Wanderers find that little bit extra

Editorial Department • Published 11 Mar 2010 09:53 0 Comments

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Head to head...Enniskillen Town's Ciaran Smith makes an aerial challenge as his side crashed out of the Impartial Reporter Mulhern Cup.<<

Irvinestown Wanderers 3; Enniskillen Town 1 (aet);

Irvinestown Wanderers booked their place in the next round of the Impartial Reporter sponsored Mulhern Cup as goals in the first period of extra time from Niall Donnelly and Dara McGovern secured them victory over Enniskillen Town at the Bawnacre.

Town looked to be in control of the game in the first half with Frank Wallace giving the visitors a deserved lead but the tie swung the way of Irvinestown in the second half as Donnelly fired in an equaliser before Town lost centre half Ciaran Beacom to a second yellow card.

The home side enjoyed the bulk of the possession in the second half although Rory Judge's Town side could have snatched the win in the latter stages but Kieran Leonard's pull back across goal with two team-mates waiting was cleared and in extra time Irvinestown grabbed the victory with two early goals.

"They made the most of their periods on top and we didn't, that was the difference between the sides," said Judge. "It was a game of two halves and we should really have been more than 1-0 up at the break but we started the second half slowly and they scored and then we had the man sent off which gave them the momentum. I thought that they should have also been down to ten men because after they took the lead in extra time Frank Wallace was taken down and their defender was the least man. It was inside the box but the referee only gave a free kick and booked the man instead of sending him off. I'm not saying it would have changed the result but it would have given us a chance."

Irvinestown counterpart Greg Copeland was obviously delighted with the outcome as their recent improvement continues.

"I was definitely pleased with the result. I thought the boys showed good character and battling spirit to comeback from a goal down to win the game. It is back to the nitty gritty of the league this week and a critical game against Shelbourne which is the type of game we need to be winning," he said.

The away side made a lively opening to the game and with 15 minutes played they took the lead through Wallace. Mark Connolly fed Wallace and he rounded goalkeeper Timmy Elliott before rolling the ball into the net.

The Enniskillen side continued to boss the game and they had a number of chances to add to their advantage but Paddy McGarrity missed a couple of opportunities while Wallace hit the outside of the post from another.

The second half though was to be a completely different story. Town were slow out of the blocks after the interval and Irvinestown took advantage to force an equaliser. A great piece of play by Gary Maguire saw him create a chance for Niall Donnelly and he tucked it under goalkeeper Joe McGovern for 2-0.

Town's hopes took a further hit when Beacom was sent off after receiving a second booking and after this the Wanderers enjoyed plenty of the ball with Maguire fluffing his lines when he should have scored from ten yards.

Town did come back into the game in the final ten minutes and could have clinched the victory when Leonard rounded Elliott, but with two players waiting on the pull back the pass was intercepted by Duwayne Carelton as Irvinestown held on.

And with only one minute of extra time played the home side took the lead as Maguire and Greg O'Donnell combined to set Donnelly away on the right and he finished to make it 2-1.

Five minutes later and the home side put the game to bed as McGovern headed home a Maguire corner to set up a home clash with Barrowfield on Saturday week.

This article appeared in Impartial Reporter 11 Mar 10

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