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Cockhill take derby spoils
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Cockhill Celtic...3 (Grant 6, McDaid 14, McLaughlin 63) Buncrana Youths...0 by Simon McGeady, Inishowen Independent, in Cockhill COCKHILL Celtic saw off the challenge of Buncrana Hearts Youths to progress in the Buncrana Credit Union Cup on Sunday. The Youths came into the game in good form, but they were unable to take their league form into the cup and were well beaten by a very strong Cockhill outfit. The game was played on Cockhill’s lower pitch, which was very heavy and uneven in places and the condition of the playing surface had an effect on the teams, who struggled with their passing at times. The home side made a rip-roaring start to the game and took the lead after only six minutes. Michael O’Connor played a dangerous in-swinging cross that was met by Kieran Grant who powered a superb header that crashed in off the underside of the Buncrana crossbar and into the back of Adrian Brown’s net. |
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Buncrana were shell-shocked
and they almost conceded another goal straight away.
Michael Caldwell dallied in possession in the centre of
the park and Darragh Lyons robbed him of the ball then
fed Kevin O’Donnell on the edge of the Buncrana area and
his low shot was saved by Brown diving low to his left.
Brown and Cockhill’s reprieve was only temporary. On 16 minutes Kevin McDaid capped a fine Cockhill move meeting Jarlath Herrity’s low, swerving cross on the full ten yards out and McDaid left Brown rooted to the spot with a powerful rising shot. The home side should have had a third two minutes later when Brown spilled O’Connor’s free into O’Donnell’s path, but the Cockhill man blazed wide with the goal at his mercy. The slow start that the visitor’s made to the game was of great concern to the Buncrana sideline, but their team gradually got it together. Buncrana’s first shot in anger came on 18 minutes when Diarmuid Fullerton robbed Grant and released Pauric O’Flatherty on the right of the Cockhill box but the winger’s strike flew |
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high and wide of the
target. The normally dangerous Jonathan Eccles struggled to make an impact against the well-disciplined Cockhill rearguard and he was forced to drop ever deeper to gain possession. Good defending by Buncrana’s Michael Caldwell prevented his side from falling further behind in the 24th minute when he headed Bernard Gubbins glancing header off the line. On the half hour Buncrana should have pulled back when, after Karl Kelly played a superb through ball that split the Cockhill defence, Jonathan Eccles rounded the last defender but couldn’t steer his shot past Leo McColgan |
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With Sean Porter and Kevin O’Donnell seeing a lot of the
ball, Buncrana were beginning to gain the upper hand and
a couple of minutes later a throw in on the left
released O’Flatherty and he crossed to Tommie Caldwell
in the middle of the Cockhill box but the midfielder saw
his shot hit the crossbar. At the start of the second half the Buncrana men had further chances to get back into the game through McGlynn and O’Flatherty, but they went begging and Cockhill took back control of the game in the second half. Cockhill put the outcome of the game beyond all reasonable doubt in the 63rd minute when second half substitute Patrick McLaughlin fizzed in a wickedly curling left-footed free from 28 yards that bamboozled Brown after flying over his wall. As the half wore on it became pretty clear that it was not going to be Buncrana’s day, the chances died up for the visitors, despite Tommie Caldwell’s probing passes. Brian Bradley’s weak header from Diarmuid Fullerton’s cross summing up the Castle Park side’s performance in front of goal on Sunday. If anybody was going to score another goal it looked like being a man in a hoped shirt. |
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The home side might have
had a fourth goal late on when Kevin McDaid hit the
inside of the Buncrana post with a low drive. That would
have been cruel on the visitors who played their part in
the game and had the upper hand at times, but were, in
the end, no match for a tough tackling Cockhill outfit
who were more clinical in front of goal. Cockhill Celtic Leo McColgan, Sean Porter, Bernard Gubbins, Michael O’Connor, Martin Donaghey, Jarlath Herrity, Jim Gillespie, Kieran Grant, Kevin McDaid, Kevin O’Donnell, Darragh Lyons. Subs: Patrick McLaughlin for Bernard Gubbins (58), Tony Doherty for Lyons (78). Buncrana Youths Adrian Brown, Karl Kelly, Conor McConnell, Brian Bradley, Michael Caldwell, Greg Bradley, Tommie Caldwell, Diarmuid Fullerton, Darren McGlynn, Jonathan Eccles, Pauric O’Flatherty. Subs: Seanan Murphy for Conor McConnell (65) John Lynch for Tommie Caldwell (87). For full coverage of all your weekend sport, read the Inishowen Independent. |
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