Comrades kick start cup run
Wednesday, 3 September 2008
Ballyclare Comrades 2. Dergview 0.
COMRADES gained a significant advantage to take the second leg of the Co-operative Insurance Cup First Round, with a well deserved 2-0 win over Dergview under the lights at Dixon Park.
The side showed a number of changes from the game three nights earlier against Carrick Rangers. Gary Bell and Andy Simms came in on the left, with Davy Freyne unavailable. Andy Long came back into the starting line up, as the line up reverted to a more familiar 4-4-2, with Eddie Hill rested and Evan Forsythe injured. Up front Darren McKay came in for his first start of the season in place of Mark Craig.
The home started the game on the front foot from the referee's whistle and completely dominated the opening stages, looking capable of scoring with almost every attack.
On 2 minutes, good work on the right by Andy Long saw him set up Stuart McClean to play a low ball across the 6 yard box. Ricky Higgins arrived to meet it, but he saw is first time effort blocked by keeper O'Reilly.
Comrades were buzzing and giving the stretched Dergview defence serious problems. In the fourth minute Darren McKay came close when he made space well and shot from 20 yards, but his effort drifted just wide of the angle of bar and post. Then, a minute later, a good link up between Darren McKay and Stuart McClean lead to a ball being played in to Andy Long, 6 yards, but it arrived slightly behind him and the young Comrades player couldn't get the required power in his shot to beat O'Reilly.
The chances were coming thick and fast and on 7 minutes the Dergview keeper was again in action as he blocked a shot from just inside the box from Simon McGowan. The ball rebounded to Andy Simms, 6 yards from goal, but O'Reilly did very well to smother his resulting effort.
Another good effort came on 15 minutes when Ricky Higgins set up Andy Long for a shot from the edge of the box, but again O'Reilly was able to push the effort wide of the goal.
Comrades really should have been ahead by the midway point of the half, but at this stage their early momentum waned as the Dergview team started to settle, at least from a defensive point of view. The visitors, however, posed no threat during the first half to the Comrades goal. The only notable chance of the rest of the latter part of the half fell to Comrades again, when Andy Simms headed Michael Smith cross over the bar from 10 yards.
The second half started with Comrades again dominant. On 50 minutes Gary Bell steamed onto a loose clearance just inside the box, but blasted his shot well wide, when he perhaps had better options.
Two minutes later however, Comrades took a well deserved lead. Ricky Higgins, who had looked to be growing in influence throughout the game, surged past two defenders into the box. He shot, but his effort was blocked by O'Reilly. However, the ball fell to Higgins again, who showed persistence and calmness to shake of the attention of a defender and slot the ball home from 8 yards.
Comrades were now back to the form of the early stages of the first half and looked capable of pulling the visitors apart. On 62 minutes the impressive Ricky Higgins rocketed past the full-back on the right and sent a teasing cross to the back post, where Darren McKay connected with a close range first-time shot, which was well saved by O'Reilly.
It was not long before Comrades went two up and Higgins was again involved. In the 64th minute he deftly headed a high ball down into the path of Darren McKay, who then produced a typically spectacular lo from 20 yards to leave the keeper stranded and put his side in control of the tie.
Dergview were briefly spurred into action and proceeded to have by far their best spell of the game an one in which the should have pulled a goal back. On 67 minutes, after their first real period of sustained pressure of the game, the ball fell to McLaughlin centrally 5 yards from goal, with only the keeper to beat. Somehow he managed to strike the bar rather than scoring and Comrades had received a huge let off.
At the other end, on 71 minutes, Ricky Higgins came close with a effort from the right side of the box, which flew just wide of the far angle of bar and post. However, two minutes later, Dergview had a chance when Paul Carlin's shot from the left of the box went just wide of the base of the far post.
Dergview's brief threatening spell was not maintained and towards the end of the match it was the home side which looked very capable of adding to the scoreline.
On 88 minutes Mark Craig got his head, at the far post area, to a corner from the right, but he was falling backwards as he met it and the effort went over. Then, on 90 minutes, Comrades probably should have had another goal. Substitute Ronnie Burns did well to head a high ball down towards Simon McGowan, who in turn fed another sub Aaron Wallace into box. Wallace advanced on goal, but his effort when it came, was too close to O'Reilly, allowing the keeper to make a save.
Comrades' final chance to add to the score came a minute into injury-time when a Gary Bell corner from the right fell to Ronnie Burns in the far post area and he volleyed a shot over from a difficult angle.
This was a good performance from Comrades and probably merited an even bigger margin of victory, as they were the better side for the vast majority of the game and created numerous chances. Particularly pleasing was the lively form of the side going forward, where they looked creative and threatening.
Ballyclare Comrades team: Ian Mannus, Michael Smith, Paul Caldwell, Ryan Murray, Gary Bell, Andy Long, Simon McGowan, Stuart McClean (capt), Andy Simms, Ricky Higgins, Mark Craig.
Bench: Aaron Wallace (69 mins, for McKay), Mark Craig (73 mins, for Simms), Ronnie Burns (83 mins, for Higgins), Eddie Hill (not used).
