Drumaness Mills faced a rampant Glentoran at The Oval and lost out
Clearer Water Irish Cup 6th Round,
Glentoran v Drumaness Mills,
Venue: The Oval, Belfast, Tuesday 17th February 2026,
Final Score: Glentoran FC 5 0 Drumaness Mills.
Drumaness Mills received a masterclass in soccer at The Oval when they faced Glentoran in the sixth round of the Clearer Water Irish Cup.
The Glentoran squad were up on their toes for this match and they train full-time as players which gave them a great advantage. The clinical, sharp passing and tackles and effective attacks were a constant feature throughout as they dominated the first half and parts of the second. It was difficult for the Mills to adjust to this level of play.
Glentoran’s Jordan Jenkins scored four of the five goals (24, 37, 43 and 79 minutes), Cal Weatherup scored from a penalty at the tail end of the match to make it five for the home side.
In the first half, Druamness were defending for most of the time with the back line and midfielders holding out the Glens, they were ground down and Jenkins took his first goal to start his run of goals.
An early pass from Jack Sharvin to Callum Dougan looked promising as he broke down the left but he was tackled very sharply by Michael Kamara.
The Glens kept pressing and won a free kick just outside the Drumaness box. It was struck well on target by Daniel Amos but the Mills keeper Aaron Carberry made the first of many excellent saves on the night.
Check out Down News match photos here
Jenkins first goal was a screamer from the edge of the box hit low giving the defenders no chance.
Then Drumaness mounted a quick reply and Sharvin passed to Dougan who fired a shot at the goal forcing keeper Billy Crellin to make a dive.
Drumaness gave away a corner and Eoin Murray defended well on the edge of his box.
Reece Doyle on the left wing found space to get within shooting distance of the Glentoran goal but again the defenders cleared up promptly giving the Drumaness attackers no room and no time.
Gary Murdock (Mill’s captain) made a useful header saving the ball from going dangerously close the his net as the Glens stepped up the pressure.
Again Drumaness striker Callum Dougan received a pass through in the box but was hustled off the ball. This was Drumaness’ best effort yet on 34 minutes.
But on 37 minutes Jenkins, the jinx, unleashed a volley low at the Drumaness back post to go two goals ahead. The Glens they stepped up yet again and Connolly hit on target but the ball bounced off keeper Carberry for a corner.
After a few efforts at the goal mouth, Jenkins popped in his third goal marking a turning point in the game just before half-time. It was going to be very difficult for the visitors to claw back three goals and force a fourth to win against such a strong Glentoran side.
AS the second half started, Glentoran again started off attacking and James Douglas had a shot blocked by a Mills defender. Then in another attack Doyle saved the ball from crossing the Drumaness goal line. The Glens’ meat grinder was relentless.
Check out Down News match photos here
But play for most of it was fair and hard, at a tremendous pace dictated by a disciplined side.
Sharvin made a good pass to Declan Looney who came on as a sub but again a defender was on him in a flash. Then the Glens made a break and Douglas hit a fierce strike but keeper Carberry managed to save it well… an impressive effort in the very cold conditions.
As the second half progressed, Drumaness started to look more confident and managed a few good breaks.
Then as Glentoran stepped up again, Amos almost sneaked the ball over the Drumaness goal-line.
The score actually did not reflect the quality of the Drumaness defending despite being 3 down at that point.
Glens’ captain Cameron Palmer made a neat header down to the feet of a couple of his players but Kyle McCleery defending tackled quickly to prevent another goal on the scorecard.
At this point both teams made good use of substitutes to refresh their efforts.
An attack from Looney, Sharvin and Dougan almost paid off but yet again the Glens’ defence was on the ball.
But there was no stopping Jenkins as he launched a volley across the goal to the back post claiming his fourth for the evening.
Then, in the closing stages of the match, the referee awarded a penalty to Glentoran. Weatherup stepped up to the spot and hammered the ball past Carberry to make it five goals for their evening’s work.
Drumaness manager Ciaran Brannigan summed it up in a sentence: “Glentoran were definitely up for it tonight, and to be fair, they were the better side. We did our best.”
There were a few butterflies about the match at The Oval against Glentoran, but Drumaness experienced football at its best, with sharp passing and tackles, with the Glens winning a lot of kick-outs at midfield, and they certainly used their wings well making some devastating crosses.
Jordan Jenkins spearheaded the Glentoran attacks and could have even, with a rub of the green, had a bigger tally
This was a great occasion for Drumaness Mills and many fans travelled to Belfast to enjoy the match which was one-sided, but never-the-less was fair and sportsman-like, a credit to the game.
Drumaness will benefit from this experience from playing Glentoran, and it will likely lift their game as they face NAFL Premier League sides such as Lisburn Rangers, Derriaghy CC, Abbey Villa, Comber Rec, and Crumlin Star all still eyeing the top of the league table.
Dromara too are hanging in there and are going well.
So the Mills will try and lift their game going forward in the season and get into a stronger position in the table.
Well done the Mills!
