| Glentoran
faced Cliftonville in the semi-final of the County Antrim
shield in what would be the biggest test of the
season so far. Cliftonville have proven to be
a top side in recent seasons and have shown that
this season will be no different.
Glentoran vs
Cliftonville always brings a heated atmosphere with
it and tonight's game was no exception.
Including 3 goals, two dismissals and plenty of
controversy, this game was a classic battling Tuesday
night cup-tie.
Both teams were up
for it from the beginning with pressure being placed
at both defensive lines, but it was on 5 minutes
that the Glens had the first real goal-scoring
opportunity. David Scullion took control of
the ball on the edge of the penalty box and placed a
low cross towards strikers Hamilton and
Halliday. The ball fell for Halliday who had a
clear opportunity at goal blocked by the last
defender.
Soon after,
Scullion would attempt a solo effort as he carried
the ball through the Cliftonville midfield and fired
his shot from 20 yards just wide of the post.
The following 10 minutes would see Cliftonville take
more control applying pressure to the Glentoran
defence. While making Sean Ward and Paul
Leeman work hard, the Reds pressure never amounted
to a shot on target with the Glens defence keeping
them at bay.
Glentoran would
come close again through the usual suspect, Gary Hamilton
came within inches of heading home for the Glens but
could not stretch any further as the ball
painstakingly drifted past his head.
On 23 minutes,
Cliftonville had what would be their closest chance
to take the lead in the game as they grazed the top
of the bar with long range shot from the edge of the
penalty box.
The game took a
controversial turn on 28 minutes when Declan O'Hara
lunged in on David Scullion with a two-footed tackle
to earn himself a straight red card.
Kyle Neill hit the resulting free kick on target but
was easily collected by Cliftonville goalkeeper John
Connolly.
At this stage the
game was heating up, with Cliftonville a man less
Glentoran pushed forward. Gary Hamilton
pounced on an unsuspecting John Martin, stealing the
ball and finding himself 1-on-1 with the
goalkeeper. Hamilton rounded the keeper and as
the defence scrambled to cover slotted home from a
tight angle to make it 1-0 to the Glens.
Cliftonville boss
Eddie Patterson then stole the headlines with his
off-field antics, seemingly pushing referee Brian
Turkington to the limit. Patterson was
dismissed to the stands only 40 minutes into his
first game back from suspension.
Cliftonville pulled
one back on the stroke of half time with a penalty
from Francis Murphy. Elliot Morris was judged
to have taken down Chris Scannell as he was coming
to punch the ball clear from goal. Murphy
stepped up and leveled the game for the Reds right
on the half-time whistle.
The second half
came with much less controversy and incident,
however it took only 3 minutes for the Cliftonville
to make their intentions known. The
Cliftonville attack were left wondering how they
didn't score at a low cross drifted just past the
past and two sliding players failed for turn the
ball in.
Glentoran manager
Alan McDonald opted to change things in the midfield
by bringing on young Ryan Berry in the place of veteran
Dean Fitzgerald. Berry seemed to settle the
midfield as the Glens got into their stride in the
second half. Seven minutes into the half, the
Carnegie Premier League top scorer, Gary Hamilton
came close again as the ball fell loose in the
penalty box. Hamilton's shot from 6 yards was
blocked on the line by the last defender.
Colin Nixon would be
the unlikely hero of the night as he took the lead
again for the East Belfast men. A Kyle Neill
cross confused the Cliftonville defence causing the
frantic goal-mouth scramble. Nixon would be on
hand to turn the ball into the net to make it 2-1 to
the Glens.
Glentoran had a few
more strong attacks with Gary Hamilton striking a
1-on-1 opportunity tot he goalkeepers near post only
for it to be turned out for the corner.
Hamilton, Fordyce and Halliday each got a touch of
the ball inside the Cliftonville goal mouth but none
of them could seem to get that finishing touch
towards goal. Hamilton also had a crossed
effort cleared off the line.
On 42 minutes Jason
Hill entered play, coming on for Michael Ward, as
the Glens aimed to hold on to their lead for
victory. The second half would end in a
similar fashion to the first with some frantic play
and more controversy. In the final minutes
Cliftonville pressured the Glens defence, but their
closest chance came from a long-range shot direct
from a free kick. The shot was collected
easily by Elliot Morris
The game played out
as Cliftonville continued to attack, but it to be
Glentoran's night as the East Belfast men walked
away with the Co. Antrim Shield final marked in
their calendars for Tuesday 30th October.
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