Match report and images (reproduced with permission and thanks) Copyright Lisburn Distillery.net, Terence Mann, David Hunter and Jonathan Irwin

Match Report from Terence Mann

"Four-midable Whites" was a popular headline after Lisburn Distillery started their Carnegie Premier League campaign in style, running out 4-1 winners against Coleraine thanks to a brace each from Andrew Waterworth and Gary Browne.

It was an impressive performance and after Jody Toland had an early chance for the visitors, the ball ran away from him after he had broken through, the Whites applied all the pressure. Mark Cooling and Gary Browne both had efforts before skipper Wayne Buchanan sent a header past Davy O'Hare which crashed back out of the crossbar on 23 minutes.

Coleraine were being stretched and on 30 minutes the Whites took the lead thanks to a super finish from Waterworth.The ball was knocked in behind the Bannsiders defence and the number nine blasted the ball past O'Hare to give his side a deserved lead. At this stage there was only one team in it but then, out of the blue, Coleraine equalised.Stephen Carson got a cross in from the left and Trevor Hutchinson slid in to put the ball into the net.That gave the home side a lift in the fortieth minute and they finished the half strongly.

Seven minutes after the break the Whites took the lead again - Waterworth was sent crashing to the ground as he was actually going away from goal and Browne confidently sent the spot kick into the corner as O'Hare went in the opposite direction. Two-one up and a good platform to build from, but David Patton then put the ball wide at Matthews near post (60 mins) and McCallion fired wide (64 mins) for Coleraine before the Whites netted their third and never looked back.Substitute Julian Ward broke down the right and his low-cross was superbly finished off by Browne who smashed the ball on the volley, into the net, from eight yards out.

That was that on seventy minutes and it looked to have killed off the home side, but the Whites had other ideas and weren't content to stop there. On seventy-seven minutes John Neill headed a Buchanan header off the line at the near post before Waterworth netted the goal of the game on 82 minutes. He broke down the left, defender Kyle McVey in his wake, before cutting inside to bury the ball into the top of the net to round off an excellent league start for the Whites.

There is a long road ahead, the Whites however sit proudly on top of the league tonight.Incidentally, the Whites last won here 4-1 towards the start of the 2002-2003 season, that season they finished third - that would probably be acceptable at the end of this season but maybe not if performances like this are the order of the day!

Coleraine - O'Hare, Clanachan (Watt 86), Cassidy, McLaughlin, McVey, Neill (Anderson 78), Hutchinson, D. Patton, Tolan (Whitehead 86), McCallion, Carson. Subs not used: Gaston, Heneghan

Lisburn Distillery - Matthews, McMenamin (Thompson 60), Ferguson, Ryan McCann, Buchanan, Muir, Kilmartin (Ward 76), Peter McCann, Waterworth (Armour 84), Browne, Cooling. Subs not used - Magee, Allen.

Referee: Alan Black (Antrim)

Images strictly copyright - David Hunter and Jonathan Irwin

Official Club and First Team Sponsor of Lisburn Distillery

Match report and images (reproduced with permission and thanks) Copyright Lisburn Distillery.net, Edward White, Jonathan Irwin and David Hunter

Match Report from Edward White

The Muir the merrier was doubtless the feeling on the minds of the Lisburn Distillery support on Saturday as defender Paul Muir was on hand again to score the winning goal and in doing so keep up the Whites 100% start to the new league season.

This game had started off as a clash between first and second placed in the table and based on the level of play in the opening forty-five minutes it was the team who entered the game on top of the league who seemed set to retain their lofty league position. Lisburn Distillery dominated the opening forty-five minutes from the off and had their first clear cut chance after twelve minutes when, following a Newry corner, a quick break allowed Andy Waterworth to use his pace to outstrip the visitors defence but then, just as he was about to pull the trigger, one of the Newry defenders who had rushed back was able to get a touch on the ball and the end result was that the shot was deflected onto the side of the post instead of going in.

