08/04/2006

Sammy Moore Memorial Trophy

Quarter Final 2nd Leg

Castle Knights 0 - 3 Lisnafillan Swifts

Lisnafillan win 8 - 0 aggregate

Lisnafillan booked their way into the semi-finals of the Sammy Moore Memorial Trophy with a lackadaisical display against a vibrant young Castle Knights team.

As has been a feature of recent meetings between the two teams, the first half of the match ended goalless. Lisnafillan looked like a team who were secure in the knowledge that they held a 5 goal advantage from the first leg although they showed flashes of inspiration when Rodney Beggs, Greg Marrs and Russell Craig linked up in midfield with some lovely one touch football. Unfortunately these spells were few and far between which suited Castle Knights who could not be faulted for their tireless energy.

Although there were a few half chances in the first half, the only effort of note came from Rab Andrews who muscled an opportunity for himself only to be thwarted by an excellent reflex save from the Knights 'keeper.

Half-time: 0-0

  Trevor McAleese made a welcome return from injury in the second half and although not fully fit, was a constant thorn in the opposition's side. He fed Simon Murray through on a couple of occasions, creating good scoring opportunities, before Murray was toppled by the 'keeper earning an early penalty in the second half. Murray stepped up to convert, giving Lisnafillan an unassailable 6 goal cushion.

Credit to the Knights, they never looked like conceding the tie. Simon Workman had his work cut out marshalling the Lisnafillan defence who were proving hard to motivate. He did his job well although Castle were unlucky not to equalise from a corner when a goal bound header was cleared onto the bar and out to safety.

Lisnafillan were always dangerous when they broke with Simon Murray finding space. Their second goal came from a long Jay Russell free kick into the box. The ball was knocked down to Greg Marrs who got his name on the score sheet when he despatched his shot into the bottom corner.

Simon Murray deservedly rounded off the scoring with a fine individual effort, creating his own space after receiving a Rodney Beggs through ball and firing low past the 'keeper at the near post.

To sum up the game, a good result from a poor performance which may be a symptom of the stop start nature of the league in recent weeks.