A much depleted team went to Hillmount Park on Saturday last and came away with a creditable draw.
Annalong’s pitch was in perfect condition and despite windy conditions it was a testament to the Town team that did show up that they were able to come away with a positive result.
Both teams had early chances to take the lead but it was Castlewellan that went ahead on 32 minutes when Paddy Keown’s deep cross was headed across goal by Joe O’Neill, Annalong’s defence couldn’t clear effectively and Dean Anderson pounced to slot home the opening goal.
Annalong had plenty of possession and equalised on 43 minutes when they were awarded a penalty following a clumsy challenge in the area, the award was confidently dispatched to the net.
The home side went ahead in the 55th minute when a right wing cross seemed to elude everyone and was headed home at the back post.
The Town brought on all their subs in an effort to up their momentum but unfortunately young Jed McCartan was only on a matter of 30 seconds before breaking down with a hip injury, meaning that the visitors had to see out the last 15 minutes with a man short. Strangely though it seemed to inspire them and they really took the game to Annalong and were rewarded in the 86th minute when Donagh Steele was upended as he was about to shoot, a penalty was the result and was stroked home with ease by Dean Anderson.
Castlewellan will see this as 2 points dropped but it’s early days and means that next weeks game versus Rossglass takes on a whole new significance.
Hopefully young Jed’s injury isn’t as bad as at first feared and he can be back in short order.
Best for Castlewellan today was Donagh Steele who fought tooth and nail for the entire 90 minutes
