Late sucker punch floors Mallards in opening round

Editorial Department • Published 12 Aug 2010 16:00 0 Comments

Share this

click to enlarge
Cathal Beacom came closest to scoring for Ballinamallard when his shot was well saved by the Glebe keeper.<<

Glebe Rangers 1; Ballinamallard United 0;

Ballinamallard United’s league campaign got off to a losing start on Saturday when they went down 1-0 to Glebe Rangers at the Riada Stadium in Ballymoney.

Whitey Anderson’s side enjoyed plenty of possession over the course of the contest but it was Glebe who snatched the win with a late goal.

“It is a disappointing start to the season against a hard working, well organised team,” said Anderson. “We had plenty of possession but we didn’t create enough clear cut chances and we didn’t make their goalkeeper work enough. It is only one game though and overall the boys played well. We just need to add another dimension this week and be a bit livelier in front of goal.”

Glebe set their stall out from the opening period of the contest as they got men behind the ball and looked to restrict the Mallards attacking players.

The Mallards did produce some quality football during the first half but they failed to breakdown the home defence with little in the way of clear-cut chances.

The closest Ballinamallard went to opening the scoring was a Duwayne McManus free kick from 22 yards out that went narrowly over the top, while Andy Crawford broke down the left and swung the ball into the box, just failing to find McManus.

Glebe offered little threat to Ballinamallard apart from set pieces but the Mallards defence dealt well with this as the game remained scoreless at the interval.

The game continued in the same vein during the second half with the Mallards bossing the ball but they still struggled to get through the Glebe rearguard.

McManus did have another pop at goal but failed to find the target while he then teed up Cathal Beacom for Ballinamallard’s best chance of the encounter.

Beacom produced a fine strike but the Glebe goalkeeper pulled off a terrific save, pushing the ball around the post with his fingertips as he maintained his clean sheet.

And the Mallards were then hit with a sucker punch. Uncertainty at the back led to a Glebe throw and from this there was a tame shot at goal however the ball then broke to a Glebe forward and he tucked it away to make it 1-0 from Glebe’s first strike on target.

Ballinamallard pressed as the game drew to a close in an attempt to get something out of the contest but Chris Curran’s cross from the left narrowly eluded both Stephen Sheridan and Andy Crawford as the home side held on for a 1-0 win.

The Mallards will be on their travels again this week with an away game against Banbridge and Anderson and his side will be hoping to get their season up and running with a result.

This article appeared in Impartial Reporter 12 Aug 10

Return to the main index, get more from this section or browse our Sport archives.