Newcastle and District Amateur Soccer League.
Premier Division.
Dundrum 2 Killough 6.
Prior to the game sources from both clubs suggested they were both understrength but from the first whistle Killough went on the attack and within 5 minutes went two up writes Cyril McKinney.
Killough are leaders in the Premier League and and were certainly favourites against mid-table Dundrum. In the first minute Michael Burns cut through the Dundrum defence to finish to the bottom corner, and before Dundrum could recover Ross Armstrong finished off a cross from the left with a clinical finish. Dundrum then started to get their game together and on 9 minutes had their first attempt on goal as Aaron McKibben fired a long range effort high and wide.
Killough chased and harried their opponents and gave them no time on the ball while at the back Stranney and Groves were first to the ball and snuffed out what Dundrum had to offer.
On 20 minutes following an injury sustained in a tackle the Dundrum playmaker Marty Melville left the field to be replaced by Brendan Cunningham. The Dundrum keeper Andrew Smyth was impressive on 23 minutes with a full length save low down to his right pushing a Michael Burns pile driver round the post. A minute later
with Killough continuing to press forward Armstrong was upended on the edge of the Dundrum box.
From the resulting free Killough went three up when Chis Fryer followed up on a Michael Burns free which the keeper could only parry and finished calmly to the Dundrum net. Killough then went 4-0 up on 31 minutes as Corey Ranaghan shot in from the left flank which was deflected to the net off a Dundrum defender.
With Killough’s Graham and Burns bossing the midfield battle Dundrum found it difficult to get their passing game together and were forced into a second substitution through injury following a hefty tackle on 36 minutes as Aaron McKibben was upended by Killough’s Graham. McKibben was carried off to be replaced by Michael McGrattan.
Dundrum kept trying to press forward and in the last 5 minutes of the half forced a corner and had their first shot on target easily saved by the Killough keeper on the stroke of halftime.
Dundrum came out positive at the start of the second half and quickly had the Killough keeper scrambling to make a save. However, on 50 minutes Killough went 5-0 up when Jamie O’Connor chased down a back pass to the Dundrum and forced the keeper into a mistake and calmly rolled the ball into an empty net.
With the result seemingly safe Killough made their first change on 51 minutes with young Declan Burns replacing Rory Sharvin. As Killough seemed to settle for what they had Dundrum to their credit got their passing game together through McGrattan and Mulholland and pressed forward but were nearly caught again at the back as Declan Burns cracked a long range shot against the post with the Dundrum keeper stranded.
Dundrum were rewarded on 66 minutes as Chris Mulholland engineered an opening to fire past Holland in the Killough nets. At this stage Dundrum enjoyed a lot of possession but found it difficult to break down the Killough backline where Stephen Black was busy and Liam Graham who seemed to cover every blade of grass with a Man of the Match performance.
The Killough keeper had to be alert to save from a free just outside the box and from the resulting clearance up field O’Connor fired just wide from a great left wing cross from Declan Burns. O’Connor was injured in the process and had to be replaced by Marty Murphy.
Dundrum continued to try and break down the Killough rear guard with Glaven failing to connect with a spectacular overhead kick but as time went by Dundrum tried their luck from distance without much luck.
As the game entered the last 5 minutes a Killough run and cross down the left wing from Curtis Ward ended with the ball at the feet of Murphy just inside the box and he made no mistake from 15 yards to make it 6-1.
Dundrum finished the match on the offensive and were rewarded with a great goal from Kyle Glaven who turned his marker and slotted home from the edge of the box.
Overall this was a disappointing result for Dundrum but losing two key players in the first half through injuries did not help while Killough were largely dominant throughout with every single player playing their part. They chased and harried the opposition on every occasion and never let Dundrum settle on the ball and get their passing game going.
Dundrum: Andrew Smyth, Anthony McMullan, Shaun Keenan, Paddy Cunningham, Miceal Robb, Chris Hogg, Aaron McKibben, Marty Melville, Chris Mulholland, Kyle Glaven, Darragh Hamilton. Subs:Brendan Cunningham, Michael McGratten and Gavin McNerlin
Killough: Marty Holland, Stephen Black, Chris Fryer, Michael Burns, Colm Stranney, Kevin Groves, Liam Graham, Jamie O’Connor, Ross Armstrong, Rory Sharvin, Corey Ranaghan. Subs: Curtis Ward, Declan Burns and Martin Murphy
