League

Nicker Park
Spectators: 5000 (Terracing: 4000, Seating: 1000, VIP seats: 0) Dark clouds were building up when the players entered the field. None of the them looked very eager to play. Tomás McWillie started the match with the kick off. If Justin Dalton had kept his shot down it would have been a goal in the 7th minute. The ball went over the crossbar instead. Glenn Deans sent away a hard shot on goal in the 8th minute, but the ball went just over the crossbar and out. A very good chance. In the 12th minute of the match Bohannon McMichel shot from a long distance. The ball could have gone into the goal to the right of the goalkeeper, but Kerrigan McPeter showed his good shape when he easily got hold of the ball. Keely McBrandon showed brilliant goalkeeper skills when he caught the ball after a hard shot from Tomás McWillie in the 14th minute of the match. A collision led to Nicker getting a freekick after 25 minutes play. Douglas Cronin hit a great ball. In the 33rd minute Tomás McWillie shot on, it seemed, an open goal, but Keely McBrandon saw the ball coming and threw himself on it before it passed the goal line. Comhghall Kelly sent away a hard shot on goal in the 37th minute, but the ball went just over the crossbar and out. A very good chance. Justin Dalton hit a great freekick 39 minutes into the match. Kieran Deery's late challenge caught a Nicker's player on the shin and left him crawling around in pain. The referee blew his whistle and produced the yellow card. Kieran Deery helped the player get up and apologised. After 41 played minutes Loughbeg got a freekick which was hit by Kieran Deery. Glenn Deans received a nice pass in the box and took a hard shot in the 44th minute. Kerrigan McPeter tensed up and prepared to dive, but the shot went over the goal with him having to interfere. If Justin Dalton had kept his shot down it would have been a goal in the 46th minute. The ball went over the crossbar and out instead. In the 48th minute, Justin Dalton left the goalkeeper for dead before tapping the ball into the right side of the net. The Loughbeg fans were clearly happy with the effort and the scoreboard reflected the new score: 1-1. After fighting hard for a draw in the first half, the players were able to take a much needed rest.

Both teams looked relatively alert before the second half when the referee blew his whistle to tell Glenn Deans to make the kick off. Quirk McLian hit a great freekick 54 minutes into the match. An unexpectedly hard shot by Glenn Deans in the 56th minute of play forced Nicker's goalkeeper Kerrigan McPeter to throw himself to the left, to be able to save the ball. Loughbeg's Keely McBrandon played magnificently when he managed to stop the ball from hitting the goal, after a sharp shot by Tomás McWillie in the 58th minute of play. 59 minutes into the match, Nicker's goalkeeper Kerrigan McPeter had to clear away a ball on his right side after a cunning shot by Justin Dalton. In the 60th minute of the match, Glenn Deans tried to roll the ball into the goal by the right post, but Kerrigan McPeter saw his intentions and got control of the ball before it passed the line. Keely McBrandon made a wonderful reflex save on a shot from Comhghall Kelly in the 62nd minute of play. Nicker's Kerrigan McPeter proved his good apprehension of play when he, in the 65th minute of the match, managed to save Nicker from getting a goal against them. When Nicker's Tomás McWillie in the 73rd minute got a chance for a shot 73rd didn't hesitate and placed the ball to the right of the goalie. A beautiful save bye Loughbeg's goalie prevented a goal. In the 75th minute Tomás McWillie shot on, it seemed, an open goal, but Keely McBrandon saw the ball coming and threw himself on it before it passed the goal line. With a little luck, Nicker's Kerrigan McPeter got control of the ball when Justin Dalton tried to sneak it across the goal line. Justin Dalton fired away a screaming shot towards the goal in the 83rd minute, but the shot went just over the crossbar without Kerrigan McPeter having to interfere. In the 90th minute, Comhghall Kelly left the goalkeeper for dead before tapping the ball into the right side of the net. The Nicker fans were clearly happy with the effort and the scoreboard reflected the new score: 2-1. The referee blew his whistle, and the match came to a close. The players exchanged shirts and headed down the tunnel. The Nicker fans cheered their team off the field, for while Loughbeg had put up a good fight, they were unable to come out of the game with any points to show for their effort.