Mals Left To Rue Missed Chances

Mals skipper Conor McHugh, referee John Stephenson and Kilmore captain Conor Walsh

Malachians were left to rue missed chances as they narrowly went down 1-0 away to a resolute Kilmore Rec side at Crossgar. In difficult, sodden conditions Mals missed three glorious chances at the start of the second half, whilst Kilmore will point to three great saves from Mals man of the match keeper Ciaran Stitt and three goal line clearances and perhaps a draw might have been a fair result.

With defenders Conlon and Adams unavailable, midfielder Cunningham still out after concussion, Mals had to once again shuffle their defensive line and started with Paddy Kavanagh and McDonagh at full backs and a central defensive partnership of Sharpe and Stephen Devine, both of whom acquitted themselves well in trying conditions. There was also a Mals debut in midfield for Micky Collins who showed his pedigree throughout with a number of telling through balls and he was heavily involved to the end, with strikers McCourt and Moore starting upfront.

The early pressure came from the home side which saw a great, early save from Mals keeper Stitt and an effort cleared off the line by Kavanagh. Despite this Mals could well have been in front on seventeen minutes when great interplay between Mals strikers McCourt and Moore saw Moore’s effort go narrowly wide with Kilmore keeper Nathan Curran beaten.

On twenty two minutes the home side went in front when a simple long ball forwards from their own half caught the Mals defence napping, allowing home striker Phillip Traynor to coolly finish in the one on one with the advancing keeper.Both sides were clearly struggling to overcome the heavy pitch and the first half continued in scrappy fashion with Mals defender Kavanagh needlessly booked for kicking the ball away but Kilmore looked the more determined of the two sides as the half ended.

HT: Kilmore Rec 1 Malachians 0

The Mals dressing room at the break was not one for the faint hearted as the players received a right rollicking from managers Donnelly and Saunders and coach Collins for their second best performance in the first period, but the harsh words had the desired effect and the team showed much more urgency and commitment throughout the second period.

There was an early half chance for Lowe before three great chances for the away side all went untaken within a ten minute period as Mals bossed the opening quarter of an hour of the second half. First McCourt missed a great chance at the far post after a superb Moore cross had beaten everyone including the keeper and then a minute later McCourt could only head over with the goal at his mercy when home keeper Curran had parried brilliantly from a McAtee piledriver. Somehow the travelling Mals support knew it wasn’t going to be their day when Lowe was again played in a by a beautifully weighted Collins pass only to see his effort again well deflected to safety by the outstretched hand of keeper Curran.

Failure to take these chances seemed to take the wind from the Mals sails and Kilmore were well on top for the next fifteen without really threatening. Feighan then replaced McAtee on the left side for the away side as the game became tetchy with a number of strong challenges going in from both sides. But it was never a dirty game and was well controlled by referee John Stephenson throughout who sensibly made allowances for the slippery conditions.

As the final fifteen approached a resolute and well organised Kilmore side sat back and defended their lead, content to hit the away side on the break as Mals went for broke and went three at the back. There was another great save from Mals keeper Stitt, Lowe cleared another off the line and Kilmore striker Liam Graham blazed a great chance over the bar. Craig Faulkner came on for his Mals debut replacing Kavanagh and Corr replaced captain McHugh but despite the late changes Mals could find no chink in the home side’s armour, well organised by their captain Conor Walsh, and the home side comfortably saw the game out for a narrow victory.

It was a much improved second half display from Malachians but the conditions didn’t favour their passing game and despite the promptings of Collins and McHugh, wide men McAtee, Lowe and later Feighan struggled to make an impact. Front men McCourt and Moore battled hard throughout against a tight defence but goals win matches and when Mals failed to take theirs when they came, it was literally always going to be an uphill struggle against Kilmore. Mals will face another difficult challenge when they play Ards Rangers at the Stadium of Sand next Saturday. Up the Mals !

FT: Kilmore Rec 1 Malachians 0

Best for Mals: Ciaran Stitt

Best for Kilmore: Conor Walsh

Malachians: Stitt P.Kavanagh Sharpe S.Devine McDonagh Lowe Collins McHugh McAtee Moore McCourt subs: Feighan Faulkner Corr