Loughgall 3 Fivemiletown Utd 0 Fivemiletown’s dream run in the Irish Cup came to an end on Saturday as three late goals saw them go out 3-0 to Championship side Loughgall at Lakeview Park.

The result was harsh on Scott Robinson’s side who had more than held their own for the opening 80 minutes of the contest and looked to be in the driving seat after Loughgall were reduced to ten men in the 63rd minute.

However, the home side broke the deadlock with ten minutes to go and they tagged on two further goals to eventually shake off a determined Fivemiletown side and book their place in the next round of the competition.

Robinson had nothing but praise for his players after the game.

“I’m very proud of each and everyone of the boys, they gave me everything they had and I couldn’t ask for any more from them,” said Robinson.

“The boys were disappointed at the end but they reached the last 32 of the Irish Cup and that is a great achievement for them and the club.”

The Fivemiletown boss also felt that the result did not reflect the nature of the game.

“There is no doubt that the result was harsh on us, there was no way it was a 3-0 game. They were efficient and organised but so were we and the boys worked really hard from start to finish. To be honest, I didn’t think we ever looked like losing the game until they grabbed their first goal with ten minutes to go,” he added.

There was little between the sides throughout and if anything it was Fivemiletown who had the better of the chances in the first half.

Loughgall had started brightly with a number of long balls into the Fivemiletown area but these were expertly dealt with by the defensive partnership of Gary Trotter and Barry Anderson.

Davy Little was Fivemiletown’s main threat and he saw a well struck free kick that was saved by Loughgall goalkeeper Gareth Buchanan while he was just off target from a half volley after being teed up by a Ricky Carroll back heel, his fizzing effort just flying over the bar.

Paul Baron then looked to be through one-on-one with the Fivemiletown goalkeeper after a neat reverse pass from Jason Gillespie but he was denied by the linesman’s flag.

There was an intense battle going on in the middle of the park but the best chance of the half was to fall to Loughgall. However, John Uprichard’s shot came back off the upright as Fivemiletown survived this particular scare.

Both sides worked hard to try and break each other down at the start of the second half but the game appeared to be swinging the way of the underdogs when Loughgall had Richard Copeland dismissed by referee Timothy Marshall after he showed a second yellow card to the home player for a challenge on Carroll.

Shortly after the sending off Glen Clarke had a chance from a header but his effort was just the wrong side of the post and it was the home team who were to go on and take the lead in the 80th minute.

Substitute Marcus Dallas, who made a big impact on his introduction clipped in a cross that was headed home by John Uprichard much to the disappointment of the large travelling support.

Barry Anderson had an opportunity to equalise soon after but his header was over the bar and with five minutes to go Loughgall struck a decisive blow. Peter Campbell sent Marc McConnell through and he produced a good finish beyond Mattie Quinn in the Fivemiletown goal to make it 2-0.

And the game was wrapped up as Dallas netted his side’s third to send Loughgall into the next round of the cup.

There is more cup action for Fivemiletown this weekend when they play in the Marshall Cup although Robinson admits that their main focus remains the league with the side challenging at the top of the Mid Ulster Premier Division table.

“We have a Marshall Cup game on Saturday and that will allow us to give a few of the other boys games with the league in mind. The league has always been our priority although we would loved to have gone further in the Irish Cup,” he stated.