Lisburn Distillery were well in control by this time but Newry were almost allowed a chance when keeper Phil Matthews made a dreadful throw-out and had to rely on Michael Ferguson to clear up the resulting threat. On 28 minutes a minor melee developed in the centre of the pitch when Richard Clarke received a blow to the head whenever both he and Andy Kilmartin jumped for the ball. The Newry players felt Kilmartin had acted outside of the law by using his elbow and the resultant melee saw a lot of players involved but thankfully no major talking points resulted. The Whites' next chance fell to Andrew Waterworth on 30 minutes, with the hard working striker seeing his effort parried away by visiting goalkeeper, Robert Robinson. Lisburn Distillery were the team on the up at this time but didn't have anything to show for their efforts but this was to change a couple of minutes later when a through ball from Kilmartin sent Waterworth clear, a Newry defender clipped his heels, not once but twice, and the referee gave a free kick out wide on the edge of the box.

Up stepped Gary Browne, his inch perfect cross was met by an unstoppable Paul Muir header to put the Whites 1-0 up. This was big Paul's third goal of the season, all three of them coming from powerful headers and hopefully we will see this continue as the season develops. Just as half time approached former Whiteman James "Bo" Willis went down after a fifty-fifty challenge and the big striker appeared to pick up a major knee injury - as a result he was stretchered off just before the break.

The second half saw Newry play with much more urgency as they tried to get back into the game but with Willis missing up front, their attacks seemed to lack that cutting edge. They did however have a clear chance on 72 minutes when the ball broke loose to Steven Ferguson but he somehow managed to screw his shot wide of the target. Just before that Peter McCann should really have sealed the game for the home side missing a good chance from 12 yards out following some good work on the wing from Ferguson. Nathan McConell then almost had an early impact when, minutes after coming on as sub, he jinked well into the box and unleashed a decent strike only to see it turned aside by the visiting keeper.

And so the Whites held on to win 1-0 with a double bonus being that this was only their second clean sheet against senior opposition this season which can only build confidence in the defence. Six points then from two games and although results elsewhere saw Lisburn Distillery slip to second place in the table it is still a very impressive start to the new league campaign

Lisburn Distillery - Matthews, Thompson, Buchanan, Muir, M.Ferguson, P.McCann, R.McCann, Kilmartin, Cooling (Ward 63), Waterworth, Browne (McConnell 83). Subs not used - McMenamin, Dixon, Allen

Newry City - Robinson, Hudson, E.Friars, Curran, McDonnell, Clarke, Donegan, S.Ferguson (Anderson 76), Willis (Garrett 45), S.Friars (Prigent 84), King. Subs not used - Keegan, Smith

Official Club and First Team Sponsor of Lisburn Distillery

Match report and images (reproduced with permission and thanks) Copyright Lisburn Distillery.net, Terence Mann, David Hunter and Jonathan Irwin

Match Report from Terence Mann

Don't be misled, the headline after today's round of Carnegie Premier League games was a simple one - "Whites go top" - and to do that they had to come back from 2-1 down against a battling Glenavon side that was three minutes away from a draw, before Julian Ward fired home the winner.

The game eventually came to life when the Whites took the lead on 36 minutes. Peter McCann broke down the left past Adrian Harper, Paul Rice came out to block but the ball came back out to Gary Browne who then went round the keeper.With two defenders between him and the goal he laid a simple pass across the area and Andrew Waterworth had a rather easy finish on this occasion, firing into the net from ten yards out.

The home side came back though within five minutes - a foul was conceded on the left hand side, Gerard McMahon sent the kick into the box, centre-back Gavin McDonnell headed the ball down and his fellow centre-back Johnny Cowan slotted home from close range. This gave the home side a lift and the Whites also then lost young midfielder Mark Cooling with a head injury, Julian Ward coming on as his replacement.

The Whites were almost two-down a matter of few minutes into the second-half, the impressive Eamon Murray was making his mark in right midfield for Colin Malone's side and he cut inside before sending his shot across the across the goal but it bounced back off the post and was cleared. The home fans disappointment evaporated on 49 minutes though as a long range effrot from Neill Gawley stayed low and went in past a bemused Phil Matthews.

It was nip and tuck after that, Waterworth putting a header wide of the target following a great cross from the right.Glenavon still kept pushing forward and then Ward was sent to crashing a few yards outside the box. Browne stepped up, he weighed up the scenario before comprehensively beating Rice with the free-kick for the equaliser on 70 minutes,

At that stage both sides would probably have settled for the draw, but they both kept going and it was the industry and skill of Peter McCann that created the dramatic winner three minutes from the end of normal time. He beat Barry Meehan at left back before coming inside - as McDonnell stretched to challenge, McCann laid the ball inside to Ward who swivelled to shoot home from close range to put the Whites top and stun Glenavon.

