Late, late goal steals show for Newcastle

Late, late goal steals show for Newcastle

17 August 2022

A LAST gasp goal from Newcastle was enough to earn the travelling Seasiders a big victory over local rivals Ballynahinch Olympic at Kilmore playing fields on Thursday.

Despite a lacklustre opening 45 minutes from the hosts, a much improved second half showing meant the result was still up for grabs at the closing stages of the contest.

However, Newcastle weathered the battering Olympic storm to break Ballynahinch hearts with the final kick of the game.

Newcastle came out of the traps firing from all cylinders and opened the scoring with just four minutes on the clock after a deflected pass found the unmarked feet of striker Brendan Kingsmore, who made no mistake with his tidy bottom corner finish.

Ballynahinch were slow off the mark but did carve out a chance after Niall Murray played a quick pass to team-mate Liam Burns, although the striker’s effort blazed over the bar.

Newcastle seemed to be winning every kick out which in turn was creating a lot of chances for the Seasiders.

However, apart from their initial hiccup, the Ballynahinch defenders were handling the pressure well and were reassured by confident goalkeeping from Ryan Walsh.

The sweltering conditions allowed for a welcomed water-break midway through the half but upon resumption Newcastle had retained their focus and continued to swarm the home team with waves of attacks.

Olympic captain Chris McNamara had his penalty appeal waved off minutes before the interval as his side clung on to only be trailing by the minimum at the break.

From the beginning of the second half, Ballynahinch proved to be a different beast as they dramatically upped their game and got their reward in the 50th minute.

Olympic midfielder Adam McLean didn’t need a second invitation to try his luck at goal after the ball propped up in front of the number six, who unleased a wicked first time volleyed effort which Newcastle ‘keeper Shane Harrison fumbled into the path of striker Burns for an easy finish.

The drama continued to unfold as Olympic midfielder Nathan Jones was shown a second yellow card for what the referee deemed as simulation, leaving Ballynahinch a man down with over half an hour to play.

Ballynahinch skipper McNamara received a yellow card for a crunching tackle on winger Leigh Moore before Newcastle’s Desmond McCartan was also booked for simulation.

Newcastle substitute Paul Kearney made an immediate impact when his lofted pass presented a scoring chance for team-mate Moore, although his shot arrowed over the bar.

As the final quarter of the match approached the spectators witnessed a real end to end affair with both teams having chances to win the game.

Ballynahinch’s Murray saw his left footed effort drift wide before moments later his strike partner, Burns, pounced on a Newcastle error but couldn’t apply the required finish.

Tackles continued to fly with Newcastle’s Kearney the latest entry into the book but he 

did make amends for this when his pinpoint passing found the feet of substitute Shea McLaughlin.

However, yet again the accuracy was lacking and it seemed the points were destined to be shared.

A couple of more chances presented themselves for the 

Seasiders – including a well struck Kingsmore effort and a dangerous cross which Ryan McCullagh just missed out on – but Ballynahinch remained resilient.

In one final throw of the dice, Newcastle drove forward and Kingsmore 

manufactured the space to unleash a snapshot at goal which was converted into the net by the interjecting deft touch of Sean Paul Holland to wrong foot Olympic ‘keeper Walsh and win the game.

There was no time for a rebuttal as the referee blew his whistle in what was a sobering introduction to Division 1A for the home side.

Contrastingly, this gave Newcastle their second win in as many games.

Ballynahinch Olympic: R Walsh, N McMullan, S King, N Flanagan, J Noade, A McLean, N Jones, L Ward, C McNamara (capt), N Murray, L Burns.

Subs: G McMullan, C Reid, C Killen.

Yellow cards: N Jones (x2), C McNamara.

Red cards: N Jones.

Newcastle: S Harrison, S Kearney, C Hayes, P McCarthy, S P Holland, D McCartan, C Keaveney, A Watson (capt), R McCullagh, B Kingsmore, L Moore.

Subs: S McLaughlin, T Sexton, P Kearney.

Yellow cards: D McCartan, P Kearney.

Ballynahinch Olympic 1

Newcastle 2

AMATEUR LEAGUE DIV 1A