Smyth nets double for Strangford at Dunleath

Smyth nets double for Strangford at Dunleath

10 January 2024

STRANGFORD recorded a good 3-2 victory in their league encounter against a stubborn Rossglass side at Dunleath playing fields on Saturday.

Rossglass took an early lead through skipper Ryan Lennon but Strangford levelled proceedings before the half-time whistle.

After the interval, the visitors were fired in front in prompt fashion through Thomas Fitzsimons but Rossglass dug deep to level the scoring once more until Ronán Smyth added his second goal of the afternoon for Strangford to secure all three points.

Strangford were slow to start in this contest, with Rossglass finding their groove and adjusting faster to their home pitch.

County striker Christopher Hamilton utilised his long throwing ability to cause quite a few headaches for Strangford and it was from one such set piece which allowed the deadlock to be broken.

With 13 minutes gone, Hamilton launched one of his trademark throws into the Strangford box and the ball was nodded home from close range by advancing captain Ryan Lennon to give Rossglass the lead.

The hosts, sensing opportunity, kept their foot on the pedal and in hindsight will be ruing the chances which closely followed that went begging.

Firstly, the ball broke free to Hamilton on the edge of the area and he opted first time to strike a snapshot which went the wrong side of diving Strangford ‘keeper Tommy Connery’s post.

And then, just a few minutes later, County defender Barry Mageean played a pass to team-mate Joe Farrand and continued his run from the halfway line through the Strangford defence to receive the ball once more and strike an effort on goal.

However, Mageean’s strike went agonisingly wide and the chance went amiss.

This, in turn, finally woke Strangford from their slumber and they began to go back to basics and play neat one touch football.

The away side were rewarded for their patience in the 33rd minute as a threaded pass found Ronán Smyth, who sidestepped Strangford defender Gavin Grant before slotting past ‘keeper Philip Annett.

Rossglass were dealt a further blow when influential midfielder Cormac McLaughlin was forced off the pitch due to injury after colliding with Strangford’s Eoin Watterson.

The tackle, which was a clean one, unfortunately saw McLaughlin’s foot trapped in an unorthodox fashion and although he attempted to play through the pain, his race was run.

The score remained the same until the end of the half but just four minutes into the restart Strangford had their noses in front.

This time it was Strangford who benefited from a set piece, as a dangerous corner delivery was initially saved off the Rossglass line before it was turned into the net by ‘Ford defender Thomas Fitzsimons.

Rossglass could have easily ped their heads at this point but instead they replied with a goal just two minutes later when James Cusack broke free down the left flank and made no mistake with his smart finish to equalise for his side.

Both teams continued to battle but Strangford began to take control in the middle of the pitch as Rossglass legs showed signs of tiring.

Strangford skipper Stefán McGrattan played a composed pass into the path of team-mate Smyth, who unleashed a deft dink beyond advancing County custodian Annett to make it three for the visitors.

This proved to be the winning goal but there was still some late drama as Rossglass striker Pavel Bogdan advanced down the line before being chopped down by Strangford defender Conall Magee.

Perhaps rather luckily, Magee received a yellow card when on another day he would have been heading for an early bath.

Despite this, Rossglass couldn’t take advantage of the awarded free-kick and the game eventually fizzled out.

Following the full-time whistle, Strangford goal scorer Ronán Smyth reflected on his team’s performance.

“It was a bit ropey,” he said.

“We started off slow and them boys got a quick goal so we struggled for a bit.

“But I nicked one in and we managed to kick on and eventually dominated, so I think it was a good performance.”

Rossglass: P Annett, R Lennon (capt), J Farrand, G Grant, B Mageean, P McGarry, C McLaughlin, P Bogdan, J Cusack, R Kearney, C Hamilton.

Subs: A Jennings, L Smith, E Vaughan.

Strangford: T Connery, S McGrattan (capt), C Magee, T Fitzsimons, F McFall, P Donnelly, R Smyth, E Watterson, M Shields, R Reilly, E Magee.

Subs: O Curran, M Moffett, T Redmond.