| Sealing
a spot in the Semi Finals of the 2007 CIS Insurance
Cup, Glentoran defeated Dungannon Swifts by only a
single goal. Michael
Halliday would seal the win for the Glens but only
after a closely contested affair which saw centre-back
Sean Ward carried off after only 11 minutes.
This injury led to Michael Ward covering the right
side of defence for almost the entire game.
Although playing with a make-shift back four
Glentoran settled into the game well. The
first half saw the Glens take control of the game,
not allowing Dungannon to see much of the
ball. The amount of possession from the Glens
paid off quickly as after 16 minutes Michael
Halliday put the home side in front. The
goal came from deep in midfield when a squared ball
from Fordyce found Jason Hill on the left
wing. Hill controlled the ball and took it
past his marker with a single touch breaking down
the left side. His final cross met the head of
Chris Morgan who smartly touched the ball right to Halliday's
feet. It was just a matter of picking his spot
as Halliday slipped the ball past the keeper to
score what would be the match winning goal. Shortly
after the goal, Rory Hamill's right wing cross would
surprise everybody including the goalkeeper by
meeting the head of David Scullion at the near post
only to hit the side netting. Dungannon's
first goal-scoring opportunity came on the half-hour
mark when Mark McConkey placed a cross into the
Glentoran box only for Paul Baron to head straight
at Michael Dougherty. With
Glentoran's early defensive substitution, the main
focus of play was to keep possession. Throughout
most of the first half the Glens midfield and
defence passed around their opponents. The
second half came and saw Dungannon gain more
possession, however they failed to convert it into
goal-scoring opportunities. The Glens defence
stood strong and organized throughout. Both
teams had limited chances, as it was a night for the
defenses. Neither team really managed to break
down the other except for one opportunity which
would decide the game and the semi-finals of the CIS
Insurance Cup. Glentoran
now go into the draw along with Linfield, Newry City
and Crusaders. The Semi-Final ties will be
played on the 6th and 7th of November. |
