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Injury time drama at the
Illies
10.09.08
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Illies Celtic...3 Gleneely Colts...4 by Liam Porter, Inishowen Independent NEVER say die Gleneely Colts bounced back from injury time heartbreak to inflict some late punishment of their own and steal all three points against an Illies side who will wonder how they hadn’t wrapped this game up long before the late drama. In most games an equalising goal two minutes into injury time at the end of the game would be enough to secure a point and Illies must have thought that they had at least secured a share of the spoils when Paul Doherty popped up to side foot home from close range. Having led by two goals to nil, the home side would certainly have felt that a draw was at least some consolation, but they hadn’t counted on more added time and yet more drama. |
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Gleneely who had fought
back to secure what they thought was a win until that
injury time equaliser, felt aggrieved at the added time
from referee Laurence Duggan, until they discovered
there was yet more. Indeed from the kick off after the goal they broke down the left and when Thomas McKinley was upended in the box all of a sudden they found themselves with a match-winning lifeline. Ruairi Kelly stepped up to tuck away the penalty to the delight of the visiting bench, but amazingly there was time for yet more drama and Kelly had to be alert to clear a late thundering effort from Michael Jankula off the line. Jankula had started the scoring as early as the 11th minute when he powered in from a free from Alan Fletcher and that early lead was no more than the home side deserved. Before the opener Martin Donaghey had seen an effort |
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crash off the post from a
header and five minutes after the goal Kieran McDaid
powered a header wide of the target with the goal at his
mercy. It was all Illies and with Aidan Doherty and the impressive Jankula controlling the midfield it looked just a matter of time before they would add to their tally. They might have managed that in the 21st minute when Martin Mooney’s poor throw out fell straight to Dominic Coyle, but the Gleneely keeper redeemed himself with a good block as Coyle bore down on goal. Kieran McDaid fired a free straight at Mooney, Paul Doherty then forced a good save with a header from a corner and it was only after a mix-up in the home defence on the half hour mark that the visitors even got a sniff of a goal. That said it took two excellent saves from Noel McDermott to deny John McLaughlin and then Thomas McKinley and the chances gave the visitors fresh hope. When Christy McLaughlin’s header came off the post three minutes later, Gleneely looked to be finding their feet at last, but then disaster struck in the 35th minute when Barry Diver headed Paul Doherty’s ball forward over Mooney to make it 2-0 to the home side. Then the Gleneely grit kicked in and when Iarlaith and Keith McLaughlin combined on the right to set Thomas McKinley free, he made no mistake with a low shot to the bottom corner to put the visitors right back in the game. They might have been dead and buried had Mooney not managed a smart save from Eamon McDaid two minutes after the re-start, but it was by no means one way traffic in the second half and a smart turn and shot from Christy McLaughlin brought the best from Noel McDermott in the home goal in the 50th minute. Four minutes later there was nothing McDermott could though when John McLaughlin put Iarlaith McLaughlin though and he slotted home from fourteen yards to level the game. The home side almost hit back immediately but Martin Donaghey’s header from a corner was inches too high and then Aidan Doherty headed wide when he got on the end of an acrobatic overhead kick from Jankula. At the other end McDermott made a great save with his feet from a long range Christy McLaughlin free, but the home side continued to carve the clearer chances and Mooney tipped Kieran McDaid’s shot over the bar and the Fletcher saw his effort come off the woodwork in the space of a few minutes. Aidan Doherty then blasted over from close range with the goal at his mercy in the 74th minute and the visitors must have begun to sense it was their day. They didn’t managed to nose ahead with Christy Mclaughlin’s shot in the 77th minute set up by the tricky Shane Diver, but McLaughlin did blast his side ahead with a pile-driver after a strong run in the 83rd minute. Illies threw the sink at Gleneely but couldn’t muster a clear-cut chance while McDermott did well to deny Diver and McKinley as the seconds ticked away. Finally it looked as if the home side’s pressure had paid off late into injury time when Doherty prodded home, but there was drama aplenty to follow and while Gleneely celebrated their hard fought win, Illies will surely still be wondering how they let this game slip from their grasp. Illies: Noel McDermott, Jim Doherty, Sean Donaghey, Paul Doherty, Martin Donaghey, Michael Jankula, Dominic Owen Coyle, Aidan Doherty, Alan Fletcher, Kieran McDaid, Eamon McDaid. Subs: David Doherty for Coyle (63 mins); Gavin Doherty for Eamon McDaid (67 mins); Andy McLaughlin for Kieran McDaid (80 mins). Gleneely Colts: Martin Mooney, Ruairi Kelly, Eddie McNamee, Barry Diver, Daniel Nolan, Keith McLaughlin, Iarlaith McLaughlin, Christy McLaughlin, John McLaughlin, Thomas McKinley, Enda Folan. Subs: Shane Diver for Folan (Half-time); John Doherty for I McLaughlin (63 mins); Kevin Doherty for K McLaughlin (71 mins). For full coverage of all your weekend sport, read the Inishowen Independent. |
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