With Paul Kirk missing following his hernia operation, assistant manager Ronnie Cromie was delighted to see the Whites go top, his only regret was that now wasn't the end of April! It's first versus second again at New Grosvenor next week with the visit of Glentoran, but, as the table sits tonight, Lisburn Distillery top it thanks to a battling come back that says much about the character within the side at present.

Team line-ups to follow

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Match report and images (reproduced with permission and thanks) Copyright Lisburn Distillery.net, Edward White, Jonathan Irwin and David Hunter

Match Report from Edward White

The much anticipated top of the table clash between Lisburn Distillery and Glentoran promised much but in the end delivered little for the home support as the visitors inflicted a fourth defeat of the season against the Whites - in so doing they leap-frogged them to top place in the league table.

As manager Paul Kirk has pointed out on several previous occasions, the secret to beating the bigger sides is to keep a defensively tight ship and when goal scoring chances come along make sure you take them. Put simply against Glentoran the Whites failed on both counts with the nett result being another defeat and an end to their unbeaten start to the league in the process.

The game was as good as lost as early as the seventh minute when the Lisburn Distillery defence seemed to take on the role of waxwork models as Paul Leeman was allowed (for the second time this season) to stroll into the heart of the home penalty area before powering in a close range header from Kyle Neill's corner. This scenario has happened on too many occasions already this season and needs to be sorted out urgently if the side are to progress as hoped for.

The Whites did have a gilt-edged chance on 14 minutes to level the game when a great through ball from Peter McCann saw Nathan McConell one on one with Dougherty in the Glentoran goal but a weak effort meant that the former Lisburn Distillery custodian came out on top and the chance was gone. A couple of minutes later, Lady Luck almost smiled on the Whites when a Paul Muir free kick was deflected goalward by a Glentoran defender but once again Dougherty was able to gather easily. After that it was Glentoran who looked the most likely to score with Hamilton unlucky when his shot cannoned off the Distillery cross bar and went over

Lisburn Distillery however held on and hopes were high that they could lift their game in the second half, however it was not to be and on 63 minutes the game was put beyond them as following a good cross from David Scullion, defender Michael Ferguson attempted to intercept and was unlucky to see his effort completely deceive Phil Matthews and end off in the back of the his team's own net.

Lisburn Distillery seemed dead and buried but they were given a lifeline on 69 minutes when referee Mark Courtney gave them a penalty following a Kyle Neill tackle on Andy Waterworth. Waterworth himself stepped up and blasted the resulting spot kick home and a glimmer of hope re-appeared. As it was however, despite the introduction of the lively Curtis Allen and Mark Cooling, the Whites couldn't make another breakthrough and the Glens went home with the points.

It wasn't a pretty game by any stretch of the imagination, Glentoran came and put on a solid professional performance and the Whites simply didn't have the craft or skill to break them down on the day. Interestingly enough the Whites have now lost four games in all competitions this season and all four of those defeats have been at the hands of Glentoran and until we learn to start turning those losses into at the very least draws then we might have to wait a little longer to get our hands on some much sought after silverware.

Lisburn Distillery - Matthews, Magee, Ferguson (Johnston 89), P.McCann, Buchanan, Muir, Kilmartin, R McCann, Waterworth, McConnell (Allen 66), J.Ward (Cooling 78). Subs not used: Youle, Wright.

Glentoran - Dougherty, Nixon, Neill, Leeman, Fordyce, S.Ward, Halliday, Hamilton, Scullion, Fitzgerald (Berry 72), M.Ward (Hamill 90). Subs not used: Morris, Hill, Morgan,

Official Club and First Team Sponsor of Lisburn Distillery

Match report and images (reproduced with permission and thanks) Copyright Lisburn Distillery.net, Edward White, Jonathan Irwin and David Hunter

Match Report from Edward White

It was a nice pleasant October Saturday afternoon as Lisburn Distillery chose to kick off this game against their old friends, Crusaders. The ball was placed on the centre spot, the referee blew his whistle to commence proceedings and play commenced - and by the time you have spent twelve seconds reading my opening two lines of introduction to this game the Whites were one- nil up!

