Cliftonville Olympic 1 Lisburn Distillery Seconds 1(HT 1-1 )
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The first half hour of this game saw Cliftonville take control of midfield, closing down quickly, giving the visitors no time on the ball, and no space to in which to use their front men. It was no surprise when the home side took the lead after 30 minutes having been on top for the opening half-hour, as well as missing a penalty, when Wilton was caught dawdling on the ball in his box, was closed down, lost the ball and fouled the forward. He then redeemed himself by making a good save from the resultant penalty. The goal though seemed to galvanise the Whites and they set off in search of an equaliser, and when a long through ball, over the back four, found Brannigan, he calmly lobbed the on-rushing keeper to send the Whites in level at half time. The second half belonged to the visitors, as they pushed forward looking for a winner, but try as they did, they could not find it, and with the Reds hanging on grimly at the end, they had to settle for a draw.
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David Wilton
Mattew Neill, Dean Youle, Jonny Magee, Mark Whitford
Andrew Dickson, James Bell, Ryan Catney, Fra Murphy
Ciaran Brannigan, Aaron Johnston
Subs: Mark Cooling, Paul Elser, Mark Patton.
Scorer: Ciaran Brannigan.
We did not really compete in the first half, but took control of the second half and could have, and probably should have, won this game.
The home side were always “in your face” and we did not match them in the first half hour, but then we woke up after we scored and took control of the game.
Mention this week not of first teamers, although they played their parts well, but of two young lads who really are beginning to look like they could go on and play a significant part in the future of this club, Jonny Magee and Matthew Neill. They both have played extremely well in the past few games. Jonny Magee, who will be sub. for the first team this weekend against Cliftonville, has already broken into the squad, and young Matthew Neill has a lot of ability and composure at right back.
David Taylor
