08/02/20 Lisburn Distillery 2 v St James swifts 3

Intermediate Cup Fourth Round

Lisburn Distillery 2 v St.James Swifts 3

On a day in which the strong winds were always going to take a toll it was Lisburn Distillery who got off to the perfect start in this one after a mistake after 2 minutes of play by Swifts ‘keeper Ethan Carry saw him fail to clear the ball from a back pass and Matt Rooney was quickest to react closing him down and in doing so getting his foot to the delayed clearance which in turn saw the ball go into the net.

A great start then for Distillery but their joy was short-lived as with only 5 minutes on the clock the Distillery defence lost concentration allowing the ball to come in to the box to the unmarked Eugene Gallagher and he made no mistake from 12 yards out.

The ball was swirling all over the pitch making it impossible for either side to play any sort of football and it was no surprise that chances, for either side, were at a premium especially for a Distillery side playing without a recognised forward.

The second half was much the same although with the wind now behind them St. James did seem to be getting to grips with the gale better than the Whites had in the first half and yet, despite this it was Distillery who regained the lead. 65 Minutes and a cross from Andy Long stuck the hand of former Whiite Ryan Catney and the referee pointed to the spot – up stepped the reliable James Wight and he made no mistake to make it 2-1 to Distillery.

77 minutes play and the Swifts were level at 2-2 although on this occasion it was the wind which was the main player as a curling Chris Begley corner flew over the heads of the Distillery defence before being gusted into the net. A well struck corner no doubt but one which, on a normal day, would probably have been cleared.

This gave the Swifts the incentive they needed and on 81 minutes they got their winner after a Sean Donnelly strike from the edge of the box left the Distiillery defence flat footed and somehow squirmed under Whites ‘keeper Jonah Nicholl’s hands and into the net.

The Whites battled to get back into the game but it was once again the Swifts who had the best chance of the minutes remaining as Gallagher made a jinking run into the box, fired goalward only to see his effort cleared off the line by Timmy Clarke.

All in all then a disappointing day for the Whites from a match played in good spirits but which was impacted massively by the conditions on the day.

Full time Lisburn Distillery 2 St James Swifts 3

LDFC Line up: Nicholl, Long, T. Clarke, Getty, Stewart, Moore, Harris (C), Young, Wright, Irvine, Rooney

Subs:  Grattan (for Rooney), Francey (for Irvine), Forbes, Weatherhead

Full Picture gallery from this game can be found @ https://flic.kr/s/aHsmLnyRRC