NORTH DOWN 4 – ANTRIM 1 Antrim travelled to Comber on Saturday to play North Down in their next league match and boosted by last week’s win over Campbellians were confident that they could do well in this game. In the second minute Stuart McIlroy took the ball off a North Down forward and from deep in his own half scooped the ball into space on the right wing for Rory Brown to collect and run at the home circle. He squared the ball to the unmarked Alastair Reilly but he missed a great opportunity to score when his shot was blocked by the onrushing goalkeeper to deflect for a long corner. Antrim continued the early pressure with wingers Paddy McClean and Brown running into the home defence but nearly every time their final passes were intercepted or their feeble attempts to get into the circle were easily blocked by the home defenders. Then from an innocuous looking right wing break the ball was fired across the circle into the goalmouth to a forward who was lurking at the right hand post and only the alertness of goalkeeper Andy Heatley who made a diving save to clear, prevented him from scoring. It soon became obvious that Antrim’s tactic was to defend in numbers allowing their opponents almost complete possession in their own half hoping to catch them by surprise from the odd breakout. North Down won their first penalty corner in the 7th minute and Heatley palmed the ball down but it hit a defenders foot from the attempted clearance. The retake just skimmed the crossbar from a well taken drag flick. Another penalty corner shot was blocked and cleared away as the pressure on the Antrim defence continued. In the 14th minute an attempted Antrim clearance was intercepted and the ball was played to an unmarked forward who fired the ball wide when he should have scored. Two more attempts saw the ball deflected over the crossbar first from an Antrim defender’s stick and then off an attacker’s stick. It looked as if it would be only a matter of time before a mistake in the Antrim defence would allow the homsters to score. Then in the 17th minute a quick break down the left wing saw the speedy McKeown win Antrim’s first penalty corner when he was obstructed by a defender. A good hit out and stop gave Neil McCullough the time to pick his spot and slam the ball into the net to give Antrim the surprise 1-0 lead. Stuart McIlroy’s robust tackling was being harshly penalised by the unsympathetic umpire and another corner was awarded against him for an out of circle challenge. The ball was cleared to Johnny McMeekin who broke free down the left wing to lay off a great square pass to Brown but he held on to the ball that split second too long and the onrushing goalkeeper was able to deflect it away from the empty goal. North Down kept up the pressure and won a penalty corner in the 27th minute. Heatley blocked the initial shot but Tom Donnan reacted first to slam the rebound back into the net to give the homsters the deserved equaliser. A McCullough interchange with Ryan McCrea saw the latter’s shot just blocked by the goalkeeper’s toe before the ball was switched to the other end where McIlroy was penalised again for a rather innocuous stick tackle. From the penalty corner the ball was hammered into the net but it hit a forward’s leg on the way and the goal was disallowed as half time arrived. After the restart Antrim had the early pressure as their forwards started to put a few passes together. Brown’s silky skills were causing the home defence problems but he was afforded no protection from panicking defender’s clumsy tackles. A McMeekin cross from the right fell to McKeown at the left hand post but he fumbled his shot and another golden opportunity to score was lost. Then a neat through pass from David Mailey sent McCullough clear to run at the goalkeeper but once again that split second of hesitation allowed the goal minder to block the goal bound shot. Again the Antrim passing, tackling and accurate hitting was letting them down as time after time the ball was given straight back to the opposition. Then in a 42nd North Down attack the ball, crossed from the left, hit Steve Gleghorne’s leg and broke to an unmarked forward whose shot was blocked by Heatley. Then, amazingly the umpire awarded North Down a penalty stroke, a decision which stunned both teams, and in the following uproar it emerged that the decision was given against Gleghorne for deliberately kicking the ball. The penalty was converted by Gareth Bailey to give North Down the lead but Heatley was sin binned for his continued loud and vociferous protests against the decision. This wrong decision completely spoiled the game and naturally the moral of the Antrim team diminished. McCullough took over as kicking back until Heatley returned and then went forward to shoot just wide of the post with another penalty corner shot for Antrim. Then from a 54th minute North Down right wing attack the ball was swept into the goalmouth to hit a defender on the chest