Match Reports >> 2008 Match Reports >> Westport United B 0-1 Crossmolina

April 6th 2008 Westport United B 0-1 Crossmolina

Reigning Premier Division champions Westport United forfeited home advantage for this game due to their ground currently being closed and duly missed their home comforts as they were soundly beaten by Crossmolina at Abbeytown. The hosts were shorn of a number of starting players but the replacements deputised admirably as the Deelsiders comprehensively outplayed the Covies during the first half. Their stylish passing was impressive to watch and they threatened to score on numerous occasions during the half. Kevin McLoughlin chipped a perfect pass from midfield over the United left back which John Duggan controlled inside the area but his snap-shot was cradled by custodian Michael Gibbons. At different stages Paul Flaherty seemed to take up residency at the right corner flag as the home team enjoyed a succession of corner kicks that Westport did well to defend. However, one of the latter ones dropped in the penalty area, igniting an enthusiastically headless scramble by both squads near the goal-line which was eventually decided in the visitors favour. The deserved breakthrough arrived for Crossmolina after twenty minutes when Pierce Loftus strode purposefully forward from this centre-back berth with the ball at his feet. He eluded a couple of challenges in midfield before larruping an almighty shot from thirty five yards that screamed inside the left post past the helpless Gibbons. At the other end Loftus performed the more mundane duties of defending effectively and his partnership with Kenny Canavan formed an impregnable barrier to United’s attacks. Westport’s best chances of the half were all from distance and Chris Ryder’s sweet strike from twenty five yards that pinged off the corner of the goal frame was the pick of the bunch. Tom McGing swung a speculative thirty yard effort goalwards from the left of midfield but it curled just wide of the right post. Eamon Daly also tried his luck from distance but it didn’t demand any intervention from netminder Michael Cafferty.

The second half was a more even contest but the visitors still couldn’t crack the resolute Crossmolina defence. The hosts attacking vibrancy was subdued as the majority of the shapeless play occurred in the heart of midfield. On the hour mark Duggan’s corner from the left was met by Derek Greham at the near post but his effort rebounded off the upright. Five minutes later Kevin McLoughlin spurned a glorious opportunity to clinch the three points for Crossmolina. A bout of midfield battling was punctuated by a hopeful ball over the top that fell into the corridor of uncertainty between defence and goalie. McLoughlin applied pressure to the outrushing Gibbons who missed the ball granting the spry striker an open goal but somehow he toe-poked his effort wide despite being only yards away from goal. The miss could have had a massive bearing on the game if Westport had managed to convert their dominance during the final ten minutes into something more tangible. They launched balls at the home defence without ever really posing too many problems. Their two best chances of the game occurred in the same passage of play in the final minute when a corner from the right was delivered into the penalty area. Substitute Stevie Patten rifled a shot from twelve yards that was brilliantly saved by Cafferty but the rebound was mis-kicked across the face of goal where Chris Ryder’s reflex header sailed over the crossbar, much to the relief of the home side. It would have been a cruel injustice if United had stolen a point and they will look forward to correcting their faltering start to the campaign.

Crossmolina – Michael Cafferty, Darragh Carroll, Pierce Loftus, Kenny Canavan, Paul Flaherty, John Duggan (Joe Keane 77), Paul McGuinness, Mark Loftus, Mark Howley, Derek Greham (Darren Walsh 70), Kevin McLoughlin (Keith Doherty 85)

Westport United B – Michael Gibbons, Dermot Mulchrone, Eamonn Daly, Colin Cameron, Alan McLoughlin, Chris Ryder, Tom McGing, Sean Tagg, Joe Kelly, Paul Groden, James Fahy

Referee – Philip Redmond

Match Reports >> 2008 Match Reports >> Westport United B 0-1 Crossmolina