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Heartbreak for battling
Rasheney
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Lagan Harps...3 (Chris Toner, Kevin Kelly, Paul Rodgers) Rasheney...2 (Denis Hegarty, Eamon Mahon) By Liam Porter, Inishowen Independent A FANTASTIC strike in extra-time from full-back Paul Rodgers saw ten man Lagan Harps through to the next round of the Ulster Junior Cup on Sunday, but the Donegal League Premier Division side were made to fight all the way by a Rasheney team who will be disappointed that they didn’t take their chance to progress. Not that it looked as if that would even be a possibility after an opening blitz from the home wide which saw them race into a two goal lead within the first eleven minutes. |
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The game had barely got
into its stride when Keith Malseed was upended in the
box with a clumsy tackle in the 2nd minute, and when
referee Tony Gilroy pointed for a spot-kick Chris Toner
stepped up and tucked away the penalty. Rasheney did cause a moment of panic in the Lagan defence in the 7th minute with a header from Eamon Mahon after Lagan keeper Keelan McDermott came and missed a cross into the box, but overall the home side looked to be well in control. And their early dominance paid off in the 11th minute when a cross from Marty Brogan from the left found Kevin Kelly on the edge of the box and he hammered the ball into the top corner to make it two nil. The might even have made it 3-0 in the 17th minute when Gabriel Crawford sent Brogan away on the left and his cross found Kelly who fired his shot across the face of the goal. It looked all too easy for the home side, but gradually the Inishowen League First Division outfit grabbed the game by the scruff of the neck and soon were outplaying Lagan with Mahon, Sean Toland and Brian Devlin all playing well in midfield. |
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However for all their neat
football the visitors seemed to lack any real cutting
edge and it was hard to see where a goal would come
from. However that changed in the 34th minute when Eamon
Mahon nipped into the box and while his shot was blocked
the rebound fell to Denis Hegarty and the young striker
made no mistake with a neat finish to the bottom corner. The goal rattled the home side who were now camped deep in their own half and Rasheney might have levelled the game in the 37th minute when John McLaughlin raced on to a through ball, but under pressure from Declan Moore could only get in a weak shot. However things got worse for Lagan five minutes before the break when Kevin Kelly was sent off for a second bookable offence and the Donegal League side were facing an uphill battle to maintain their lead. |
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That said Lagan might well have added to their tally two
minutes into the second half when Moore’s shot was well
saved by Rasheney keeper Damien Doherty. A minute later Rasheney spurned a fantastic chance to level the game when Alan Friel saw his shot well saved by McDermott while Eamon Mahon also fired wide in the 52nd minute after some good build-up play by the visitors. Lagan were however defending well and Rasheney were reduced to a number of long range efforts that the home side dealt with comfortably. Then it looked as if the game might be over in the 61st minute when a strike from Paul Rodgers slipped through Doherty’s hands and into the net, only for the goal to be disallowed because the ball had gone out of play in the build-up. With the seconds ticking away it looked as if the home side would hold on but then Mahon rose unchallenged with five minutes to go and headed home from McLaughlin’s corner. It should have been the spur for the visitors to go on and kill off the challenge of the ten men from Lagan, but the home side might have stolen it two minutes from time when Toner raced through only to see his shot drop onto the crossbar. |
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However Lagan finally saw
off Rasheney eight minutes into extra time when Gabriel
Crawford raced up the right and won a free-kick on the
edge of the box and Rodgers, who had earlier forced a
good save from Doherty, fired the ball into the top
corner. Rasheney pressed and pressed for a goal that would force penalties after that, but they never really created a clear cut chance and in the end Lagan held on for the win. Lagan Harps: Keelan McDermott, Declan Moore, Paul Rodgers, Damien McFadden, Shaun Doherty, Gabriel Crawford, Kevin Kelly, Donal Callaghan, Chris Toner, Keith Malseed, Marty Brogan. Subs: Niall Gildea for Callaghan (66); Brian Bradley for Brogan (73) Rasheney: Damien Doherty, John Doherty, Cornelius McCole, Liam Diver, Paul McConnellogue, Eamon Mahon, Brian Devlin, Sean Toland, Denis Hegarty, John McLaughlin, Alan Friel. Subs: Ryan Harkin for Denis Hegarty (71); John Doherty for Diver (100); Bernard Friel for Alan Friel (100). For full coverage of all your weekend sport, read the Inishowen Independent. |
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