Castlewellan are too hot for Swifts

Castlewellan are too hot for Swifts

17 December 2014

HOLDERS Castlewellan side put an end to Ardglass Swifts’ brave run in the Bobby Dalzell Cup at Assumption Grammar School, Ballynahinch on Monday night.

Victory in a feisty affair came at a price as Nial Toner was red-carded and he will now miss the final — his fiancee won’t mind as the couple are due to be married three days later.

Things didn’t start that well for a Castlewellan side who are bidding to win the competition for an unprecedented fifth year in a row.

Rory Burns didn’t play because it was felt the 4G surface would not be good for his knees and in stepped left back Donal McKibbin.

Ardglass started with a blazing fire in their belly and the giant-killers took an early lead when Chris Armstrong headed in from a corner. Sean Paul Halpin went close to giving Ardglass a 2-0 lead, but he shot wide.

Ardglass were calling the shots and Daniel Maginn also went close after enterprising play from Karl O’Neill and Michael Harte.

Castlewellan took a while to get into their stride, but once they did, they applied serious pressure with Luke and Nial Toner leading the charge from midfield.

Something had to give and with 20 minutes gone Daniel Morgan got on the end of a Conall Corrigan cross and headed past Stephen Moore to make it 1-1.

This was a big jolt to Ardglass’ system and Castlewellan forged ahead through an own goal. Ardglass were now chasing the game and an experienced Town side simply picked them off at will.

John Clarke made it 3-1 with a well-worked goal and a Morgan penalty before the break had the Town 4-1 up and coasting.

The second half turned out to be a dour affair with both sides going through the motions at times. Castlewellan remained the more dangerous in attack and Nial Toner got on the scoresheet with a somewhat fortuitous finish that beat Stephen Moore all ends up.

Castlewellan continued to hold sway with Sean Russell and Luke Toner getting through a mountain of work and Liam McKibbin providing the pace and creativity up front.

There was no stopping the Town and Stephen Tierney added a sixth in the 80th minute as Ardglass seemed to stand still. The persistent Daniel Maginn scored a second goal for Ardglass in the 85th minute.

The game ended on a sour note as Ardglass’ Barry Kearney was red carded just before Nial Toner saw red.

John Burns, a member of the Castlewellan management team, was more than happy with his side’s performance at the final whistle.

“We did what we had to. Ardglass certainly put it up to us, but we knew they would. Losing Nial for the final is a bit of a blow, but we have a large squad to choose from.

“Mourne Rovers will present us with a different set of problems in the final.

They have a strong back bone right down the middle of their team, but we will use the open spaces of Meadowvale to our advantage.

“We are well used to playing in finals now and we will let the opposition worry about us rather than us worrying about them. If we play to our 

potential then I see no reason why we can’t make it five in a row.”

Castlewellan: D. McKibbin, B. Travers, C. Corrigan, C. Stratton, J. Clarke, S. Russell, L. Toner, N. Toner, L. McKibbin, D. Morgan, A. Burns. Subs: D. Steele, S. Trainor, S. Tierney.

Ardglass: S. Moore, D. Armstrong, C. O’Connor, R. O’Connor, B. Kearney, K. O’Neill, S. P. Halpin, C. Armstrong, D. Maginn, M. Harte, D. Murphy. Subs: R. Crangle, H. McConkey, M. Clarke.

Castlewellan 6

Ardglass Swifts 2

BOBBY DALZELL CUP SEMI-FINAL