Match Report – Lisburn Distillery v 1st Bangor (McCombs Intermediate Cup 1st Round) – Sat 23rd September 2023

Lisburn Distillery were at home again on Saturday, this time against 1^st Bangor in the first round of the 2023/2024 Intermediate Cup and were hoping to build on the previous weeks win against Newmills in the Irish Cup.

There were two changes made to the starting eleven with Robert Geddis and Ryan Sharkey dropping out of the side and being replaced by Kyle Flynn and Curtis Woods.

The visitors kicked the game off and went on the attack right away with Rory Cubbon managing to get past Woods but fortunately for Distillery he blazed his shot well over the bar.

After this, Distillery began to gain the upper hand in the game and showed some promising build up play in the sixth minute that ended with Flynn pulling the ball back to Joe Tully but the attacker was forced away from goal and the attack broke down. Three minutes later Tully was involved again when he got on the end of a good cross from Dean Lewis from the right, under pressure from a defender the number nine managed to prod the ball goalwards towards Flynn but a defender blocked the wingbacks progress.

The Whites had the best chance of the opening stages of the game in the 12^th minute, McNickle managed to beat the offside trap and got on the end of a ball forward and found himself clean through on goal. However, instead of shooting himself, he opted to square to his supporting teammate and put too much on his pass and the chance was gone.

With just under twenty minutes played, Distillery manager Barry Johnston was forced into an early change as Justin Grattan had to make way due to picking up a knock and Jamie Devenny replaced him.  The substitute made an almost immediate impact, Gerard Storey took a free kick from a few yards outside the box and Devenny headed it goalwards, former Distillery goalkeeper, Tony Galbraith, got something on the ball but could not stop it from crossing the line and giving the home side the lead.

Six minutes later the Distillery lead was doubled, and it was the same player who got his name on the scoresheet. A free kick was quickly taking and released McNickle through on goal, once again the number ten opted to square to Devenny but this time made no mistake with his pass and gave his teammate the easy job of tapping the ball home for his and Distillery’s second goal of the game.

After this things quietened down for a period of time, Distillery were well in control but the visitors did have their first real effort of note five minutes from the break when Ethan Carry was called into action to hold a free kick.

Not surprisingly, it was Distillery who added to their lead in the 41^st minute and it was McNickle who finally got his name added to the scoresheet when he slotted home from a tight angle after Galbraith could only partially punch the ball away from goal.

The half time whistle sounded with Distillery well in control and the three-goal lead meant they already had one-step through the door into the second round.

Half Time: Lisburn Distillery 3-0 1^st Bangor

The visitors actually started the second half seeing more of the ball but despite this the closet they came to threatening was a long range effort in the 54^th minute that went wide of the Distillery goal without troubling Carry. Prior to this, Devenny had a great chance to make it 4-0 and complete his hat-trick but he failed to hit the target with the ball ending up going over the bar.

The next real talking point came in the 65^th minute when Josh Lynch was giving his marching orders following an off the ball incident, the referee showing the midfielder a straight red card and leaving the Whites to play out the remainder of the game a man light.

The man disadvantage did not seem to trouble the Whites and McNickle, Devenny and Tully all had opportunities to add to the Distillery lead but were denied, either by the woodwork or by Galbraith.

Goal number four did come for Johnston’s side in the 88^th minute when Devenny collected the ball and fired home from outside the box to complete his hat-trick and well and truly wrap the game up.

In the end, it was a comfortable enough game for Distillery that sees us advance into the second round of the Intermediate Cup. Before that however, we return to New Grosvenor on Saturday for a third home game in a row, this time a return to league action beckons as we welcome Queens in a game rearranged from earlier this month.

Full Time: Lisburn Distillery 4-0 1^st Bangor

Lisburn Distillery; Carry, Lewis, Flynn, McDermott, Angus, Woods, Lynch, Grattan, Tully, McNickle, Storey

Lisburn Distillery substitutions; Sharkey (for Flynn, 56 mins), Cakaj (for Tully, 73 mins), Devenny (for Grattan, 18 mins), Newell, Robinson

Report by Cameron Moore (@cam2604)

David Hunter’s picture gallery from this game can be found @ https://flic.kr/s/aHBqjAW1mW