Rovers edged out in seven goal thriller

Editorial Department • Published 9 Feb 2012 13:00 0 Comments

Lisnaskea Rovers 3; Windmill Stars 4;

LISNASKEA Rovers left themselves too much to do in the second half, as they crash out of the Coca-Cola Junior Cup to Newry side Windmill Stars in a seven goal thriller at Castle Park on Saturday.

The home side took the lead early on, but the visitors responded well, taking the lead in the second half, and in doing so they left Rovers too much to do in the final quarter of the game.

Lisnaskea started brightly as they looked to secure their place in the last eight of the competition. Indeed, it was Keith Douglas' side who took the lead in the early stages, Kevin Swift opening the scoring with a cool finish after great work on the flank from Shane Ingram, a dream start for the hosts.

It wasn't long before the away side were level though, as striker Kevin O'Rourke equalised for Windmill, and after the first quarter of the contest, things were pretty even with both sides having their fair share of chances.

The away side kicked on from there approaching the break, and found themselves in front with the half time whistle imminent, O'Rourke again the man on target to leave Lisnaskea with work to do. That's how the first half ended, with Lisnaskea in desperate need of a response.

That response duly came at the start of the second half when they were awarded a penalty just after the restart, Shane Ingram up-ended in the penalty area. Up stepped Andrew Copeland to despatch the penalty, Rovers were back in it.

However, the home side were far from secure defensively, and found themselves behind yet again midway through the second half, O'Rourke rounding off his hat-trick and Windmill's third, to leave Rovers in arrears once again.

The situation was made worse with 15 minutes to play, when Windmill increased their lead to two goals, Lisnaskea were now really and truly up against it with time against them.

They did respond positively after that setback though, and brought themselves back to within a goal approaching full time when Ryan O'Keefe found the net to give Rovers a lifeline in the contest. It wasn't enough though, as they failed to make any further impression on the Windmill goal, and eventually lost 4-3 in a thoroughly entertaining contest.

That loss means the end of Rover's cup run, with Windmill now bidding to become only the second Newry side to win the Junior Cup on two occasions. A real shame for Lisnaskea, who could have easily progressed on another day had things gone their way, but the game served up a real treat nonetheless.

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This article appeared in Impartial Reporter 09 Feb 12

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