NAFL Premier Division
Drumaness Mills 3 Ardglass 2
IN a match that was a borderline case for being postponed due to the bad weather, both teams struggled in muddy, slippery conditions and the winner was decided in the last minute of the game by a devastatingly creative and well taken goal.
Within two minutes of the start of the game, it was Drumaness who startled the visitors to Meadowvale by opening the scoresheet with a cross from defender Paddy Grant to the head of Conor Wilson in the box giving them an early lead.
Imediately Ardglass fought back and kept the pressure on Drumaness for the next ten minutes but then it was Ardglass who were feeling the weight of the quick attacks from Drumness as the tide turned. Drumaness looked as though they were going to score again and at one stage as Paul Walsh slipped the ball through to Conor Walsh but only for the quick reflexes of Ardglass keeper Kieran Jordan, the visitors would have been tw0 down.
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Ardglass were beaten in the last minute by a well taken goal from Drumaness left winger Gavin McEvoy.[/caption]
The game went to and fro in the squalid conditions and Drumaness player Nathan Jones took a free kick from midfield and there were a few heart stopping moments as the ball whizzed past the Ardglass goalmouth a number of occasions.
But Ardglass not to be outdone were also mounting quick attacks and it was a game that could have gone either way. Ardglass strikers Ricky Kerr and Mark Feenan were doing their best to weave through the Drumaness defence. A free kick taken by forward Ardglass forward Neil Teggart saw the powerful volley fingertipped just over the bar by Drumaness keeper Stephen Keenan at full stretch for a corner.
As Ardglass clawed their way back into the game, Drumaness began to look a bit vulnerable and a good move by Matthew Rooney to Kerr saw another goal opportunity thwarted by the Drumaness keeper. The visitors were pressing for an equaliser before the half-time whistle.
Basically both defences were containing the attacks and the second half looked to be a continued battle between two fairly well matched sides.
The second half opened up with Stephen Deegan sending the ball just over the Drumaness bar during an Ardglass attack but Drumaness had decided to break quickly following these sorties on their goal. Another goal had to come following the constant assaults at the nets at both ends of the pitch. At one critical moment, Drumaness centre midfielder Sean McQuoid broke through but it was the timely tackle of Ardglass’ Ian Kearney that prevented a likely goal.
Kerr continued to make good progress getting past the Drumaness defenders and Stephen Deegan also made a number of useful breaks past the opposition, but the last few yards to the goal in the very heavy conditions were proving difficult for both sides.
Then in a Nathan Jones attack on the Ardglass goal, he was felled just outside the box by Chris Teggart playing right back for Ardglass. The resulting free kick saw the ball in the back of the Ardglass net putting Drumaness ahead by two goals. An uphill task now faced Ardglass.
But the seasiders dug deep and a volley by Mark Feenan saw Drumaness keeper Stephen Keenan at full stretch once again saving the shot.
Then in another Ardglass attack, Chris Teggart took a free kick to pull one back after an own goal as the ball deflected off a Drumaness denfender.
Drumaness continued with their attacks and at one point a great play by Gary Murdock and Sean McQuoid almost paid dividends but their quick thinking was hampered by the conditions.
Then as Ardglass continued pressure on Drumaness, Ricky Kerr took a corner on the left and it hooked low through the wall of defenders into the goal. Ardglass were now equal on 2-2 with a couple of minutes to play and were battling for the winning goal. Their tails were up.
But alas, it was not to be. Gavin McEvoy, veteran Mills’ player, kept his cool when he took possession near the Ardglass box and ran in finding space facing keeper Kieran Gordon who stepped out for a one-to-one confrontation. But that gave McEvoy the room he needed and in the last minute scored by chipping over Gordon’s head for the winning goal denying a useful point to the visitors.
***
Drumaness Mills: Stephen Keenan, Michael Savage, Paddy Grant, Brendan Ward, Gary Murdock, Paul Walsh, Gavin McEvoy, Sean McQuoid, Nathan Jones, Conor Walsh. Subs – Anton McGrattan, Paul Gilchrist and Justin Barlow. Ardglass: Kieran Gordon, Chris Teggart, Stephen Rooney, Ciaran Dorian, James Telford, Matthew Rooney, Stephen Deagan,Ian Kearney, Richard Kerr, Neil Teggart, Mark Feenan. Subs – Mark Deagan, Adam Mulhall, Christian O’Connor. ]]>