but from the penalty stroke award goalkeeper Heatley made a superb diving save to keep his team in the game. But that all changed in the next minute when a bad hit out was intercepted and a couple of passes split the Antrim defence open to allow Steve Forrest to glide the ball into the net for the 3-1 lead. Antrim threw caution to the wing as they pushed forward to try and get a goal but as usually happens a 63rd minute North Down attack saw the ball crossed from the right bounce into the air for David Shepherd to get a lucky touch to deflect it into the net despite the close attention from Roe. The game finished with no more goals to give the home team a rather flattering 4-1 wins. The same teams meet again this week this time at the Paddy Marks Arena and in the first round of the Irish Trophy with a 1pm start. Antrim Squad :- A Heatley, D Gleghorne, D Mailey, D Gleghorne, J Roe, J McMeekin, D Wilson, N McCullough, S McIlroy, R Brown, P McKeown, R McCrea and A Reilly. LISNAGARVEY FIFTHS 2 – ANTRIM SECONDS 2 Antrim Seconds travelled to Hillsborough last Saturday to play Lisnagarvey Fifths in their next league match. They arrived early and after a rigorous warm-up they went through a few shooting drills before their recently appointed captain Stuart Kernaghan announced the line-up. Stuart with the help of Tommy Monahan decided to take over the captaincy as Greg Shirley, Antrims chairperson, simply didnt have enough hours in the day to do the job properly. With young Matthew Whiteside in goal, Jack Rankin and Calum Totten at left and right back respectively along with the experience of Ricky Monaghan and Jason Caldwell in the middle, the defence looked rock solid. Antrim attacked from the off with Lyle Kane, Greg Shirley, Scotty Mitchell and Brian Creighton making plenty of dangerous runs. Antrim were again guilty of not capitalising on the many chances they had as frustratingly shot after shot was fired wide of the goal! Jack Rankin kept pushing up supporting Tommy Monahan and Greg Shirley who were firing in some crisp hits. In the 8th minute the predatory Lyle Kane appeared at the back post to volley in a clever reverse stick lob from Shirley to give his team the 1-0 lead. Antrim continued to attack with the defence looking comfortable and managing to switch the ball around the back and out to Totten and Rankin. Then a slip in concentration and a few touches too many saw a defender robbed of the ball and it was moved quickly into the Antrim circle. Caught by surprise the ball was only half cleared and inevitably it was worked back across the goalmouth to be swept past the Antrim keeper to bring the scores level, to be one the softest goal they have conceded this season. This set back seemed to fire up the sleeping Antrim side and soon afterwards they were awarded a penalty corner and an opportunity to try out Kernaghans cleverly scripted routine. With the ball dragged out to the top of the circle, Kernaghans low hard sweep was deflected home by the outstretched Kane’s stick to score his and Antrims second goal. Lisnagarvey fought back and started to ping the ball about with some lovely crisp accurate passing. Young Stuart Ruddock who had come on as a substitute began to make his presence felt with some well timed robust tackles. Just before the break Lisnagarvey scored an equaliser when the Antrim defence dithered again and when a few chances to clear the ball were not taken, the homsters took full advantage to ram the ball into the net through a crowd of players to leave the half-time score tied at 2-2. The half-time team talk was mostly positive with Kernaghan and Monaghan pointing out one or two tactical changes that were required. The second half saw some of the best end to end junior hockey played in the province this season. Rankin was awesome in attack and defence along with Totten who seems to have massively improved over the past month. Both teams created plenty of scoring chances with the attackers from both teams just missing the final touch to score the winning goal. As the time ticked down Antrim looked like theyd scored the winner when a fantastic Shirley pass from outside the circle was touched into the goal at the back post. Unfortunately it was a Lisnagarvey player who had deflected the ball into the goal and a long corner was the only reward. Chris Wilson then turned on a bit of magic when he bundled his way into the circle to smash a great reverse stick shot towards goal. The home keeper pulled off a fantastic save to deny Wilson what surely would have been the winner. In the dying second the home side could have nicked it but thankfully for Antrim one shot was blasted wide and another deflected high into the side netting. A great match between two teams that had their sights set on victory. Antrims captains Kernaghan and Monahan had mixed feelings in that it was two points dropped but also a game where no one could argue that it was a gutsy coherent display by the Antrim team. Training