11th Feb 2023 – Match report –Lisburn Distillery 2 v Dollingstown 0
After that late setback of the previous weekend when the Whites conceded an injury time goal to lose at Banbridge Town there was a steely determination to put things right against a Dollingstown side who, only a few weeks previously, had brushed aside the Whites 4-0 at Planters Park.
As it turned out on the day it didn’t take long for that determination to come through on the pitch as with only two minutes played the Whites had taken the lead. Following a throw in just level with the edge of the penalty area some lovely interaction from the Distillery frontline saw a cross come in and eventually fall to the feet of James Willis who calmly pulled the back to Lewiis Higginson and the midfielder made no mistake firing the ball home from six yards out into the roof of the net.
What a start for the hosts and one which no doubt set the tone for the rest of the afternoon as the Whites went on to dominate the play. 1-0 almost became 2-0 after only six minutes as recent signing Jonathan Doyle curled a great effort towards the goal from just inside the penalty box, Dollingstown ‘keeper Gareth Buchanan breathing a sigh of relief as he saw the effort curly narrowly past his far post.
Higginson was then seemingly bundled over in the box on 15 minutes but referee Jason Gillespie saw nothing in the challenge with the ball eventually going for a Distillery corner. The Whites disappointment from not being awarded a penalty was soon forgotten as, from the corner, they doubled their lead. The corner was floated in deep and as the Dollingstown defenders blocked off their Distillery counterparts Mick Gallagher was on hand at the back post to nod home from close range for his fourth goal in his last three games for Distillery.
Higginson was once again in the thick of things on 40 minutes when he hooked a shot towards the visitors goal but on this occasion Buchanan gathered it comfortably.
Half time Lisburn Distillery 2 Dollingstown 0
The second half proved to be a bit of a non event on the day with the Whites defence well on top of the Dollingstown attack and indeed it took until the 83rd minute for the visitors to find themselves in a goal scoring position as substitute Gledia Cakaj found himself unmarked in the Distillery penalty area but he ballooned his effort well over.
All in all a very competent display from Distillery and with three wins now from their last four games it is now like a totally different side who were struggling so badly earlier in the season.
Distillery Team: Carry, Willis, McCart, Angus, Lynch, Higginson, Newell, Gallagher, Doyle, Robinson, Savage
Subs: Smyth, Cope, Swann (for Doyle), Storey (for Gallagher), McVarnock, Warnock, Clougherty (for Higginson)
David Hunter’s picture gallery from this game can be found online @ https://flic.kr/s/aHBqjArWLL
