Glentoran were in dreamland this evening after seeing off Crusaders 4-2 in the BetMcLean Cup Semi-Final at the BetMcLean Oval.
A double from Jordan Jenkins and extra-time strikes from Kodi Lyons-Foster and Jay Donnelly did the damage against a dogged Crusaders side, who forced extra time with second-half goals from Stewart Nixon and Kieran Offord.
Glentoran wasted no time establishing their dominance in East Belfast, grabbing the opener with only 12 minutes on the clock.
Dylan Connolly burst through the Crusaders defence and looked set to beat Jonny Tuffey in goal, but Jacob Blaney clumsily pulled the winger down from behind, leaving referee Ben McMaster with no option but to award the spot-kick.
The in-form Jenkins stepped up and calmly stroked the ball home, sending Tuffey the wrong way.
Crusaders managed their first attempt on goal around the half-hour mark when Jarlath O’Rourke crossed for Ross Clarke, but the winger’s header drifted wide of the post.
After Clarke sent another tame effort towards Daniel Gyollai’s goal that was easily saved, Jenkins struck again in the 36th minute, and there was nothing tame about this one.
After Clarke sent another tame effort towards Daniel Gyollai’s goal that was easily saved, Jenkins struck again in the 36th minute, and there was nothing tame about this one.
The striker stepped inside from the right before unleashing a trademark thunderbolt past Tuffey, much to the delight of the home fans.

Half-Time: Glentoran 2 – 0 Crusaders

However, Jenkins was forced to limp off just 10 minutes into the second half, and supporters – along with Declan Devine – will be hoping it was only a precaution.
Soon after, Offord had a golden chance to pull one back for the visitors, but his volley from close range flew over the crossbar after the Glens failed to deal with a cross from the right.
But Crusaders didn’t have to wait much longer to find the net. In the 58th minute, Nixon pounced on a ball in the box and fired into the bottom corner to halve the deficit.
The goal spurred Crusaders on and 18 minutes later, they were level. Offord cut inside before sliding the ball through Gyollai’s legs from close range, setting up a grandstand finish.
Glentoran had a chance to win it in normal time when Jay Donnelly rose highest to meet Daniel Amos’ corner, but he couldn’t direct his header goal wards and the match headed into extra time.
With both sides tiring, the breakthrough came in the 115th minute when Lyons-Foster popped up with his first goal for Glentoran, directing an Amos free-kick into the net at the perfect time.
The Glens sealed victory in the final minute when substitute Jay Donnelly tapped into an empty net after Tuffey had ventured upfield for a Crusaders corner, leaving his goal exposed.
Glentoran now advance to the BetMcLean Cup Final in March, where they will meet Cliftonville, who defeated Larne in the other Semi-Final.
Full-Time (AET): Glentoran 4-2 Crusaders
Glentoran: Gyollai, Russell (Hvid 45), Amos, Lyons-Foster, McEleney (Douglas 91), Sule (c), Palmer (Lindsay 77), Singleton, Connolly (Wassim 62), Pattison (Thorndike 91) and Jenkins (Donnelly 53)
Subs (Not used): Mills, Murphy, Donnelly

Photographs by PACEMAKER