In a blistering start, fans were still finding their way to their seats when a through-ball found Lisburn Distillery forward Andy Waterworth out on the wing and his pinpoint cross was met perfectly by young Mark Cooling at the back post, and his well placed header gave the Whites a perfect start. Twelve seconds is all it took for that early lead to be gained and with that time a new Lisburn Distillery scoring record may have been created - well I certainly can't think of a quicker goal in all my years of following the club although possibly our statisticians might beg to differ?

After that early goal the sides tended to cancel one another out for the remainder of the first half although Phil Matthews had to be alert to palm away a goal bound effort on 26 minutes and then again had react well to dive at the feet of a Ryan Tumilty as he was just about to shoot after 36 minutes. Crusaders however weren't exerting too much pressure on the Lisburn Distillery defence and time after time well positioned free-kicks were being wasted by the home strike force. The Whites themselves seldom threatened the home goal although Darren Armour was busy constantly chasing down the Crusaders defenders. He did however pick up a yellow card for his troubles following a hefty challenge on an opposing player just before the half-time break.

Armour's persistence finally paid off however in the second half when, on the hour, he chased down a back pass to the Crusaders goalkeeper Greg Shannon and the attempted clearance by the home custodian hit the advancing Armour before finding its way into the net. Two-nil then and that second goal seemed to spark the home side more into life as they tried to claw their way back into the game and were only thwarted once again by some good saves by Matthews and some hard work by the Lisburn Distillery defence.

Then on 81 minutes it was game over, as substitute Curtis Allen struck a free kick from 25 yards which found its' way, with a helpful deflection, into the back of the Crusaders goal. This was Allen's first goal for the club since joining recently from Bournemouth and doubtless the Lisburn Distillery faithful will be hoping that it is the first of many to come.

One downside though to a decent performance was still to come however, as once again, the Whites failed to claim a clean sheet conceding an 89th minute consolation goal from a Crusaders corner and a Darren Lockhart header which really 'keeper Phil Matthews should have done better with.

At full-time, it was 3-1 then to the Whites who, after this game, are still only one point off the summit of the Carnegie Premier League although their next league game, against Cliftonville, be doubtless be a better test of how exactly this season is going to pan out for the club.

Team: Matthews, Magee, Ferguson, Muir, Buchanan, P.McCann, R.McCann, Kilmartin, Cooling, Armour, Waterworth
Subs: Allen (for Armour), Ward (for Cooling), Shaw (for Waterworth), McMenamin, Maano,

Images strictly copyright - David Hunter and Jonathan Irwin

Official Club and First Team Sponsor of Lisburn Distillery

Match report and images (reproduced with permission and thanks) Copyright Lisburn Distillery.net, Edward White, Jonathan Irwin and David Hunter

Match Report from Edward White

Given the fact that both sides were chasing hard at the top end of the Premier league table going into this game, many would have expected an entertaining encounter but in the end fans of both sides had to settle for a dour game where both sides managed to cancel each other out for much of the match.

The game had started brightly, Cliftonville were first to have an early opening when former Lisburn Distillery player John Martin lobbed the ball goalward only to see it rebound to safety off the crossbar and then Phil Matthews had to be alert to save an effort off the goal-line.At the other end Whites' striker Gary Browne had a couple of clear openings but failed to make the most of the opportunities when they came his way.

After that initial flurry the game settled into one of few opportunities with the away side coming closest to breaking the deadlock on 27 minutes when their forward Chris Scannell found himself one on one with the Lisburn Distillery keeper but thankfully for the Whites the last line of defence stood firm before diving to make a great stop with his feet. There was very little between the sides at this time but then on 33 minutes came the first of two substitutions that were to change the face of the game when in-form Lisburn Distillery forward Andy Waterworth was forced to leave the field of play due to injury. Initially his departure didn't make much difference and indeed only five minutes later the Whites were awarded a penalty when Cliftonville defender Barry Johnston was adjudged to have held Whites forward Gary Browne in the penalty area and the home side were awarded a spot kick. Browne got up to duly dispatch and give the home side a one goal lead which they held onto until half time.

