• By Aaron McGlade

Bad Day At The Office

DFC made a return after some years to the immaculate Madden Park to continue the challenges both clubs had in the past and on this occasion it was the home team who thoroughly deserved to walk away with maximum points.

The first real chance came on 25 minutes when Black beat 4 defenders in a mazy run before keeper saved with his legs and a few minutes later there midfielder fired a volley over the bar as Tandragee were totally dominant in this twenty minute period and deservedly went in front on the half hour mark when Black tapped in after an effort rebounded from the cross bar.

Tandragee were really pressing hard before the break for a second goal as they were totally dominant in this period so DFC did well to get to the break only one down.

Credit to DFC they took the game to Tandragee in the second half and the returning Thompson was pulled back when clean through on 49 minutes and the free kick was little justice to the opportunity he had created.

Then on 65 minutes Corbett scored a second goal against the run of play with a free header from a corner kick and DFC responded with MC Connell scoring a header himself from a corner kick at the other end.

However another blunder by DFC when a long clearance by the keeper was picked up by Black and he scored the vital third goal.

Despite substitutions with Harrison , Smith and Adams replacing Hughes and Denver and Redpath DFC were well beaten by the hungrier team on the day that won almost every second ball on the day.

Match Pictures

• By Aaron McGlade

Young Reserves Give Good Account Of Themselves In Mid Ulster Shield

Saturday’s game saw Dollingstown Reserves take on Ambassador FC first team in the Mid Ulster Shield.  Town were massive under dogs coming into the game due to the opposition being a Division 1 first team full of experience from league above.  With the pressure on Ambassadors to win Town decided to experiment and give players chances in different positions.

The game started with Ambassador’s setting the tempo, moving the ball well; Town had to be switched on from the start with a number of long balls played behind our defence to test them, however the defence marshalled by Forsyth was not going to let a few long balls beat us, defending well in the opening 10 minutes saw Ambassadors reduced to 1 long range shot that sailed past the upright.  On the twelfth minute Ambassadors forced a corner, the towering Capper headed in unmarked at the back post, this was nothing more than Ambassadors deserved having put Town on the back foot from the kick off.

A second goal quickly arrived on the eighteenth minute when a corner was cleared out to the corner of the 18 yard box only for the lively Dodds to catch everyone out with a clever and unstoppable shot into the bottom corner.  2-0 to Ambassadors and they were good value for the lead, was looking like we could be in for a long day however the second goal seemed to galvanise Town, who seemed to catch onto the new formation and started to play football, the midfield of Josiah, Cathal and Connor started to dominate, winning every tackle and header which gave the team a solid platform in which to attack from.

The remainder of the first half saw Town dictate the tempo and create chances for the two strikers in Traynor and Lavery whose tireless running and pressing gave the opposition little time on the ball.  On thirty eight minutes a fantastic team goal started by Morrow winning his aerial battle that saw the ball worked left to Branker who powered up the line and play a neat 1-2 with Lavery before finding Cathal who cut inside and unleashed a dipping shot from twenty yards out.  2-1, game is now certainly on however Town have to be alert to the Ambassadors attack, especially that of Capper and Dodds who looked dangerous for the majority of the game.  The half time whistle came too early for Town who were enjoying the majority of the play.

HT 2-1

At half time we knew what to expect from the second half, Ambassadors now had the chance to regroup and figure out a way to regain the upper hand.

The upper hand was regained within two minute of the restart when a hand ball allowed the Ambassadors #10 to curl a fantastic free kick into the top right hand corner, no stopping it and a fantastic piece of skill to get the ball up and over the wall from twenty yards out.  The town management knew this was not the killer blow, no chance and Town quickly found their feet, on the fifty six minute Ryan Hill was fouled in the box, penalty to Town, this could be our way back into the game, top scorer Lavery stepped up confidently only to have his penalty saved by the impressive Ambassadors keeper who did not make one mistake all game.

