Dromara Village secure Premier Division status

12 April 2023

IT was a day to remember in Millisle for Dromara Village on Saturday as they confirmed the inevitable and secured their promotion to the Amateur League Premier Division with a 3-1 win over Abbey Villa at Adams Park.

Abbey Villa were unbeaten at home in the league this season going into the contest at the weekend.

It was a good game, with both teams getting the ball from back to front quickly and with intent, and that led to plenty of chances.

Any Dromara nerves were not helped when Abbey Villa took the lead after six minutes. The goal was scored by forward Alex McIlmail, who holds the record for being the youngest player to ever play in the Irish Premiership, having debuted for Glenavon in 2016 when aged 15 years and 57 days old.

He showed his class after a loose touch from a Dromara man allowed him to surge towards the edge of the box before unleashing a fierce left-footed strike into the roof of the net.

Dromara, to their credit, stood up to the challenge and almost responded instantly as Alex Burtney did brilliantly before being denied one-on-one by an excellent save.

They thought they were level soon after when Rhys Kelly drove a shot in from just outside the box, however, it was adjudged to have struck the hand of team-mate Jonny Gregg on the way through and was therefore chalked off by the referee.

Marcus Murphy then headed wide from a good cross from Philly Kerr, before the equaliser arrived on 33 minutes as player/manager Peter Turley turned in a corner at close range.

Abbey Villa then spurned a golden opportunity early in the second half with a free header, which fizzled wide of the post, and they would soon live to rue it.

On 65 minutes, an Abbey Villa defender went through the back of Dromara forward Philly Kerr, resulting in a 25-yard free-kick which Stevie Kennedy dispatched into the bottom corner, putting the Village ahead with his 21st league goal of the season.

Dromara forward Marcus Murphy then sealed the win on 77 minutes when he timed his run in behind a high back line before showing composure to take the ball past the ‘keeper and slot the ball into the net, much to the delight of the Dromara supporters,some of whom came on a 33-seaterbus.

Whilst every Dromara player has played their part this season, it was particularly eye-catching to see what promotion meant to the likes of Philly Kerr, Nathan Hamilton, Jordan Clarke and Jonny Gregg, who are loyal servants that all stuck with the club when they ped from the Premier Division to 1B within the space of a couple of years.

They have led the charge back up, and all have been at Dromara since they were kids.

Abbey Villa played well, and it was evident they wanted to give it everything off the back of a disappointing showing in their surprise 1-0 defeat to Sirocco Works during the week.

However, they were simply beaten by the better side, and on another day Dromara would have scored more had it not been for missed opportunities and questionable offside decisions.

Whilst Dromara are rightly delighted with their achievement, they will now be desperate to kick on and win the league.

All roads now lead to Greyabbey as Dromara take on second-place Rosemount Rec this Saturday, where the hosts haven’t lost a home league fixture for five years, remarkably.

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