Crossmolina 3-2 Bangor Hibs

Roll up, roll up to the greatest show on earth. For guaranteed entertainment this season there might be no place better than Abbeytown. Crossmolina nearly snatched defeat from the jaws of victory for the umpteenth time this season, but eventually held on to beat Bangor Hibs 3-2 at Abbeytown on Sunday afternoon. Crossmolina personify mediocrity this season as they have won four and lost four, while being comfortably situated in midtable. Bangor are struggling near the foot of the table and it took the two teams a while to find themselves in the game during an unremarkable opening 15 minutes. The best chances saw Derek Greham hit the crossbar for the home side after cutting in from the left wing and Bangor failed to convert a goalmouth scramble into a quality shot at goal. It was Greham who roused his colleagues from their malaise when he scored a fine individual goal in the 20th minute for Crossmolina. After collecting the ball in midfield he decided to take the shortest possible route to goal as he galloped past the static Bangor defence before slotting the ball into the net from 10 yards out. Five minutes later two left wing corners yielded good efforts at goal for Crossmolina. The latter earned a right wing corner which Paul Flaherty delivered beautifully for Eoin Syron to head the second goal of the game from six yards out. Syron threatened to extend the lead later when he fortuitously curled a left foot cross just by the top left corner of the goal. A passionate half time oration by goalkeeper Declan Carey provoked the desired response from his teammates as Hibs raised their efforts in the second half. In the first minute of the second half Crossmolina winger John Duggan hit a right wing cross too close to Carey but the ball nearly snuck in over the keeper before he punched it clear. For the rest of the half Bangor battled gamely and tested the home defence which had begun to showboat a bit prematurely. This accusation could not be levelled at centre-back Damien Syron who played with an authority which belied his inexperience at this level. When the going got tough in the second half, Syron got going as he turned in a colossal defensive performance which led the home team to a precious three points. Equally instrumental in the win was Padraig Whittaker who played with his usual intensity but he incorporated some mazy dribbles which would indicate that he is watching Hoggy too much. Many of Whittaker's slaloms ended with him having no place to go and nobody to pass to as his team mates were apparently just as surprised as he was by his flashes of inspiration. Crossmolina appeared to rubber stamp their win on the hour mark when Greham, from a standing position, leapt to head Mark Loftus' left wing cross over goalie Carey for a 3-0 lead. Goalie John Heffernan was nearly the victim of a terrible goalkeeping blunder when he let a weak shot roll through his legs and towards the goal. He scrambled back to save the ball just short of the goal-line. Bangor's substitutes made impacts after being introduced when Mark Cuffe nearly reduced the deficit for Hibs by lashing an 18 yard shot just over the bar after a corner kick. Another set piece did earn Hibs a goal in the 70th minute, when an inswinging left wing free kick was nodded into the net from 15 yards out by substitute Pat Ruddy. Ruddy tried his luck again five minutes later when he rifled a 25 yard free kick just wide. The Hibs comeback received a helping hand, literally, when Duggan was adjudged to have pushed a Bangor striker as he awaited a cross in the 18 yard box with ten minutes remaining. Brian Carey stroked the spot kick into the bottom right corner to resuscitate his team's hopes of a point. A tense closing ten minutes seemed like the longest day of the year all over again for Crossmolina but they were relieved to hear the blast of the referee's whistle to signal the end of an exciting game. Bangor will get an immediate chance to avenge their defeat when they host Crossmolina in two weeks time. It promises to be a cracker.