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Aileach rue missed chances
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Inishowen side stunned by
late Swilly strike Swilly Rovers...2 Aileach FC...1 by Liam Porter, Inishowen Independent A STUNNING goal from full back Jason McAnullan saw Swilly Rovers steal the Knockalla Caravans Shield from Aileach on Saturday night, but the Inishowen side will still be wondering how they didn’t come away with the silverware. For most of the game Darren McDermott’s team were much better than their Ulster Senior opponents, but in the end two stunning strikes from Swilly and an inability by the Aileach men to take their chances, saw the Shield head to Ramelton. In a blistering opening few minutes Aileach’s Anthony Doherty and Thomas McMonagle tore the Swilly defence apart several times without ever finding a telling finish and it wasn’t until the 12th minute that Glen Watson in the Swilly goal was tested when he dived smartly to his right to push away Stephen O’Donnell’s free-kick. |
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Four minutes later Anthony
Doherty hammered over the bar after Gregory Doherty had
slipped him past the Swilly defence and the Inishowen
side tried again in the 22nd minute when Damien Barr
shot just wide of the target. Watson then made a fantastic save in the 25th minute to tip away a brilliantly struck shot from Gregory Doherty before Swilly finally tested Aileach with a header from Michael Lynch that flew over the bar in the 34th minute. Two minutes later the Ulster Senior League side broke the deadlock when Stephen Donaghy fired home from the edge of the box with a first time effort that stunned the Aileach men. Having dominated the game they could scarcely believe they were behind and Swilly almost made it 2-0 in the 37th minute from another Lynch header that Kevin McDermott scrambled away. Aileach pressed hard for an equaliser at the start of the second half and almost found one when James Gillespie’s free fizzed across the face of the goal in the 56th minute. Indeed while the chances were harder to come by in the second half for the Inishowen side, it looked as if Swilly would need something special to get beyond the Aileach defence superbly held together by the impressive Neil McElhinney and James Gillespie. |
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Up front Doherty chased and
hassled the Swilly defence, but in fairness they seemed
much more compact in the second half and left-back
Richard McGinley found more time on the ball to deliver
probing passes forward. Still Aileach looked more than a match for the USL but it looked as it might not be their night when Thomas McMonagle sent in a terrific ball in the 73rd minute that substitute Stephen Doherty failed to make connect with, despite having the goal at his mercy. However they were deservedly back on level terms in the 75th minute when Doherty this time played a neat ball towards Barr that was cut out by Columba O’Donnell using his hand. Referee Tommy McAree pointed to the spot and Stephen O’Donnell duly dispatched the ball to the net from the penalty to make it 1-1. At that stage it looked as if Aileach might well press ahead and sneak a winner, but McAnullan who was pushed into midfield for the closing stages of the game, put an end to those hopes with a cracking drive to the top corner in the 85th minute. It was a cruel blow for Aileach, but they’ll be hoping that, if they can show this kind of form in their three-way relegation play-off they can still escape the drop from Inishowen’s top flight. Aileach: Kevin McDermott, Dermot Doherty, Declan O’Donnell, James Gillespie, Neil McElhinney, Cathal McElhinney, Damien Barr, Stephen O’Donnell, Anthony Doherty, Gregory Doherty, Thomas McMonagle. Subs: Gerald Arbuckle for S O’Donnell 88 mins; Stephen Doherty for G. Doherty 63 mins. Swilly Rovers: Glen Watson, Jason McAnullan, Richard McGinley, John Donaghy, Columba O’Donnell, Michael Lynch, Marty McDaid, David O’Herlihy, Stephen Donaghy, Michael McHugh, Laurence Toland. Subs: Kevin O’Connor for McHugh 23 mins; Paul Fisher for Lynch, 81 mins; Patrick Durning for O’herlihy 88 mins. For full coverage of all your weekend sport, read the Inishowen Independent. |
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