ Swifts 1-2 Coagh United
ST JAMES’ SWIFTS exited the Intermediate Cup at the Third Round stage after a 2-1 defeat to Coagh United at Donegal Celtic Park on Saturday afternoon.
Zach Ferson hammered the Tyrone side ahead on the stroke of half-time and a Mark Kelly strike after the break had the Swifts on the back foot.
St James’ hit back with little under 10 minutes remaining through recent recruit John Savage, but Barry Johnston’s side couldn’t force extra-time and were reduced to 10 men late on as Dan Wilson was shown a second yellow card.
The hosts were certainly the better side early on with a foul on Savage inside of 60 seconds giving Fra Nolan an opportunity from a promising position, but he curled his free-kick wide of the post.
Savage then lifted a shot over the bar and linked up with Ronan Hamill a few minutes later, but Hamill couldn’t get a clean strike on target.
Coagh goalkeeper Jamie Courtney denied Savage at the expense of a corner which came to nothing and the visitors’ first chance arrived just before the midway point in the opening half when Ryan McMenemy curled in a corner which clipped the top of the bar on the way over.
A spate of chances presented themselves before the break: Jamie Courtney needed to get down to push a Fra Nolan shot around the post for a corner and a few minutes later Ronan Hamill ran onto a through pass into the area, but he got his shot all wrong and another opportunity was spurned by the hosts.
They would come to rue it as Coagh United hit the front against the run of play when Zach Ferson picked up the ball at the edge of the box and hammered a shot high into the net past Conan Russell to make it 1-0 at the break.
St James’ attempted to restore parity early in the second period with Ronan Hamill sending in a cross which James Ferguson headed behind for a corner, but at the other end Coagh doubled their lead with their first sighting of goal.
On 53 minutes, Mark Kelly received the ball to feet from a throw-in and confidently headed for the target, made room, and squeezed a low angled shot beyond the reach of Russell and into the net to give the hosts a mountain to climb.
Swifts' boss Johnston tried to change things immediately by introducing Jospeh McCall and they did force a succession of corners, but the pressure ended as Eugene Gallagher hooked a shot over the bar.
Coagh may have wrapped the game up with little over a quarter of an hour remaining, but Scott McGeown flashed a shot across the face of goal after the Swifts were slow to react to a quickly taken free-kick.
The game was beginning to stretch in the final quarter with Ronan Hamill’s stinging drive having Courtney at full-stretch to gather before Gallagher pulled the ball wide of the target.
Eoghan Hawe then beat the offside trap at the other end, but he lifted the ball over the angle of post and crossbar and missed the chance to seal the win.
On 81 minutes, St James’ Swifts found a lifeline with Eugene Gallagher unselfishly squaring to John Savage for a simple tap-in that set-up a grandstand finish.
Nolan then dragged a further shot wide of the post as the hosts went in frantic search of an equaliser.
Coagh attempted to see the game out and played on the break and deep into injury-time their cause was helped by St James’ being reduced to 10-men.
Already on a booking, Dan Wilson was shown a second yellow card for a last-ditch challenge on Coagh substitute Lee Smith.
Try as they might, St James’ couldn’t force an equaliser that would have forced extra-time and exited the Intermediate Cup at the last-32 stage.
ST JAMES’ SWIFTS: Russell, Smyth, Taggart, Walsh (McCall 55), Dorran, Wilson, Diver, Hamill, Gallagher, Savage, Nolan.
COAGH UNITED: Courtney, McGeown, Hogshaw, Stewart, Fati, Ferguson, McMenemy (Smith 87), Kelly, Ferson, Hawe, Kempten.