The second half saw Cliftonville press hard for an equaliser but the Whites defence was holding firm although far too much of the game was being played in the Lisburn Distillery last third of the pitch which was a constant cause of concern for the home support. Then on 60 minutes that second substitution occurred when forward Gary Browne was forced to leave the field due to a back problem with this in turn meaning the Whites had only recognised forward on the pitch in Curtis Allen and even he was only in his fourth game for the club. Lisburn Distillery therefore had little option but to try hold a tight midfield but this game plan was unravelled on 69 minutes when Cliftonville equalised through a neat finish from substitute Stephen O'Neill.

It was all Cliftonville at this time and although they were not creating that many opportunities they were to go on to lift all three points when a complete mix-up between Whites' keeper Phil Matthews and skipper Wayne Buchanan allowed another former Distillery player, Mark Holland, to pick up the loose ball and comfortably slide the ball into the net.
Without their usually experienced frontline the Whites never looked like clawing the deficit back and in the end the home side left the pitch knowing a game that could have been won had been thrown away. Lisburn Distillery supporters know that if the side is to make a genuine challenge for honours this season then they really do need to up their game when they play the better sides in the league, this game proved they have still a way to go to reach those aspirations.

Team: Matthews, Magee, Youle, Muir, Buchanan, P.McCann, R.McCann, Ward, Cooling, Browne, Waterworth
Subs: Allen (for Waterworth), Shaw (for Browne), Kilmartin (for Ward), McMenamin, Thompson

Official Club and First Team Sponsor of Lisburn Distillery

Match report and images (reproduced with permission and thanks) Copyright Lisburn Distillery.net, Edward White, Jonathan Irwin and David Hunter

Match Report from Edward White

Considering that the Whites had been to play Linfield at Windsor Park only some ten days previous and had been hammered 5-1 there was probably only one priority for the return trip, that being to leave with our pride intact and it would be fair to say that we achieved just that after a decent display.

Whereas last time Lisburn Distillery had came and attempted to play their usual passing game of football against Linfield, this time it was clear that on this occasion that there was a definite change in the game plan as the Whites arrived with a formation which came with only one thing in mind, to stifle the Linfield attack and to hopefully hit our hosts on the break. The game plan started well enough as, despite a lot of Linfield pressure, the Lisburn Distillery defence stood resolute and this remained the case until the 25th minute when Mark Dickson was on hand to score after the Whites had failed to clear a Linfield corner which in turn allowed Glenn Ferguson to set up Dickson for the opener.

Prior to that Linfield had created quite a few openings with Lisburn Distillery being restricted to a third minute Peter McCann effort which was saved by Alan Mannus. After Linfield had scored, Lisburn Distillery continued to stick to their initial game plan although it was soon becoming clear that if they were to get anything out of the game then a change of tactics would be required.

That change came about at half-time with the Whites entering the second half with a switch of tactics and a renewed determination to claw their way back into the game. An early reward for the change was almost forthcoming when Gary Browne and Stephen Shaw interacted well and the Linfield defence had to be alert to stop Browne getting a shot away. Then from the resulting corner Ryan McCann's effort was saved by Mannus in the home goal. Then, with only four minutes played in the second half, the Whites did manage to draw level when, following some good work by Shaw, the ball was crossed into the Linfield penalty area and when Mannus went to claim it, a challenge from Julian Ward forced him into dropping the ball and Peter McCann was on hand to slide the ball home to tie the game. As expected this goal drew a response from the home side although it must be said Lisburn Distillery were giving as good as they got but then all those efforts were knocked back when once again, for the umpteenth time in the last couple of months, they were unable to defend an opposition corner and Peter Thompson rose to head the ball home and restore the Linfield lead.

The Whites, to their credit, didn't let that set back affect them though and they continued to press forward with a decent effort by debutant James Wright being well saved by Mannus in the home goal and then on 84 minutes the Whites were denied a strong penalty claim when Nathan McConnell was sent tumbling down in the Linfield box but the referee waved play on. Lisburn Distillery fans were still remonstrating over the lack of the penalty being awarded when Glenn Ferguson then appeared to be tripped in the visitors' penalty area and on this occasion it was a sigh of relief as the referee once again opted to play on. After that the Whites created one more chance through a Paul Muir header but in the end, although it was a much improved performance, they were unable to take anything away for their efforts.

