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Newtowne 2 v 3 Dungiven |
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Dungiven progress to the semi final of the inaugural Sentinel League Cup with a battling victory over in form Newtowne. Newtowne were favourites to win this tie comfortably but Dungiven sides love the underdog title as Saturday showed.
After 2 minutes it looked like a Newtowne romp when Martin Harkin showed a clean pair of heels to the Dungiven defence to score. In the next 10 minutes Newtowne besieged the Dungiven goal. Poor finishing and a temptation to score the perfect goal let Dungiven off the hook. It could and should have been at least 3-0 after 15 minutes.
Dungiven equalised with a goal that would not look out of place on You've Been Framed. Dungiven, looking to abate pressure, hoofed the ball into the Dungiven half. The ball landed at Mark Magee's head but he mistimed and headed past Norris from way outside the box.
Newtowne took the lead soon after. Morrison left Dungiven for dead with his pace and Brolly pulled him back inside the box. Loughery hammered past McBride to restore Dungiven's advantage. Again Newtowne had chances to extend the lead but failed to do so.
Dungiven equalised in the 31 st minute. A long punt out of defence caught Newtowne sleeping and Chrissy Quigg jumped between Magee Snr and Norris to head home. At this point Newtowne began to doubt themselves and Dungiven grew in belief. To that point Dungiven had scored with 2 goals with 1 goal effort.
The second half saw Dungiven start brighter and they took the lead. Martin Coyle waltzed through to finish well from outside the box. He and his midfield partner Noel Mullan were beginning to boss that central area at that stage.
After the goal Dungiven showed incredible heart and resilience. Defensively Brolly, Hasson and McCloskey defended brilliantly while Mullan fought hard in the centre. Up front Quigg and Harkin harassed and harried the Newtowne defence.
For the last 23 minutes Newtowne brought on McLaughlin, O'Reilly and Moore. This livened things up. Repeatedly Morrison found space and he delivered a succession of crosses into the danger area. Each time the ball seemed to find a Dungiven player. Twice the ball landed to a Newtowne player with an open net, twice the chances went a begging.
It was one way traffic for the last 20 minutes but super defending and some fine saves from McBride denied Newtowne. On the whistle McBride made a brilliant save after Morrison fashioned an opening for himself. Dungiven, who were badly under strength, hung on to proceed to the semi final on Tuesday night.
Newtowne panicked much too early in this game. At times in the first half there was some lovely footballing cameos but at times players weren't prepared to do the ugly stuff. Only Morrison and Mark Magee sustained their performance levels throughout.
I hope this match report is not disingenuous to Dungiven. They were under strength and under pressure for most of this game. They realised after 20 minutes that they might get something from this game and grew in stature accordingly. Up front Quigg was a nuisance , as usual, while Mullan was excellent in midfield. Brolly played well alongside McCloskey while McBride played his customary stormer against Newtowne.
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