Comber Rec wear down Aquinas FC in Clarence Cup semi-final
The NAFL,
Clarence Cup semi-final,
Venue: Robert Adams Park, Crossgar, on 17 4 2025,
Final Score: Aquinas FC 0 2 Comber.
All roads led to the Robert Adams Park on Thursday evening as the long-awaited, semi-final of the Clarence Cup was set to take place.
Comber Rec had battled their way through the fixtures and are having a good season among the leaders of the NAFL Premier League, but cup semi-finals can be unpredictable at the best of times.
(Photos by Jim Masson/DownNews©).
Although Aquinas are topping the Division 1B table and will be promoted to IA, Comber are lying in 5th spot behind Crumlin Star who are also to play against Rosario in the other Clarence Cup semi-final. As there is a lot of drama left in this competition yet to play out as the soccer season hurtles to a close in a few weeks.
Comber were quick to press forward against Aquinas as the whistle blew. In the opening minutes Lex Walker headed down to the feet of striker Brett Conville who almost converted.
Then captain Simon Hanna made a good pass to Dylan Donaldson in the box who grafted throughout the match.
Hanna then volleyed hard from outside the box and was just wide and again Donaldson too hit a shot from 40 yards that also went wide.
For the first 20 minutes Comber keeper Corey Pollock was relatively untested which reflected the state of play. Comber were pressing constantly giving Aquinas little wriggle room.
Dylan Wilson also made a good header down to Donaldson but the defenders scrambled to clear in just in time.
On 24 minutes Kristopher Gaw cracked a solid low shot from just outside the box and keeper Jack McCrea did extra well to stop it from going into his nets.
At one stage Gaw, Conville, Dylan and Elliot Wilson were involved in a powerful assault on the Aquinas goal but again Aquinas survived.
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Then finally the Aquinas dam burst and Gaw hammered in a brilliant strike low from the edge of the box past keeper McCrea to open the scoring for Comber Rec in the 36 minute settling their frustrations after many goal attempts.
Aquinas were stung by the goal and fought back immediately and Patrick Lowe got through in the box and just managed to fire into the side net but had an opportunity to quickly equalise.
The first half flowed fairly well but the second period started off with good intentions then a few injuries and bad tackles disjointed play in the first 20 minutes as Comber tried to keep up the pressure, but Aquinas were fighting back.
A quick move from Stephen Fleck to Dylan Wilson to Dylan Donaldson almost paid off.
Elliot Wilson made a lovely short chip to Conville who was quickly smothered by defenders but it demonstrated Comber’s creativity. And this delicate style was seen again with a flick from Gaw to Conville who chipped to Donaldson who shot inches wide.
Comber were finding Aquinas tricky to deal with despite their apparent dominance. Aquinas have played well as a team this season and were quite battle-hardened.
At one stage Elliot Wilson hit a high header which came down to the top bar and was just held out by keeper McCrea around the 30 minute mark.
But Aquinas stepped up to the plate and had a strong spell making several good attacks almost scoring an equaliser.
Comber sub Sam Moore made a neat pass to Elliot Wilson who just went wide of the left hand post.And Dylan Wilson playing a more midfield role, shot a volley just over the Aquinas top bar.
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But the match had become somewhat disjointed, however, it settled down again with good control from referee Mervyn Smyth and the teams got on with it.
Again Gaw almost managed to run through the defence and hit at a clear goal but was foiled in the last stages.
Comber sun Paul Lowry made an excellent pass to. Dylan Wilson but McCrea rushed out to grab the ball first.
Finally, after many near misses and challenges to the Aquinas goal, Elliot Wilson burst through on the left hand side of the box and rifled a shot at the goal. The ball ricocheted out and Dylan Thompson was there in front of goal to knock in putting the match beyond Aquinas in the 90th minute.
At the matched played in extra time, Simon Hanna managed to get to shots at the Aquinas goal but went wide on both occasions.
The strategic substitutions of Sam Moore for Stuart Moore, Paul Lowry for Brett Conville, and Dylan Thompson for Dylan Donaldson managed to refresh the Comber Rec attacks with Thomson actually scoring a vital goal.
Elliot Wilson played his part and had ground his way through the whole game relentlessly from the first whistle testing the defence and making a number of great crosses.
This was a strong performance by Comber Rec against Aquinas who defended well, had a few opportunities up front, but could do little to stem the constant Comber attacks.
Comber looked confident and coordinated and they will be counting the number of goal opportunities they missed. Their midfield of Stuart Moore, Matthew Gibson, Kris Gaw and Simon Hanna worked well controlling much of the game.
Whoever they play in the final of the Clarence Cup, they will have to convert attacks to goals and this match was certainly hard work for them ensured by a dogged defence but was a clear win never-the-less for a very determined, dynamic and ambitious side.
Roll on the final!
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Aquinas FC: 1 Jack McCrea (GK) 2 Matthew Keenan 3 Eamon Black 4 Mark Boylan 5 Mark Cummings (C) 6 Simon Ramsey 7 Patrick Lowe 8 Chris McCauley 9 Martin Ramsey 10 Dominic Mooney 11 Darragh Doherty. Subs: 12 Jack Kelly 14 Charlie Mickleburgh 15 Matthew Gavan.
Comber Rec: 1 Corey Pollock (GK) 2 Stephen Fleck 3 Lex Walker 4 Stuart Moore 5 Matthew Gibson 6 Kristopher Gaw 7 Dylan Wilson 8 Simon Hanna (C) 9 Brett Conville 10 Dylan Donaldson 11 Elliot Wilson. Subs: 12 Dylan Thompson 14 Sam Moore 15 Paul Lowry.
