Lisburn Distillery v Coagh United (Playr-Fit Teamwear Premier Intermediate League) – Saturday 10th February 2024
Lisburn Distillery faced the first of back-to-back games against Coagh United on Saturday with the first meeting taking place at New Grosvenor.
Following a 2-0 defeat against Rathfriland Rangers the previous week there were three changes to the Distillery line-up; Dean Lewis, Francis Brennan and Justin Grattan replaced Ryan Sharkey, Dylan Whiteway and Johnny Newell.
The game had quite a slow start, both sides got crosses into the box in the opening ten minutes but none of these amounted to much.
In the 12th minute a cross from the right flashed across the face of the Distillery goal but fortunately no one was there to force the ball over the line. A minute later Josh Lynch took a heavy touch deep in his own half but recovered and managed to clear the ball upfield for a throw in before the visitors could capitalise.
With 20 minutes played, the Whites won a corner, which Gerard Storey took short to Jack Berry. The number seven then sent a dangerous cross into the box but it was just too high for the rising heads.
Three minutes later up the other end Lee McMenemy shot first time from a left hand cross but he could not get the better of Ethan Carry.
Distillery were almost behind in the 26th minute when a poor touch from Curtis Woods saw the ball go out for a throw in to the visitors in the Distillery half. A Coagh player took the throw quickly before the Whites had a chance to reorganise and with the defence all at seas, it looked like the visitors were all set to take the lead only for the crossbar to come to the rescue. A defender managed to get in to clear the ball off the line to keep the game goalless.
The next action of note was Distillery taking the lead just before the 30-minute mark. Play briefly stopped for a Coagh player to receive treatment for a head injury and resumed with a drop ball to Distillery out on the right. Lewis managed to get the better of a visiting defender and sent a perfect cross into the box that gave Storey the easy job of heading Johnston’s side in front.
There were few more talking points of note the remainder of the first half, Carry had to be alert to clear the danger after a short back pass from Woods almost let the visitors in but in the end Storey’s header was enough to give the Whites a half-time lead.
Half-Time: Lisburn Distillery 1-0 Coagh United
Both sides had opportunities to add to the scoreline in the first five minutes after the break. For Distillery, a low Storey corner was diverted upwards when it entered the penalty area and came to Joe Tully but he could not get his effort on target and then Berry found Breandan O’Neill at the back post but Patrick Grogan saved his effort.
In between both of these opportunities Coagh really should have equalised when a low Luke Taylor cross found Zach Ferson with space inside the danger area but a slight deflection took his shot behind for a corner, much to the number nine’s despair.
The second half was shaping up to be more eventful than the first and the chances continued to come, in 54th minute a visiting player went for a spectacular long range effort after a long ball was cleared into his path and while this had Carry scrambling back towards his own goal it just about sailed over the crossbar.
Two minutes later play was up the other end and another Berry cross found its target, this time in the form of Grattan, but the midfielder could not get his feet sorted to get off a clean shot.
Coagh were handed a chance to equalise on the hour mark when an attacker went down in the penalty area and the assistant referee flagged for a penalty with the referee agreeing. Aaron Campbell stepped up and smashed the ball home from 12 yards to give the visitors an equaliser that few could argue they deserved.
After the Coagh equaliser things settled down significantly with both sides having opportunities to attack but neither goalkeeper was significantly troubled in the remaining 30 minutes. The closest we got to a winning goal for either side was five minutes from time when a cross found Campbell in space for the visitors inside the Distillery box but his shot on the turn was held comfortably by Carry.
Both sides had to settle for a share of the points in the end, which was probably the fairest outcome. They now prepare for this Saturday when they do it all again in the return fixture at Hagan Park.
Full Time: Lisburn Distillery 1-1 Coagh United
Lisburn Distillery; Carry, Lewis, Woods, Angus, Brennan, Lynch, Berry, Grattan, Tully, Storey, O’Neill
Lisburn Distillery; McConnellogue, Geddis (for Woods, 81 mins), Brady, Devenny (for Lynch, 67 mins), Clougherty, McVarnock, Lundy
Match report by Cameron Moore (@cameron2604)
David Hunter’s picture gallery from this game can be found @ https://flic.kr/s/aHBqjBdPM8
