Tuesday 27th April 2010 - Ladbrokes.com Championship 1

Ballyclare Comrades team

Subs: 12.Stuart McCullough, 14.Scott Irvine, 15.Stevie Bainbridge, 16.Sam McWilliams, 17.Matt Boyd

Loughgall: Robinson, Waddell, Pentland, Alderdice, Peden, Herron, Moffatt, Hawthorne, Brown, McDowell, Evans. Subs - Lavery, Adair, McVeigh, Boyle, Baker.

Comrades substitutions

Gareth Curlett (63')

Stuart McCullough (63')

Stevie McDowell (71')

Scott Irvine (71')

Andy Forsythe (84')

Matt Boyd (84')

Goals

Darragh Peden (28')

Andy Brown (41')

Paul McDowell (58')

Lee Rushe (85')

Comrades cards

None

Comrades man of the match

Andy Long

Comrades’ relegation fears increased with a defeat to title chasing Loughgall in their last home game of the season.

Gordon Chambers made two changes to the side which had acquitted itself well against Donegal Celtic the previous Saturday. Scott Irvine had received a heavy blow to the head in that game and was left on the bench for the meeting with Loughgall, Stevie McDowell taking his place on the right side of midfield. Captain Andy

Forsythe returned from suspension, in place of youngster Matt Boyd.

The game started brightly for Comrades and for the first quarter of an hour, they were able to take the game to their opponents.

In the 5th minute Stevie McDowell hit a good effort from 20 yards, which dipped just over the bar. However, the closest effort of this spell came on 15 minutes, when an Andy Simms corner, whipped in from the right, was met by a powerful header from 7 yards from Lee Rushe, which crashed against the crossbar.

This unlucky break for Comrades seemed to mark a turning point in the game, with the visitors becoming the dominant force, perhaps spurred on by nearly falling behind.

Increasing pressure was put on Comrades defence, with a number of corners being conceded, from which the tall Loughgall side posed a serious threat. The home side dealt with these set-pieces, with some difficulty, but without a serious scare, until they conceded the first goal of the game from a corner in the 28th minute. The ball was whipped in from the left to the far post area, where Peden was well placed to head in from 6 yards.

Two minutes later Comrades had a chance to get a quick equaliser, when from a tackle just inside the Loughgall half, the ball broke forward to Ronnie Burns, running clear of the visitors’ defence, however, his resulting effort from the edge of the box was thwarted by a block from the alert, outrushing keeper Robinson.

Loughgall came close to increasing their lead in the 34th minute, when Comrades defence dallied on clearing the ball in the box, allowing Moffatt to poke a shot a goal from 13 yards, which hit the base of the post.

Comrades might, have taken going in at half-time just one goal behind, but Loughgall managed to increase the margin four minutes from the break. A fine cross from the left from Pentland was whipped in perfectly for Brown to head home from 7 yards out.

The second half continued, much as the first had ended, with Loughgall looking the more threatening side and Comrades, despite no shortage of effort, struggling to make headway in getting back into the game.

In the 56th minutes Comrades were glad of a piece of fine keeping from Allen Huxley. A Loughgall free-kick just outside the box, broke off the wall perfectly into the path of Herron, but his effort from 10 yards was denied by a fine save, with the keeper, spreading himself to block with his leg.

Comrades’ reprieve was short-lived, however, as two minutes later they went three goals behind. Another excellent cross, this time from the right, found McDowell arriving at the back post area to hit the ball confidently home with a first-time shot.

To their credit Comrades did not let their heads go down and managed to restrict the visitors to many other serious efforts on goal. The best they could manage was a well-struck drive from the right angle of the box from Brown, which Allen Huxley saved comfortably.

At the other end Comrades continued to strive manfully to get at least some consolation from the match. They generally found it very difficult to find any way through the well drilled Loughgall defence, but in the 85th minute they managed to get a goal back. A free-kick was won 20 yards out in a fairly central position and Lee Rushe stepped up to strike an effort over the wall, which went into the net low past Robinson’s despairing dive.

Any thoughts of a remarkable comeback were put to bed, however, with Loughgall seeing out the remainder of the game comfortably.

There can be few complaints about the result of this game, with Loughgall deserving their win and showing themselves to be the very good side their league position would reflect. Comrades tried hard and showed promising signs at times. With other results on the night not going in their favour, it is important that they keep a positive attitude, which will be needed to get points from the two tough remaining fixtures at Limavady and Ballinamallard.