Juniors beaten in Bowl final
Published 26 Jul 2012 13:07
Fermanagh Juniors 0; Swindon Town 3
Fermanagh suffered defeat this morning in the Milk Cup Bowl final as they went down 3-0 to Swindon Town at Broughshane. The damage was done in the first half with all three Swindon goals arriving in the opening period as the English side claimed a 3-0 win over their Fermanagh opponents for the second time this week.
However, the result was harsh on Gerry Love's side who had created a number of good chances in the first half but they found the Swindon goalkeeper in great form while the English outfit were also clinical when opportunities came their way.
And Fermanagh continued to battle hard in the second half but they could not get back into the game as Swindon held out for the victory.
Fermanagh began the contest well and with seven minutes played they had a good chance to take the lead as Michael Dooris' ball over the top sent Matthew O'Donnell scurrying through on goal. O'Donnell drilled his shot at goal but this was saved by the Swindon goalkeeper. The ball was then clipped back into the box and Ciaran Smith had a crack at goal but he too failed to beat the goalkeeper who spread himself well to save with his leg.
Gerry Love's side continued to enjoy the better of things and four minutes later they appeared to have a genuine shout for a penalty. Ollie Russell took a ball over the top down on his chest but he was then inpeded with a nudge in the back but the referee waved away the Fermanagh appeals for a spot kick.
At the midway stage of the half though things started to go wrong for Fermanagh as Swindon took the lead when a ball into the box was not dealt with, allowing their striker to tuck the ball past Kyle Dougherty.
Back again though came Fermanagh and they had a chance to level up proceedings as Brendan Lilly sent O'Donnell through but once more the goalkeeper saved well to deny the Fermanagh front man.
Swindon doubled their advantage in the 24th minute as a ball from the right hand side passed a number of Fermanagh players before nestling in the back of the net.
And matters got worse for Love's outfit on the stroke of half time as a Swindon shot smacked off the post before rebounding to one of their players who slotted to the net to leave Fermanagh facing a mammoth task in the second half.
To their credit, Fermanagh never let the heads drop in the second half and produced some good football during the period albeit without really troubling the Swindon goal.
Half chances did fall to O'Donnell and Smith but they could not capitalise on them as Swindon held on to their advantage to claim the Milk Cup Bowl title.
This article appeared in Impartial Reporter 26 Jul 12
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