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A 10-man Glentoran
team left Stangmore Park this afternoon with a
deserved spot in the quarter finals of the JJB
Sports Irish Cup after beating Dungannon Swifts by
two goals.
Controversy struck on 18 minutes when Darren Boyce
was booked for what appeared to be a clean,
ball-winning challenge. It was 2 minutes
later where an off the ball incident was picked up
on by the referee's assistant prompting the
referee to produce a second yellow card followed
by a red for Darren Boyce.
Despite being reduced to 10 men, there could be
little argument from anyone who witnessed the
game, that it was indeed the East Belfast men who
more than deserved to progress from this contest.
From the opening minute, the Glens were putting
Swifts' goalkeeper Dwayne Nelson under pressure,
when quick thinking from Jamie McGovern from a
throw-in allowed Halliday to tee the ball up for a
stinging Hamilton volley, which the keeper was
relieved to see fly just over.
Hamilton was posing problems for the defence with
his movement, and despite a few hard and late
challenges, he managed to find space on 15 minutes
to latch on to a Kyle Neill header. But just as he
prepared to pull the trigger, a last gasp tackle
managed to put the ball behind for a corner.
One minute later, Darren Boyce was very harshly
judged to have committed a foul on the half-way
line. The winger went to ground in the challenge,
and appeared to cleanly win the ball, long before
any Swifts player came into the challenge. Yet the
referee saw it differently, and produced what
would be a very influential yellow card.
Just 2 minutes later, the referee's assistant
called his counterpart over to indicate that Boyce
had been involved in an off-the-ball incident, no
doubt born of frustration relating to the previous
harsh decision. Rather than ask the player to calm
down and refocus on the game, the referee rushed
to produce a second yellow card, and leave the
Glens with a mountain to climb.
Glentoran had to restructure the formation, but
within 10 minutes they began to find their stride
again. Leeman was commanding and Ward reassured at
the back, while McCabe dominant in midfield. Kyle
Neill and Daryl Fordyce were providing excellent
support for Hamilton and Halliday, while McGovern
and Hill on the wings made up for the narrowing of
the midfield. And all the while, Elliott Morris
gave the team a confidence that he would be there
to cope with anything they failed to stop,
confidently collecting crosses, and even producing
a point-blank save on 25 minutes.
Just moments after that, the hard working Halliday
saw a headed effort taken by the home 'keeper, as
the Glens began to look like the team with the
extra man.
Halliday was looking dangerous, and on the
half-hour mark he saw his well hit volley from the
edge of the penalty box hooked off the line by a
home defender, while Nelson could only stand and
watch.
Dungannon showed that they could still pose a
threat, and Morris was called into action on 33
minutes, tipping a drive from distance onto the
upright and away to safety.
Five minutes before the break, Halliday was again
denied by Nelson. Kyle Neill had delivered the
cross for Halliday's header, after Gary Hamilton,
Daryl Fordyce and Jason Hill had all combined to
get the ball to Neill.
The second half started in the same vein as the
first ended. Hamilton provided a left wing cross
which was helped on it's way be Hill. The ball
came to Leeman 8 yards from goal and he will be
disappointed that his header was well above the
target.
Moments later, Dungannon would continue to ride
their luck as a Daryl Fordyce effort from Neill's
corner was cleared off the line. By this point it
looked like it was only a matter of time before
the breakthrough would come.
On 60 minutes, Hill swung a left wing cross into
the box, but Halliday was at full stretch and
could only get a little contact on the ball,
unable to direct his header goalward.
Two minutes later, the Swifts resolute defending
was beginning to frustrate the Glens. Hamilton's
free-kick was well charged down, as was Neill's
follow up. Hill played the ball back into the
goalmouth, but again Halliday was denied by
Nelson.
On 65 minutes the opening goal eventually arrived.
Jamie McGovern started a move that involved
Halliday, McCabe, Fordyce, Neill. The ball came
back to Halliday who went past the goalkeeper, and
Hamilton was on hand to stroke the ball home with
his left foot.
The game began to settle into a midfield contest,
as the Swifts were unable to create much going
forward, and Glentoran's 10 men began to look
tired after their efforts. But on 77 minutes,
Hamilton was clattered by a home defender in the
penalty box, and Jason Hill had the opportunity to
seal the win from 12 yards. He made no mistake.
The final minutes played out as McDonald's men
were able to take the foot off the pedal for the
first time in the match, and the home team looked despondent
at this missed opportunity.
To illustrate the size of this accomplishment, it
should be pointed out that an 11 man Glens only
managed to take a point from the league fixture at
this ground, whilst Linfield fell to a 4-0 defeat
against the same opposition earlier this season.
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Courtesy of
Russell Pritchard/
PRESSEYE
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