Pay Back Time For Killough Against Kilkeel

Killough  3  Kilkeel  1 AFTER their 3-0 drubbing by Kilkeel last week, Killough faced them again at home in Millfield. But this time, they were a different outfut, one determined to shake off the defeat as a blip on their battle to take the leadership of the Premier division. This afternoon the were ahead on goals but Ballyvange stil had two games in hand thus making the league title a hotly contested item. Kilkeel lying third were no pushovers, but today Killough showed they had that extra something in their tank and were the worthy winners. The match began with Killough playing a 4-4-2 system and coming out of the blocks from the start giving the visitors no comfort for the next 90 minutes. It was a steady and relentless grind by Killough who were hungry for the win. It took Killough just 2 minutes to create their first chance at the Kilkeel goal when Conor Doyle broke down the left and made an excellent cross to Philip Gelston in the box only to be denied by Kilkeel keeper John Sloan. [caption id="attachment_19321" align="alignleft" width="280" caption="Philip Gelston scores comfortably against Kilkeel."][/caption] Kilkeel made a number of probing attacks on the Killough defence and looked comfortable in midfield for a spell as they fed balls to their forwards. On the 8th minute Gelston again was hovering in front of goal looking for the opener but again was denied by the keeper. Killough pressure was mounting, and a fired up Gelston made a shot from the edge of the penalty box but it was just over the bar. But the Killough pressure paid off and it was Aaron Hutchison who nailed the ball to the back of the Kilkeel net after getting a break with the ball and running through the defenders to score in style. A minute later a peach of a cross from Freddie O’Connor almost gave Killough another goal but Gelston just miscued the finishing shot under pressure from the Kilkeel defenders. Kilkeel looked the lesser of the two sides as Killough dominated the attacking play. The Killough midfield was excellent throughout the match and the rock Colm Stranney showed Kilkeel that the result last Saturday was not to be repeated in this match. There were a number of piercing attacks down the right wings from O’Connor and Conor Doyle causing the Kilkeel defenders no end of problems. [caption id="attachment_19322" align="alignright" width="300" caption="Conor Doyle in action for Killough against Kilkeel making a run down the left wing."][/caption] Had they pursued a similar tactic Killough may have found their opposition harder to deal with instead of the straight attacks down the middle. But the Kilkeel defence were stubborn and any Killough goal was going to be hard earned. One strong scoring chance for Kilkeel came in the 32nd minute when David McMurray broke through the Killough defence and keeper Chris Mallon just managed to block the blast to try and equalise the match. But as the first half was almost over, Gelston coffin-nailed Kilkeel with a goal showing his well-known scoring ability when he received a long ball from Conor Doyle put through the middle and made sure of number two goal from 20 feet. The second half began began again with Killough taking the reins and the first of a number of opportunities arose when Tony McIlhone made a great cross to the Killough forwards lurking in the  Kilkeel box. It took just 8 minutes into the second period when Killough scored as a shot bounced off the keeper Sloan and Gelston pounced to make it 3-0. Soon after Kilkeel came back with a goal to save face when Cairon O’Hare  first timed from 20 yards into the Killough goal. Kilkeel were fired up in their challenge but it soon petered out again leaving Killough on the ascendency. Killough, like the first half, had a number of scoring chances but did not covert them to goals such as the free kick taken by McIlhone which just missed the top left corner of the Kilkeel goal. [caption id="attachment_19326" align="alignleft" width="300" caption="Conor Doyle in action for Killough against Kilkeel making a run down the left wing."][/caption] Scorers Philip Gelston and Aaron Hutchinson kept up the scoring pressure in the Killough attack in the centre and O’Connor on the right wing and McMurray on the left proved a real handful fro the Killough defence right to the whistle.  With 10 minutes to go Christian Laverty and Aidan Sharvin came on as subs replacing Conor Doyle and Kevin Groves refreshing the forward and midfield. And with minutes to go, Kilkeel tried to make a comeback and O’Hare  launched a terrific strike at the Kilkeel goal but it was just wide of the post. Killough looked a confident side determined to shake off  the defeat last week and continue their bid to be league champions. They were in control and Kilkeel were never a serious threat. Killough: Chris Mallon, Kieran Sharvin, Matthew Burns, Kevin Groves, Colm Stranney, Damien Sharvin, Tony McIhone, Freddie O’Connor, Philip Gelston, Aaron Hutchison, Conor Doyle. subs: Christian Laverty, Stephen Black, Aidan Sharvin. Kilkeel: John Sloan, Alan McKee, Barry Graham, Johnny Crutchley, Garry McKee, Graham Blue, David McMurray, Kenny Graham, Gareth Graham, Ciaron O’Hare, Ryan McMurray. Subs: Gareth Hanna, Andrew McDonnell.]]>