Team: Matthews, McMenamin, Thompson, Muir, Buchanan, P.McCann, R.McCann, Ward, Wright, Shaw, Browne
Subs: McConnell (for Wright), Kilmartin, Youle, Murdoch, Johnston

and to add to the debate on Lisburn Distillery claims for a second-half penalty, here are two additional perspectives.

All images are strictly copyright

Official Club and First Team Sponsor of Lisburn Distillery

Match report and images (reproduced with permission and thanks) Copyright Lisburn Distillery.net, Edward White, Jonathan Irwin and David Hunter

Match Report from Edward White

In a week where the best snooker players in the world had been in the province to compete for the Northern Ireland trophy, it was possibly appropriate that the green baize of New Grosvenor also saw a game which was very much affected by a number of fouls and the constant use of the colours of red and yellow.

The game had kicked off without any hint of the excitement to come and for the majority of the first half the two sides tended to cancel one another out although both sides had a few chances to take a lead. Portadown has the first chance of note when Phil Matthews fluffed a clearance on nine minutes but thankfully the Ports were unable to capitalise and then returning former Whiteman, Conor Hagan, almost scored from a corner but he saw his header go agonisingly wide of the upright in the 26th minute. Jim McMenamin was first to see yellow and then Ryan McCann followed on 27 minutes as the Whites tried to up the tempo. However these efforts were to be in vain, firstly Gary Browne (30 minutes) and then Andy Waterworth both tested visiting keeper David Miskelly who reacted well on both occasions to keep the match goal-less. The tempo had however arisen by that stage and with it the attitude of the players with some tough challenges coming in from both sides although as the half time whistle was sounded the game remained without a goal to report.

The second half started where the first had left off with passions a little high and a tempo to match and on 52 mins a breakthrough almost came when a Gary Browne free kick evaded the Portadown defence but once again there was no-one in a Whites' shirt to help it home. Seven minutes later and the real story of the game began to be written, it appeared that Portadown midfielder Michael Collins had spoken out of turn and referee Adrian McCourt duly produced a yellow card followed immediately by the first red card of the game much to the disbelief of his Portadown comrades. Thirty minutes were then left on the clock and with the Whites having a one man advantage things had started to turn the way of the home side but then, only two minutes later, Hagan clattered into Stuart Thompson and, with referee McCourt ready producing another yellow card, Lisburn Distillery midfielder Ryan McCann stupidly decided to take the law into his own hands by grabbing hold of the Portadown players shirt, leaving the referee no option but to give him a second yellow and subsequent red to leave the teams once again equally poised at ten a side for the remaining 28 minutes.

Both sides were really working hard for what would probably be a deciding goal but then on 71 minutes Portadown imploded again as Hagan retaliated after a tackle leaving the referee once again no option but to brandish a second yellow and subsequent red to the midfielder. Ten versus nine then for the last 19 minutes and by then it was Lisburn Distillery who were pressing hard for the winner which so nearly came when Gary Browne hit a tremendous goalbound free kick on 75 minutes only to see an equally tremendous save by Miskelly in the Ports goal.

Lisburn Distillery manager Paul Kirk had made two attacking substitutions by that stage in a bid to win the game and his tactics were rewarded at last in the 85th minute. Good work from Gary Browne out wide ended with a pass which had fallen behind his fellow striker Darren Armour, but the ball was only half cleared and Peter McCann was on hand to rifle home an absolute thunderbolt from all of 30 yards out into the roof of the Portadown net. It was the former Ports players' second goal in consecutive games for the Whites and with it went any chance Portadown had of taking anything from a pulsating game.

Lisburn Distillery - Matthews, McMenamin (McConnell 76), Buchanan, Muir, Thompson, Shaw, R.McCann, P.McCann, Ward (Kilmartin 83), Waterworth (Armour 53), Browne, Unused Subs: Magee, Wright

Portadown - Miskelly, McKeown, Redman, Clarke, Convery, O'Hara, Hagan, Collins, Braniff, Smith, M.McCann (Derry