Referee busy in cup battle

Referee busy in cup battle

8 February 2017

CASTLEWELLAN had an extra-time winner from Karol Jarosinski to thank for seeing them through to the Cochrane Corry Cup semi-finals.

There were plenty of talking points at Bann Road on Saturday with four red cards, eight yellow cards, a last minute equaliser and a world class goal to ponder on.

After only two minutes Rory Burns made an excellent reflex save from close range and was called upon to deal with several testing situations. 

It was no surprise when Ballysillan went into the lead after 22 minutes when a sweeping move down the right saw a deep cross swept home at the back post by Ross Johnston. 

It was the wake up call the Town needed and from then until half-time they held the upper hand. Exchanges were getting hot and heavy with the home team refusing to be bullied by their Division 2B opponents. 

On 31 minutes Castlewellan should have been awarded a penalty when Davy Gilmore soloed his way through the Ballysillan defence only to be taken out.

From the resultant free the Town should have equalised, but three attempts on goal from close range were thwarted by a tangle of legs and the goalkeeper.

At this point it was only a matter of time until the town equalised, another free kick just outside the area saw the Swifts ‘keeper make a smart save from Jason Croskery.

Eventually, after 38 minutes, Gilmore released Colm Flanagan through the middle and his speed and strength took him past the centre half to shoot home, much to the delight of the local supporters.

In the ensuing period before half-time the referee had a tough time keeping a lid on things when several off the ball incidents threatened to derail what had been an enthralling game up to that point.

Four yellow cards were issued and everyone was just glad to catch their breath and look  forward to what promised to be more of the same.

As with the first period, Ballysillan came out on the front foot and should have gone 2-1 up early on, but their centre half headed wide when well placed. 

Castlewellan claimed for another penalty on 66 minutes when Flanagan's cross came off a defender’s hand. A penalty would have been harsh and the referee waved play on, but we've all seen them given.

The battle came to a head after 75 minutes when the Swifts left back completely lost his head and was given a straight red card for violent conduct.

Another Ballysillan player followed him for an early bath as things threatened to get out of hand again.

With six minutes left and everyone anticipating extra-time and possibly penalties, disaster struck Castlewellan when following a lightning break from defence, Swifts best player on the day Ross Johnston swivelled on a cross field ball and from the angle of the penalty area volleyed into the top corner. Incredibly, the nine men were ahead with time running out. 

Content with what they had, Ballysillan sat back and soaked up anything the home team had to offer, but with time running out Conor Stratton's goal-bound effort from close range was handled on the line, resulting in another red card and a penalty for the Town. 

Stevie Trainor stepped up to take what was a seriously pressurised spot kick.

He had to wait a couple of minutes as the referee handled all his paperwork.

Stevie wasn't put off and slammed home the award, much to Castlewellan's relief.

The first period of extra-time saw the home side with the majority of possession, but they just couldn't finish off any of the chances that came their way.

Castlewellan went for broke in the second period of extra time and got their reward in the third minute when Jarosinski slotted home a right wing cross. Shortly after this the town's Shane McCann was red-carded for retaliation after being trampled on. 

Exhilarating stuff from start to finish with Castlewellan more than happy to go through to the last four where they will meet Woodvale.