This gave the opposition a new lease of life and they grew in confidence, the game started to open up, became an end to end match with both teams sparing but neither looking likely to score are concede.  On the eighty seventh minute a back pass was latched onto by Dodds who again scored with a cool finish into the bottom corner.  This is how the game finished with both teams cancelling each other out for the majority of the second half.

Special mention goes to the two danger men from Ambassadors in Capper and Dodds. In addition to this Josiah, Dylan and Cathal were fantastic for Town throughout the game.

Managers Comments:

A game in which the score line did not reflect the performance, a 4-1 defeat would make you think that it was an easy ride for Ambassadors but it defiantly was not, three individual errors lead to 3 goals and a missed penalty if scored would have meant game on for the second time.

We are now down to the 1%’s those tiny margins that can win you a game or lose you the game and today that’s what cost us the game.  Training will be stepped up over the coming weeks as we look to eradicate those errors, it’s actually a positive that we feel disappointed at loosing this game as no one expected us to have a chance.  There are a lot of positives and as we look back from when we took over the team, the squad has grown, players have improved and a team spirit has been created.  We look now to the games ahead, two cup and two league games, expectation are growing at the club and players will have to step up and start to rise to the occasion.

• By Aaron McGlade

The Reserves Hold Out For All 3 Points

Having already defeated Banbridge Town in the first game of the season 3-1 we know the pressure was on to repeat the result and take the three points to kick-start our climb up the table. 

Dollingstown came out of the blocks flying and got a number of early free kicks which allowed us to test the inexperienced Town keeper.  Neil King floated a ball to the back post on 3 minutes which seemed to cause the Town defence all sorts of problems so we know exactly what we wanted to do from there on in.  Soon after the initial free kick from King, on 6 minutes Dollingstown won a second this time from about thirty yards out and this time Neil king chanced his arm and had a shot. The Town keeper spilled it and Ryan Hill pounced to fire home his first of the season from a tight angle.

Dollingstown continued to control the game with the midfield three of Cathal, Connor and young Josiah were having a lot of the ball and were able to spread it to both the advancing fullback and wingers. This possession was rewarded when Karl cut down the wing thanks to an excellent interception and through ball by Josiah, beat his man and squared to the unmarked Jamie Smith who slotted home against his old club on seventeen minutes. Dollingstown continued to dominate the first half, playing some neat and expansive football, the tempo was high and chances were created from all over the park.  The third goal came on the thirty-first minute and was near a carbon copy of the first only this time it was Matthew Russell who whipped the ball into the top left corner only for the keeper to spill and Cathal DeBrun to slide in to convert from four yards out.  The remainder of the half saw Dollingstown continue to dominate and control the game moving the ball quickly with everyone showing for it.  Keeper McRoberts was forced into one save in the first half when the lively number 9 powered through a gap only to be thwarted by the ever improving McRoberts.

HT 3-0 Dollingstown – a half time substitution saw Nathan Forsythe replace Neil King who was only back from a nine month injury layoff.

Dollingtown knew that Banbridge are never beaten until the final whistle blows as they have come from behind on a number of occasions to get a point or three in recent months.  We had warned against complacency at half time and asked to keep the tempo high as we expected a barrage of Town attack in the first fifteen minutes.  We were not wrong Town attacked from the off and threw bodies forward, Dollingstown defended well and managed to turn defence into attack on a number of occasions only for the final ball to go missing or having a shot well blocked / saved.  The rejuvenated Town gained the upper hand when the outstanding Clarke and Burgess were taken off for fresh legs of Millar and Taylor. 

Town forced a corner on 65 minutes; a headed clearance fell kindly to a Town attacker who hammered into the bottom left corner through a crowd of people past the obstructed McRoberts.  Game on and Town knew it, but again Dollingtown continued to defend well and counter only to be denied in the final third.  On the seventy-third minute after some good work from the Town winger who found himself fouled in the box and a penalty was awarded and converted. 3-2 with fifteen minutes to go and Dollingstown found themselves under quite a bit of pressure but managed the remainder very well and were able to hold out for the 3-2 victory which moved us up into the top four in the league.