is on this Monday and Wednesday and only attendance and hard work will see this side improve. Thanks to Lisnagarvey for their hospitality, and to Antrims Stuart Campbell along with the home side umpire who both officiated in such a fair and professional manner. This week the Seconds travel to Ferris Park in Dromore to face a strong Banbridge side that will be looking for revenge for the heavy defeat they suffered earlier in the season at the Forum. Antrim Squad - M Whiteside, R Monaghan, J Caldwell, J Rankin, C Totten, T Monahan, S Kernaghan, S Mitchell, G Shirley, B Creighton, L Kane, C Wilson and S Ruddock ANTRIM THIRDS 2 – CIVIL SERVICE THIRDS 2 Antrim Thirds entertained Civil Service Thirds at the Paddy Marks Arena last Friday night in a league match. Antrim goalkeeper Stuart Campbell was in early action when he saved well from a snap shot in the 5th minute. Antrim were dangerous when they attacked down the right with Chris Wilson, Lyle Kane and Ryan McCrea linking well together but the passes across the circle were not getting through the solid Service defence or if they did they never were accurate enough for Gareth McCue or Aaron McClenaghan to pick up and get shots at the goals. Tommy Monahan was comfortably controlling the centre mid field but far too frequently his passes were fumbled by his forwards in their efforts to get the ball into the Service circle. At the other end Service won the first penalty corner of the game in the 22nd minute when an Antrim defender illegally blocked a forward as he was about to shoot. The strike at goal was deflected for a long corner but the ball was finally scrambled away. Full backs Totten and Ranking were making things hard for themselves as time after time their passes out of defence were being intercepted but, lucky for them the Service finishing was poor. Then a real chance in the 25th minute for Antrim with a quick break into the Service defence but McCrea was guilty of holding on to the ball far too long and in the end was easily dispossessed. Antrim won their first penalty corner in the 28th minute when a high clearance was deemed to be illegal. The ball was played out to McCue but his half hit shot bounced harmlessly past the post. In the next Service attack the centre forward flicked the ball wide to miss an easy chance. Then just before half time McCrea worked the ball down into the right hand corner to somehow squeeze it into the circle where McClenaghan deflected it past several defenders to leave Kane the easiest of tasks to knock it into the empty net to give Antrim the 1-0 half time lead. The Antrim defence were still sleeping when in the first minute of the second half goalkeeper Campbell made a good save from an unmarked Service forward. The ball was switched to the other end and the goalkeeper attempted clearance hit McCue on the head. From the resultant penalty corner the ball fell to McCrea but he rushed his shot and it just skimmed the wrong side of the post. The hit out was quickly played down the right wing and the ball worked to the bye line through at least three weak Antrim tackles to be played across the goalmouth and dispatched into the net past the helpless goalkeeper for the equaliser. Service almost scored again within a minute when a snap reverse stick shot just skimmed the crossbar. From the next Antrim attack they won a series of penalty corners but they came to nothing when McCue again shot wide of the target. The striker was changed for Antrim’s next penalty corner but Totten’s strong drag flick was well saved when the goalkeeper palmed the ball away to safety. As the game progressed play was fairly even as it switched from end to end with both teams missing chances. An Antrim penalty corner chance was lost when Kane deflected the ball wide of the post. Then on the hour Kane picked up a loose ball just over the half way line and raced towards the Service circle to play the ball left to McCue who passed it back across the goalmouth for McClenaghan to slam it into the net to give Antrim the 2-1 lead. Unfortunately Antrim made no conscious effort to defend their lead for the final few minutes and were caught on the counter attack by the fighting opposition. Rankin was penalised in the 67th minute to concede a penalty corner and from the shot at goal the ball deflected off an Antrim stick high into the net for the equaliser to strong protests but the goal was awarded. Then just before the end a determined Service attack down the left was only thwarted when Wilson cleared the ball off the line to save the day and give both teams the share of the points. This week the Thirds have no game as their listed opponents have pulled out of the league. Thirds Squad :- S Campbell, C Totten, J Rankin, C Wilson, T Monahan, G Shirley, R McCrea, G McCue, L Kane, A McClenaghan and J Carey antrimhockey.hitssports.co.uk/news/2014/default.aspx#news88133
Posted on: Wed, 10 Dec 2014 15:32:29 +0000
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