Four see red as Comrades lose
BEING reduced to nine men proved to be too much of a handicap for Ballyclare Comrades who were beaten 4-2 in a league fixture by Dergview in Castlederg.
Recently promoted Dergview have got off to a whirlwind start in the Championship 1 with a one hundred per cent record, and the appointment of new manager, Harry McConkey, during the week sent confidence soaring at Darragh Park, where Comrades found themselves three down in the opening half hour.
Campbell opened the scoring in the 15th minute when he netted after Lafferty's free had rebounded off the post, and moments later Paddy Flood had to retrieve the ball from the net again, when beaten by a Mullen drive.
In the 27th minute Ferry blasted in number three from close range, but five minutes later the Reds were revived when Darren Munster rifled the ball into the roof of the net from a Scott Irvine corner.
Almost immediately Mark Hadden was sent off for a tackle that seemed to be no different from several that had gone unpunished, but the ten men buckled down and ensured that the County Tyrone lads were unable to exploit their numerical advantage before the break.
It was game on early in the second half when Mark McClelland chased down a long ball into the box, where he blocked goalkeeper O'Reilly's attempted clearance and reduced the deficit to a single goal.
Two minutes later Comrades were handed a triple whammy when skipper Andy Forsythe, manager Gordon Chambers and kit man Francie Lorimer were each shown a red card.
This tipped the scales firmly in Dergview's favour, and Campbell rattled the bar while Walsh was denied by Flood, before Comrades hopes of salvaging a point vanished when Walsh added number four.
The feeling amongst the Comrades faithful was that the game was spoiled by an over officious referee, but the resilience of the Ballyclare players ensured that the winning margin was kept to respectable proportions.
With Eddie Hill and Eddie Adams out injured, and Stuart Galbraith and Lee Rushe unavailable Comrades made several changes and started with a 5-4-1 formation, with Stuart McCullough returning to the defence, and David Officer to a midfield position.
Ballyclare Comrades, sponsored by Solicitors Reid Black & Co: Flood; Hadden, McCullough, Holland, Munster, Irvine, McGowan, Forsythe (C), Officer, Simms, McClelland. Subs: Boyd for McGowan 78, Burns for Munster 78, McDowell for McClelland 87, McGrath not used.
The Comrades next game is away to Loughgall on Saturday, September 18.
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Weather for Newtownabbey
Tuesday 22 May 2012
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Temperature: 11 C to 20 C
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Temperature: 10 C to 21 C
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