Glenisland 0-1 Crossmolina 

Crossmolina battled to a 1-0 victory amidst the scenic mountains of Glenisland in a match of great commitment and determination. Newly promoted Glenisland, who have been in bad luck in their two previous losses this season, could make a case for this narrow defeat to be added to that list of woe. It was a match in which either side could have claimed superiority, but in different fashions. Glenisland had a lot of second half possession without threatening proportionately. Crossmolina would point to a rampant first half performance which was followed by a resilient rearguard action in the second half. The game was a mere 12 minutes old when the main talking point occurred. After being under pressure from the tip off Glenisland were relieved to win a throw-in after both they and the linesman Seamie Gallagher thought the ball was put out by a Crossmolina boot.. However both the referee and Crossmolina disagreed and the away team took a quick throw which Glenisland didn’t challenge, mistakenly believing that the referee would halt play. Jason Canavan, obeying the rule of playing to the whistle, collected the throw and proceeded to cut in from the left wing throught the static Glenisland defence. He scored amidst great confusion and shouts of protest from the home side, to put Crossmolina 1-0 ahead. Throughout the half the visitors coped handily with the few attacks Glenisland created, and what’s more they thrived on returning those forays with interest. Crossmolina counter attacked at will during the half with the Glenislanders leaving wide open spaces behind them when they advanced up the field. On 20 minutes John Duggan intercepted a pass and carried the ball the length of the field. He undid his good work though by giving a heavy final pass to Derek Greham, sending the striker out too wide for his powerful shot to trouble the goalkeeper too much. Eoin Syron fired two long range shots goalwards with no reward. Duggan and goalscorer Canavan combined on a neat exchange of passes which culminated in a solid shot on goal by the latter. Glenisland came close to equalising on two occasions, both from corner kicks. Crossmolina’s defence headed a corner to the edge of the box where a waiting Glenislander rifled the ball towards the top right corner of Johnny O’Hora’s goal. O’Hora dove at full stretch and brilliantly touched it around the post to concede another corner. The other opportunity was the result of a bout of head tennis in the Crossmolina box, which ended in a Glenisland header just grazing the top of the bar on it’s way over. The first half had featured open passing football, in particular by the visitors, but the second half would see the game transformed into a territorial battle with neither team conceding an inch. It was during this 45 minutes that Crossmolina displayed tremendous spirit and determination to keep a lively home side at bay. Their back four defended with a frightening intensity and their effort was an inspiration to their team-mates. The midfield played with a Dogs of War mentality, tackling everything that moved, even a sweet wrapper which floated across the pitch! The two strikers worried the opposing backline to the extent that they could never attack en masse. The half began with Crossmolina walking unhindered through the home defence, which must have been admiring the surrounding foliage. The Glenisland netminder rescued his dormant defence by smothering Syron’s shot from 8 yards out. After this fortuitous let-off Glenisland carried the game to the visitors for the remainder of the contest. Glenisland floated numerous corner kicks into the area and every one was dispatched up field by a resolute Crossmolina defence. Twice the headers were volleyed back towards goal by a Glenisland player but O’Hora was equal to every effort. In the 70th minute Glenisland introduced Reilly as a substitute and he immediately dribbled from midfield into the Crossmolina 18 yard box. Only a last second tackle by John McGuinness prevented the host from equalising. Hegarty and Whittaker put an end to other promising Glenisland attacks. A rare break out by Crossmolina ended with Syron heading Duggan’s right wing cross low and wide at the back post. As Glenisland gave one final desperate push they earned a corner which would prove to be their last chance. It was delivered at pace just under the crossbar and Mark Loftus headed it off the goal-line just as Glenisland hopes were raised. It was symbolic of the passion with which Crossmolina defended in the half and despite not firing on all cylinders yet this season they can be satisfied with 3 wins and a place in the higher echelons of the league table.

J O’Hora, J McGuinness, J Hegarty, P Whittaker, M Loftus, J Duggan, S Canavan, E Syron, P Flaherty, D Greham(A Loftus 80), J Canavan(F Ferguson 85)

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