Carryduff Colts 3 v 0 Ballynahinch Olympic

Carryduff Colts 3 - 0 Ballynahinch Olympic
19 Dec 2015

Two late goals from Calum McSorley resulting from an impressive cameo appearance from Jordan Toal ensured the scoreline reflected the balance of this game.

Again, Colts dominated from start to finish but with a single goal lead from the first half struggled to find the net again until late on.

It was top scorer James Erne who put them on their way when he seized on goal kick by Chris Overend that had evaded the Olympic defence, raced into the penalty box and fired confidently into the back of the net for his eighth goal in just 12 starts.

Erne already had a couple of chances by that stage as had Adam Shilliday and Michael Deeny so it was no more than they deserved.

Again, Kealan Devlin was superb at the heart of the defence as were Joe Sweeney, Rory McDonnell and Paul Murphy, all recovered from the trauma of the previous week to put in fine performances.

Fergus McBride drove the team effectively from midfield while Chris Curran continued his rich vein of form with another excellent display.

Much of the Colts danger came from Shilliday on the left and his combination with Erne and Deeny continued to pose a constant threat while Paddy McEvoy had a great game on the right.

In the second half Carryduff continued to dominate with first McEvoy forcing the goalkeeper into a brave safe as he got into a one v one on the right hand side and then Erne firing wide with the goal at his mercy. Then it was Deeny who had a great chance in the box but his weak shot was easily saved.

The only concern for Carryduff was that they could pay the price for not turning dominance into goals. Olympic got a free kick on the edge of the box which was fired just over and won a few corners that were dangerous as the wind was swirling.

One corner with 10 minutes to go proved to be the turning point as Olympic looked particularly threatening but Chris Overend showed some great goalkeeping prowess and bravely punched it away to safety.

Calum McSorley came on the right hand side just after the hour mark for tiring McEvoy while Jordan Toal replaced James Erne, while Conor O’Toole came on for Shilliday who was having a running battle with the Olympic defenders and the referee.

All three made a significant impact but it was Toal who really changed the game. Released on the left hand side by Curran he cut in and fired a great curling shot around the keeper. It came off the post and McSorley was on hand to make it 2-0.

Then Colts scored a great third goal just on the final whistle. Toal again won the ball on the left and drove to the edge of the box. He found Deeny inside who cleverly dummied the pass wrong footing the defence and McSorley again popped up to fire into the net.

The win takes Colts into joint fifth place and if they can maintain current form they have a chance of a good run in the Harry Clark Cup which starts on 2 January and of potentially achieving a top four place in the league.

Colts: Overend, Sweeney, Murphy, McDonnell, Devlin, McBride, Deeny, Curran, Erne (Toal), McEvoy (McSorley), Shilliday (O’Toole)