Match Photos : Graeme Bolton Photography

Video highlights: Camera - Ryan Tweedie; Editing - Graeme Bolton

Saturday 22nd August 2009 - Steel & Sons Cup (Round Two)

Ballyclare Comrades team

Subs: 12.Keith Armstrong, 14.Darren Munster, 15.Andy Long, 16.Ricky Moore, 17.Sam McWilliams

Comrades substitutions

Kyle Agnew (67')

Keith Armstrong (67')

Simon McGowan (76')

Sam McWilliams (76')

Andy Simms (79')

Darren Munster (79')

Goals

David Officer (31')

Lauder (50')

Johnny Gowdy (53')

David Officer (75')

Riding (81')

Comrades cards

Andy Forsythe (71')

Comrades man of the match

Johnny Gowdy

Despite a rather patchy performance, Comrades advanced to the next round of the Steel & Sons Cup with a narrow victory over Amateur League 1C side Bangor Swifts.

For this match manager Gordon Chambers shuffled his pack, experimenting with a 3-5-2 formation. Keeper Paddy Flood returned to the side after injury, with Mark Drysdale and Niall Devine, making his competitive debut after signing from Cliftonville, drafted into the defence. In midfield veteran Stuart Galbraith came in after a suspension, whilst Andy Simms started on the left. Up front versatile newcomer signed from Newry City, Johnny Gowdy, made his first start alongside Mark McClelland.

The game, played at St. Columbanus’ College in Bangor, kicked off with Comrades playing with the freshening wind behind them. The visitors took advantage early on and the bulk of the play was in the Swifts half.

In the 6th minute Comrades came close to getting the early goal they desired when Mark McClelland did very well to turn and shoot from a difficult angle at the right side of the 6-yard box, but his effort smacked off the bar.

Four minutes later McClelland had another effort, this time heading over, after some head tennis in the Swifts box.

After the first 10 minutes Swifts began to find their feet and although posing little threat to the Comrades goal, they looked fairly comfortable dealing with Comrades attacks. However, on 21 minutes they were glad to see a close range header at the back post from Mark Drysdale go just wide, after the Comrades defender had got on the end of a corner from the left from Kyle Agnew.

As Comrades began to look rather frustrated at their lack of progress against a side they might be expected to beat comfortably, Gordon Chambers reverted to a more familiar 4-4-2 formation around the half hour mark, with Stuart Galbraith filling in as sweeper.

Not long afterwards the breakthrough came, on 31 minutes, when Swifts failed to clear a ball in from the right from Kyle Agnew and it fell to David Officer, 9 yards out, who calmly chipped the ball over the diving keeper with a very cool finish.

Comrades now pressed to cement their lead before the interval, but were still not wholly convincing; the only real decent effort coming from Kyle Agnew on 43 minutes, when he cut in from the right and shot from 16 yards, just wide of the far post.

The second half started brightly enough for Comrades and they might have been two up two minutes in, when Mark McClelland received the ball at the edge of the box, turned  past his marker and advanced to send a rising shot over the bar from 11 yards.

However, with the wind now at their back, Swifts looked a much more dangerous proposition going forward against a rather brittle looking Comrades side. Despite this, it was still a shock when the home side grabbed an equaliser on 50 minutes with their first real chance of the match. Comrades contributed to their own downfall on this occasion by dallying on the ball in midfield and gifting it to Swifts, who rather too easily found Lauder in acres of space 7 yards out, and he comfortably finished past the helpless Paddy Flood.

Comrades were now stung into action and within three minutes had their lead back. A corner was only cleared to Mark Drysdale, who lofted the ball over the advancing keeper from the edge of the box. It then broke to Johnny Gowdy who shot home from 9 yards out.

If Comrades fans hoped this goal would give their side confidence to go on and dominate the rest of the game, they were to be disappointed, as Swifts continued to take the cause problems.

There was a real scare for the visitors on 57 minutes when Paddy Flood let a ball into the box slip out of his grasp under pressure from Hawkes. The Swifts man looked certain to score after he nodded the ball towards goal, but somehow Flood managed to get back and scoop the ball off the line.

A few minutes later Comrades had a couple of decent efforts set up by the impressive Johnny Gowdy. Firstly, on 61 minutes Gowdy pulled a good ball back from the by-line inside the box for David Officer to shoot into the side-netting from 13 yards. Then, two minutes later, he fired a great low ball in from the right across the 6-yard box, which just eluded the boot of the in-rushing Mark McClelland, before falling to Andy Simms, who slammed the ball against the angle of the bar and post from 8 yards out.

At this stage Comrades, despite not looking completely in control, were definitely creating more chances than their opponents. On 74 minutes the dangerous David Officer produced another good shot from 16 yards after a quick move up-field. However, the keeper saved well. A minute later though, there was nothing the Swifts goalie could do when a neat flick in the box by Johnny Gowdy set up Officer for another effort, which this time he drilled into the net from 10 yards.

Comrades now looked capable of putting the result beyond doubt. On 77 minutes substitute Keith Armstrong sent a half volley just wide of the target from 16 yards. Then, a minute later, the same player was denied when his well struck shot from 10 yards was met by a fine save from the keeper.

On 80 minutes another second half substitute, Darren Munster, broke into the box from the left and was only denied by a good block from the keeper 8 yards from goal.

A minute later, however, and Comrades were left with a nervous end to the game as Swifts grabbed a goal out of the blue, when Riding fired a great shot from 20 yards low into the bottom corner of the net past the diving Paddy Flood.

Despite home side’s valiant efforts to grab an equaliser to send the game into extra-time, they were denied by some, at times, rather desperate Comrades defending. In the end the Comrades fans were glad to hear the final whistle to a game their team probably should have won more comfortably.

Despite some good individual performances, this was a scrappy and fairly uninspired display from Comrades, who at times struggled to deal with their well drilled opponents. Nevertheless, the men from Dixon Park are in the hat for the next round of the Cup and did probably deserve the win on the number of chances created.