Comber defeat Star in Christmas final

Comber defeat Star in Christmas final

3 January 2024

COMBER Rec made it a Christmas Day to remember as they secured the Steel and Sons Cup for only the second time in the club’s history following a pulsating 3-2 extra-time victory over Crumlin Star.

Comber’s Simon Hanna put on a captain’s performance which saw him not only notch the winning goal, but land the man of the match award as an added present on a day that will live long in the memory of his hometown at the Seaview ground.

There were inspiring performances throughout the pitch for Comber, with the Wilson brothers – Dylan and Elliot – both also finding themselves on the scoresheet.

But, this result seemed nothing more than a pipe dream when the teams entered the break following the conclusion of the opening 45 minutes.

Crumlin Star were fantastic, Comber were not.

The Star, who have yet to add the Steel and Sons Cup to their growing trophy cabinet, came firing out of the blocks and were immediately impressive.

Stephen Smyth broke the deadlock after 35 minutes, nestling his right-footed strike into the corner to make no mistake with his chance which was set up by team-mate Dylan Fearon, who was causing Comber an almighty headache.

Comber looked disorganised and at times in disarray, but the half-time whistle blew and manager Gareth McKeown was thankful to take the opportunity to introduce fresh faces.

This reshuffle allowed Comber to find their groove and they began playing the attractive football which had gotten them to this stage.

Pressing desperately for the equaliser, Comber were denied by near misses and Crumlin clung on as the clock ticked down.

However, with 87 minutes played, Dylan Wilson reacted first to a save from Star ‘keeper Ciaran McNeill and cut inside before dispatching his effort low into the corner to equalise and send the contest to extra-time.

Comber gained the advantage for the first time in the match six minutes into extra-time when Elliot Wilson controlled an inviting free-kick delivery on his chest, before swivelling and slotting into the net.

The jubilant scenes of Comber celebrations were, on this occasion, short-lived as less than five minutes later Crumlin evened the scoring through an Aidan McNeill free-kick.

The Crumlin number three sent a dangerous ball into the Comber box which evaded both sets of players to nestle into the net and bring the curtain down on the first half of extra-time action.

With both teams hoping to avoid a penalty shoot-out, tensions were high as the game rested on a knife edge and one mistake could prove decisive.

That mistake came from Crumlin as Comber’s Kristopher Gaw launched a pass upfield and Star ‘keeper McNeill was forced to head clear from outside his box after colliding with his defender.

However, this clearance landed at the feet of Comber skipper Simon Hanna, who kept his cool and looped his shot into the empty net.

Crumlin desperately searched for an equaliser but Corey Pollock in the Comber goals refused to be beaten.

In fact, it was Comber who came closest to scoring again but they were denied by the top of the crossbar.

Nevertheless, Comber held on and shut up shop as the final whistle sounded to spark pandemonium from the travelling faithful who opted to spend their Christmas morning cheering on their hometown heroes.

Following the conclusion, Comber manager McKeown reflected on his team’s historic achievement.

“It’s mind-blowing,” he said. 

“This means the world to Comber. This is one of the biggest achievements in Amateur League football so we’re over the moon. 

“It still hasn’t sunk in. It feels as if I played the match.”

“Crumlin Star are a great side, there’s no doubt about it,” he continued. 

“They’re hard to break down, they’ve experience, but I just thought their energy levels slipped a bit and we kicked on.”

McKeown also reflected on his management tactics when things weren’t going to plan inside the opening 90 minutes.

“I had to have words with the players at half-time,” he said.

“We made two changes and, to be fair, they worked. The two subs that came on changed the game. These things happen. You can’t play well every week and unfortunately two players had to come off.”

Crumlin Star: C McNeill, B O’Neill, A McNeill, N Hawkins, A Lillis, J McNeill, N Halfpenny, C McLaughlin, K Lynch, D Fearon, S Smyth.

Subs: K Trainor, B McKervey, S McBurney, F Nolan, J Doyle.

Comber Rec: C Pollock, C Gillan, L Walker, S Moore, R Whittle, K Gaw, D Wilson, Simon Hanna (capt), B Conville, H Grierson, E Wilson.

Subs: Stuart Hanna, S Fleck, A Laird, M Gibson, B Nelson.

Referee: A Woodside.