BANGOR 1 - 3 LINFIELD
Saturday 1st April 2006
MATCH REPORT by Neil Watson
Bangor’s giant killing cup run came
to a halt at the Semi-Final stage of the Nationwide Irish
Cup with a 3-1 defeat at the hands of Linfield. Two goals
in the opening 7 minutes dented Bangor’s chances of
reaching the Cup Final where Linfield will now meet fierce
rivals, Glentoran.
Linfield got off to the best possible start,
taking the lead after only 3 minutes. With Bangor struggling
to get possession of the ball, Oran Kearney won a free kick
on the left flank with Massey being booked. McShane’s
floated delivery was punched clear by Ryan Brown 1. Gault
and Mouncey combined well on the right flank to allow Mouncey
to cross. The Linfield man’s cross fell to Jackie
Kerr in the 6 yard box but the Bangor midfielder’s
attempted clearance with his head flew past Brown and into
his own net.
With only 7 minutes played, Linfield found
themselves two goals to the good thanks to the prolific
Peter Thompson. Jim Ervin’s cross from the right was
missed by Ferguson and the Bangor defence, instead arriving
at the feet of Thompson 8 yards from goal. Unmarked, Thompson
made no mistake in tapping home past Brown to record his
41st goal of the season.
By now Linfield were in the ascendancy and
Jamie Mulgrew was unlucky not to extend the lead. Another
Ervin cross from the right was half cleared by the Bangor
defence. Mulgrew ran onto the clearance, but the impressive
midfielder’s first time shot from 20 yards flew inches
over the crossbar.
Bangor’s first effort on goal was after
31 minutes. Andy Morrow won a free kick on the edge of the
Linfield penalty area. With Alan Mannus organising his defensive
wall, Jim McCloskey took the kick early. Mannus had to react
quickly to push McCloskey’s curling effort over the
crossbar.
6 minutes before half time, Ryan Brown 1 had
to be alert to the danger to prevent Oran Kearney scoring
Linfield’s third goal. A long punt up field was flicked
on firstly by Ferguson then by Thompson before eventually
falling to Kearney who, from 12 yards out, tried to lift
the ball over the advancing Brown. Fortunately for Bangor,
Brown was able to leap backwards to grab hold of the effort.
Half-time: 0 – 2
Ryan Brown 1 began the second half like he
ended the first having to deny Aidan O’Kane. Ferguson
fed the ball down the left flank for O’Kane to gather
before advancing towards goal. From 16 yards, O’Kane
shot low but Brown did well to block the ball with his legs.
Linfield got their third goal of the game
after 54 minutes. Jim Ervin crossed from the goal line on
the right wing towards Glenn Ferguson. Ferguson leapt the
highest to power his header past Brown to record his 41st
goal of the season and Linfield’s 150th.
Now 3 goals to the good, Linfield seemed to
sit back and allow Bangor to play some football. Bangor’s
determination to get something out of the game almost paid
off after 63 minutes. Tim Mouncey miscued his header 10
yards from his own goal, but fortunately for Linfield, Mouncey’s
header rolled just wide of the right hand post.
A minute later and Alan Mannus had to be at
his best to keep the score line intact. Jim McCloskey’s
long free kick from the left picked out Cullen Feeney arriving
at the back post. Feeney rose the highest to head across
goal, but somehow Mannus managed to get a solid hand to
the effort diving to his right before the ball was cleared.
Bangor got their rewards after 70 minutes.
John Douglas, a first half substitute for the injured Ryan
Brown 2, fought well on the edge of the Linfield penalty
area to win the ball back. The former-Linfield man rolled
the ball into the path of Barry Holland. Michael Gault cleared
Holland’s low cross from the right. Unfortunately
for Gault, his clearance thumped off O’Kane and rolled
back past him and into the goal.
To their credit, Bangor never gave up and
David Officer was unlucky not to score as the game drew
to a close. The substitute collected Grant Dunlop’s
through ball and from the left angle of the penalty area,
Officer’s shot thumped off the crossbar before being
cleared to safety.
Full-time: 1 – 3
Bangor: Brown 1, Dunlop, Feeney, Cheevers,
Massey, Russell, Holland, Kerr (Officer), Morrow, Brown
2 (Douglas), McCloskey. Sub not used: Nicholl
Scorer: O’Kane O.G (’70)
Booked: Massey, Russell
Linfield: Mannus, Ervin, McShane, Murphy,
Bailie (O’Kane), Gault, Mulgrew, Kearney (Douglas),
Thompson (Jephcott), Ferguson.
Scorers: Kerr O.G (‘3), Thompson (‘7), Ferguson
(’54)
Referee: Mr D Malcolm
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