Celtic Bhoys are through to the Irish Shield next round after beating Ahoghill Thistle
Irish Shield Round 2,
Venue: 3G pitch, Ballyhornan: 12 10 24,
Final Score: Celtic Bhoys 5 2. Ahoghill Thistle.
The game started of with windy conditions with a clear sky for the Irish Cup Round 2 clash between Celtic Bhoys and Ahoghill Thistle. It was the visitors who took the initiative early and ploughed into the Celtic half writes Jim Masson.
The Ahoghill midfielder Andrew Campbell nearly managed to clip the ball into the Celtic net past keeper Nathan Curran inside 2 minutes who was fully alert and blocked the shot avoiding an early upset.
Then Campbell hit a solid drive but it flew over the top bar again letting Celtic off the hook. Conditions were certainly gusty and a ball in the air was at the mercy of the wind.
And then Thistle’s Calum Douglas passed to Adam Walker whose volley sailed high.
However, after the first ten minutes, the Celtic defence held them well and the attacks died off to sporadic challenges at the Celtic goal. The home side went up a gear having been careful not to concede an early soft goal.
Then after the first 15 minutes Celtic pressed forward with attacks and soon put the Thistle goal under siege with a great volley from Sean Ferris but the keeper made an excellent save.
Ferris’ hat-trick put the coffin nails on this match and on any hope Thistle for getting to the next round.
A minute later Conor Doherty nailed the ball into the Thistle net from a 40-yard free kick giving Celtic an early lead and a comfort zone to relax and get to work.
Celtic upped their game and harried Thistle then a long pass to Sean Ferris on 20 minutes saw him slip past the offside trap and sprint forward to get his toe to the ball and round the keeper to slot in for Celtic’s second goal.
Sean Ferris was on fire and battling the difficult wind conditions. He made an excellent volley on target while under pressure from 2 defenders which the keeper managed to save.
Then on 25 minutes Celtic were breaking forward again and Craig Millar sent through a great pass to Ferris who again worked round the keeper to hammer in to the Thistle net.
Thistle were playing into the wind but were being overrun by the Celtic tornado.
And again the rampant Celtic saw Eamon Gargan break forward to round the keeper and pop the ball in for Celtic’s fourth goal. The home side were playing well as a team and seemed to be enjoying their good run.
Then a big black cloud came over Ballyhornan and a very strong wind picked up and the air was filled with heavy rain and pounding sleet and the temperature dropped.
Thistle then made a charge at the Celtic goal and Calum Douglas just missed a short header across the front of the goal. Friutration then reared its ugly head and after an altercation, Thistle’s Campbell received a yellow, but Celtic’s Jordan Curran came off worst and received a straight red… Celtic were down to 10 players just before the whistle to end the first half.
When the second period commenced, Ferris was quick into action again and launched a volley at the Thistle goal from the right but it was inches wide.
Despite playing into the wind, Celtic kept up the pressure on Thistle ensuring the ball stayed in the visitors half for as much as possible.
The game did get a but techy and Jay Gibney picked up o a yellow card for a rough tackle on a Thistle defender.
Ferris was then taken down and a crafty, creative move from the free kick saw Douglas round the defence and almost head into the Thistle net. Thistle were not a threat into the second half for Celtic and the home side had a comfortable four goal lead.
Then from a Conor Doherty initiative he almost managed to head a goal in but was beaten by the pace of the ball in the wind. The opportunities were still coming for Celtic.
And a free kick on target by Ferris from over 30-yards saw the Thistle keeper make a great save.
Thistle must have been demoralised as the constant pressure from Celtic but their forward Adam Walker did manage a good break and went close to the Celtic goal, but Nathan Curran came out narrowing his angle and managed to block the shot well.
On 78 minutes Thistle pulled back a goal when Walker nodded the ball in to the Celtic net.
And as the game was in extra time Sean Ferris claimed his hat-trick, but on the whistle Thistle pulled back another goal from an Adam Walker effort.
It was a tough match is difficult weather conditions but Celtic Bhoys were clearly best side on the day having the lion’s share of the action but Ahoghill Thistle did give them a few scares along the way.
Celtic Bhoys are now through to Round 3 of the Irish Shield.
Celtic Bhoys: 1 Nathan Curran (GK) 2 Shaun Megahey, 3 Eamon Gargan 4 Blain Connolly 5 Peter Turley 6 Jordan Curran 7 Craig Millar 8 Conor Doherty 9 Sean Ferris 10 Jay Gibney 11 Subs: 12 Patrick Ferris 14 n/a 16 Jamie O’Connor.
