Castlewellan knew that nothing but a win in Killough tonight would suffice and in the end they got what they came for but it was far from easy.
The town got off to the best possible start when Dean Anderson netted in the first minute and things got even better after 10 when Aidan Burns threaded a pass for Stevie Trainor and he lobbed the keeper to double the advantage. This should have made it comfortable for Castlewellan but they retreated into their shell and allowed Killough to come at them. The home side were a real threat with O’Connor and Doyle proving a real handful. Mickey Watson made a remarkable double save to keep Killough out and moments later Castlewellan were dealt a blow when Barry Travers had to retire injured.
Things didn’t get any better for the visitors when in a three minute spell just before half time their two goal lead was wiped out, Nial Toner almost gave the Town the lead again on the whistle but his effort went narrowly over.
Clearly Castlewellan were not firing on all cylinders but came out in the second period determined to up the ante. Dean Anderson almost gave them the lead on 51 minutes but his effort came off the post and rolled agonisingly across the line with nobody following up to knock the ball in. Disaster struck the town on the hour mark when Doyle who was excellent on the night struck home a beauty from the corner of the penalty box giving Watson no chance. The pressure was on now as Castlewellan saw any title aspirations slipping away but almost immediately they struck back in emphatic style when Anderson slid a measured pass down the line for Russell and he strode forward and finished off to the roof of the net. At this point the urgency seeped back into Castlewellan’s play and urged on by the hard working Russell and McKibben they looked the more likely to grab a winner. With 15 minutes to go Nial Toner went through on goal but was driven wide, he was however needlessly fouled and referee Deegan had no hesitation in pointing to the spot. Despite some time wasting and gamesmanship big Aidan Burns held his nerve and blasted home the award although the keeper with a strong hand nearly kept it out.
Castlewellan saw out the rest of the game in defensive mode but it was a very nervy performance, not helped by the bickering between some players. This has to be eradicated if any more silverware is to end up in the town, everyone has to pull together in a major effort to win these last four games and finish off what has already been a successful season in style.
Connor Stratton had an excellent game, ably backed up by Ruari McArdle while Colm Og Crilly has done his chances of a place on the cup final squad no harm with an assured display.
Certainly not one of our best performances but I put it down to nerves since in the second half when we got our foot on the ball we played some excellent stuff plus not forgetting that Killough were really up for this one even though they had nothing to play for they gave it their all. Still it’s three points and that at the end of the day is all that matters.
