Not for the first time in recent weeks the action was breathless at the Bann Road as the town progressed to the semi final of the Cochrane and Corry Cup with a gritty victory over Ballysillan Swifts.
There were plenty of talking points with 4 red cards 8 yellows a last minute equaliser and a world class goal to ponder on.
As of late Castlewellan were slow to get up to speed and their Belfast opponents swarmed all over them in the early stages. After only 2 minutes Rory Burns made an excellent reflex save from close range and was called upon to deal with several testing situations. It was no surprise when Swifts after 22 minutes went into the lead when a sweeping move down the right saw a deep cross swept home at the back post by Ross Johnston. It was the wake up call the town needed and from then until half time they held the upper hand. Exchanges were getting hot and heavy with the home team refusing to be bullied by their 2b opponents. On 31 minutes Castlewellan should have been awarded a penalty when Davy Gilmore soloed his way through the Ballysillan defence only to be ‘taken out’. It was most definitely a spot kick but the referee who must have been unsighted gave a free kick on the edge of the penalty box and booked the defender. From the resultant free the town should have equalised but three attempts on goal from close range were thwarted by a tangle of legs and the well nourished goalkeeper. At this point it was only a matter of time until the town equalised, another free kick just outside the area saw the Swifts keeper make a smart save from Jason Croskery. and eventually after 38 minutes Gilmore released Colm Flanagan through the middle and Colm’s speed and strength took him past the centre half to shoot home much to the delight of the local supporters.
In the ensuing period before half time the referee had a tough time keeping a lid on things when several niggly off the ball incidents threatened to derail what had been an enthralling game up to that point, 4 yellow cards were issued and everyone was just glad to catch their breath and look forward to what promised to be more of the same.
As with the first period Ballysillan came out on the front foot and should have gone 2-1 up early on but their centre half headed wide when well placed. Both sides were going at it hammer and tongs with yet again several bouts of ‘handbags’ resulted in the referee calling the two captains together to let them know that he’d had enough and would issue reds for any more such occurences. This was all well and good but when two well matched, competitive teams go toe to toe in a cup match such as this, conflict is always bubbling under the surface, it was now a matter of who could keep their heads. Burns in the home goal was kept up to his work dealing competently with a series of dangerous crosses whilst at the other end Barry Travers let fly from 25 yards but his effort was deflected narrowly over. Castlewellan claimed for another penalty on 66 minutes when Flanagan’s cross came off a defenders hand, a penalty would have been harsh and the referee waved play on, but we’ve all seen them given.
The battle came to a head after 75 minutes when the Swifts left back completely lost his head and was given a straight red card for violent conduct although there could and perhaps should have been others. He didn’t do himself any favours though as he went off spitting at one of the home players. Ballysillan’s centre forward disputed too vigorously and was shown a yellow card which soon became a red as he spat on Castlewellan’s Shane McCann. When play resumed both teams knew that the referee was in ‘zero tolerance’ mode and in general behaved. Down to 9 men seemed to galvanise Ballysillan and have an adverse effect on the town. Swifts got men behind the ball and relied on quick breaks as any team down two men near the end of a game would do. All subs were used at this stage with Ward, Fitzimmons and Burns coming on for the home team. Ward was booked for a late tackle shortly after coming on but he put in a great shift covering a lot of ground. With 6 minutes left and everyone anticipating extra time and possibly penalties, disaster struck Castlewellan when following a lightening break from defence Swifts best player on the day Ross Johnston swivelled on a crossfield ball and from the angle of the penalty area volleyed into the top corner, incredibly the 9 men were ahead with time running out. Content with what they had Ballysillan sat back and soaked up anything the home team had to offer but just as the fat lady was clearing her throat Conor Stratton’s goalbound effort from close range was handled on the line, resulting in another red card and a penalty for the town. Mr reliable in the shape of Stevie Trainor stepped up to take what was a seriously pressurised spot kick. He had to wait a couple of minutes as the referee handled all his paperwork. Stevie wasn’t put off and slammed home the award, much to Castlewellan’s relief.
Extra time saw the home side with the majority of possession but just couldn’t finish off any of the chances that came their way, Lee Ward came closest but the keeper got down well to turn his effort around the post. Castlewellan went for broke in the second period of extra time and got their reward in the third minute when Karl Jarosinski slotted home a right wing cross. Shortly after this the town’s Shane McCann was red carded for retaliation. Try as they might and with plenty of possession the town couldn’t break down the resolute Swifts rearguard any more and wary of a quick break were relieved to hear the final whistle, and breathe!
Exhilarating stuff from start to finish but Castlewellan will be pleased that apart from the last 20 minutes of the first half they didn’t play that well and even without two of their main men Steele and McKibben they had enough strength in depth to cover for them, an excellent shift from everyone. Like Castlewellan, Ballysillan are in the box seat for promotion from their division and we wish them all the best in their quest to reach 2A.
