Forest dominate second half and produce four goals to topple Downpatrick
The Newcastle and District Amateur Football League,
The Bobby Dalzell Cup Final,
Venue: Robert Adams Park: 26 12 25,
Final Score: Castlewellan Forest 4 Downpatrick 0.
Christmas came a day late for Castlewellan Forest as they beat Downpatrick to claim the Bobby Dalzell Cup at Robert Adams Park on Boxing Day.
While there was not much to write home about in the first half, with the two sides locked together at the break with no score, Castlewellan Forest made the second half their own.
Goals from Sean Fitzsimmons, man of the match Ryan Morgan, substitute Colm Flanagan and Thomas Beckett proved to be the difference for the Forest, who secured the first silverware of the season in style.
The eventual champions showed their intent from the off, embarking on their first attack from kick-off, but Fitzsimmons fired wide of the mark and Beckett’s effort was stopped by a heroic Connor Campbell block.
Similarly, Downpatrick had early chances to gain the upper hand, with Tony Carson volleying over and Josh Montgomery’s shot blocked on the line.
However, as the first period developed, the opportunities dried up and chances came at a premium, culminating in deadlock at the change of ends.
The second 45 minutes offered a complete contrast in terms of the action, albeit one-sided, as Castlewellan stamped their authority on the game.
(See Action MATCH PHOTOS from Down News Facebook)
They opened their account in the 58th minute, when a counter-attack ended with Sean Fitzsimmons striding away from his man, cutting inside and firing past goalkeeper Ruairi Murphy.
A mere four minutes would pass before the Forest doubled their advantage, with Morgan completing a fine team move courtesy of an unstoppable strike.
Downpatrick, appearing to be out of ideas by that point, suffered a killer blow when Murphy misjudged the flight of the ball and Campbell’s goal-line clearance failed to stop Flanagan from applying the finishing touch.
The result may have already been beyond all doubt at 3-0, but there was still time for the Castlewellan men to put the icing on the cake ahead of the celebrations.
In the 90th minute, the ball dropped kindly, at the edge of the box for Beckett, who took one touch to set himself and arrowed into the top corner.
(See Action MATCH PHOTOS from Down News Facebook)
The victory marks a historic day for the Forest, as they became the first seconds’ team to win both Harry Clarke and Bobby Dalzell Cup honours, and manager Jack Murnin was full of praise for his players.
JACK said: “I could not be happier with this team. The boys were unbelievable today and I thought they would have been a wee bit nervous, but we dominated and I couldn’t ask for more,” he said.
“We just need to kick on in the second half of the season. It’s great to be the first seconds’ team to win the Harry Clarke and Bobby Dalzell, and I wouldn’t mind doing it in one season.”
(See Action MATCH PHOTOS from Down News Facebook).
Castlewellan Forest: 1 Cormac Watson (GK) 2 Barry Travers 3 Ciarnan Stratton 4 Conall Burns (C) 5 Shane McCann 6 Matthew Carvill 7 Callum McKibbin 8 Thomas Beckett 9 Scott Kinley 10 Ryan Morgan 11 Sean Fitzsimmons. Subs: 12 Shane Kearney 13 Declan Gregory 14 Eoin Travers 15 Aidan Dornan 16 Colm Flanaghan.
Downpatrick: FC: 1 Ruairi Murphy (GK) 2 Shea Holland 3 Morgan Fitzpatrick 4 Ben Hynds 5 Connor Campbell 6 Aaron Carberry 7 Nathan McAllister 8 Josh Montgomery (C) 9 Anthony Carson 10 Barry Treacy 11 Morgan McCoubrey. Subs: 12 Harry McCarthy 13 Taylor Beattie 14 Ronan Cope 15 Conor Moore.
