Ardglass FC faced a determined Castlewellan side in league tussle
The Newcastle and District Amateur Football League.
League Match in The Meadow, Ardglass, on Saturday 6th January 2024,
Final Score: Ardglass FC 5 3 Castlewellan FC.
Castlewellan FC started off strongly making a number of useful breaks challenging the Ardglass goal area and Barry Travers was unlucky not to score with a header down to the bottom of the net which was saved by a quick reacting James Crangle writes Jim Masson.
Ardglass looked under pressure and conceded a goal on ten minutes when a lob over Crangle’s head by Barry Travers put the visitors a goal ahead.
Ardglass eventually came back to life and started to press forward making good runs at the Castlewellan goal. Owen Curran was working hard making some great crosses from the left wing.
On 17 minutes Michael Magee hit a sizzler but it just rose a fraction over the bar.
However, Castlewellan weathered the Ardglass attacks and broke out, but Ardglass were not rolling over and kept up the pressure.
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Owen Curran made a superb cross to Shea Dorian who headed just a fraction wide. But the game could have at this stage gone either way. Both sides were in attack mode.
Then in 31 minutes Shea Dorrian clinched the equaliser taking a penalty when Magee was taken down in the Castlewellan box sinking the ball well into the right hand corner.
Soon after this Jamie McDarby put the ball through to Magee charging at the Castlewellan goal but the pass was just too deep for Magee to reach. But this demonstrated the creative thinking of the Ardglass forward line.
The Ardglass back line was holding well and making life difficult for any Castlewellan attacks.
Then Ryan McKinney made a strong burst at the Castlewellan goal area but ran out of steam in the box while under pressure from defenders, but a gutsy effort. And this was followed by another positive run from Castlewellan’s Lorcan Cairns taking on the Ardglass defence.
As the match approached half-time, Magee made a spot perfect cross to John Beattie who first timed the ball into the net putting Ardglass in the lead.
McDarby then threaded a perfect pass tp Owen Curran moving in to a strike position by the Castlewellan keeper Brian McVeigh intervened in the nick of time.
Then a a final flurry before the whistle for half-time, Castlewellan equalised when Shane McCann headed in a deflection of the head of an Ardglass defender. This must have been a wake-up call for Ardglass conceding this last minute goal before half-time.
The second half began 2-2. And both teams were determined to take the points on the day and felt that it was achievable. Inevitably the game became more physical and the flow of the first half was just a memory as the game became a series of fouls and free kicks and injuries.
Castlewellan came out as in the first half and brought the game to Ardglass. In the melees that followed Michael Magee picked up a yellow card.
Owen Curran made a strong run on the left and won a corner and eventually Corey McMahon nailed the ball into the Castlwellan net.
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Ardglass pushed forward after another squabble between the teams and Martin Halpin made a great strike but was just a fraction on the wrong side of the right hand post.
Then as the game restarted Curran again made a super cross to Magee who tried 2 shots to score but finally went wide.
As the game went to and fro, Castlewellan played the ball into the Ardglass box and after a few attempts with desperate blocks from the Ardglass defenders, Scott Kinley poked the ball in for Castlewellan bringing the match back to a draw and everything to play for.
With almost 20 minutes left to play, Ardglass dug deep and eventually in the 78th minute Ardglass centre field striker Michael Magee, who had been taken down, received the ball from the free kick by Caolan Deegan and Magee made no mistake glancing into the right hand side of the net.
Ardglass were marginally in the driving seat but this Castlwellan side were absolutely driven and could not be written off until the final whistle.
Then a short time later, as Castlewellan were breaking forward, Ardglass turned the tables as Magee surged forward and made a pass to Ryan McKinney who bolted straight for the opposition goals. As keeper McVeigh came out to narrow the angle, McKinney rounded him and slotted the ball into an undefended goal to put Ardglass 5-3 ahead.
The game ended with Ardglass winning a corner then Castlewellan winning 2 corners, and last kick of note was from Ryan Morgan who hit over the Ardglass top bar.
On a freezing cold day these two teams squared up in a titanic struggle. Ardglass came out tops in this bruising game but Castlewellan had missed a couple of shots that could have turned the game round.
It was a hard, physical slog for both teams when the players threw themselves into the game with 100% commitment.
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Ardglass FC: 1 James Crangle GK 2 Malachy Crangle 3 Corey Mahon 4 James Telford 5 Owen Curran 6 Jamie McDarby 7 Ryan McKinney 9 Michael Magee (C) 10 Shea Dorrian 11 John Beattie 15 Matthew Rooney. Subs: 8 Caolan Deegan 12 Jordan Deegans 14 Martin Halpin.
Castlewellan FC:Brian McVeigh (GK) 2 Barry Travers 3 Lorcan Cairns 4 Conall Burns 5 Shane McCann 6 Stephen Cnnolly 7 Riain Magorrian 8 Ryan Morgan 10 Sean Og Kelly 11 Sean Fitzsimmons 14 Scott Kinley. Subs: 12 Lee Morisson 13 Declan Gregory 14 Aidan Dornan.
