Stalemate for Town at home as Ports get point

Stalemate for Town at home as Ports get point

15 January 2025

CASTLEWELLAN Town were left with the winter blues when they were frozen out in a dreary 1-1 draw with Portavogie Rangers.

The hosts struggled to get out of the starting blocks and were dully punished as they fell behind early on.

Desmond McCartan wasted no time in equalising, but despite dominating the latter stages of the game, Town were their own worst enemy, producing a series of sloppy passes as they failed to break through a dogged defence.

Just three places and four points separate the two teams in the league table and the contest produced similarly fine margins from the off.

There was a ragged start to proceedings, with neither side able to gather significant periods of possession or build meaningful attacks.

Much of the early play was contested in the middle of the park and it quickly became evident that a long afternoon was in store.

The first half-chance of the match did not come until the 10th minute, but it fell the way of Castlewellan.

Ciarnan Strattan dispossessed Jonathan Nixon and as he let fly from distance, his ambitious effort curled towards the top corner and drifted narrowly over the crossbar.

However, Town were left stunned when Portavogie broke the deadlock with their first attack of the game.

Matthew Moore’s strike was straight at Rory Burns yet had enough power to trouble the Castlewellan number one, who palmed straight into the path of Reece Cully for an easy tap-in.

The home side did not let their heads and having started to control possession, they drew level just five minutes after going behind.

Karol Jarosinski showcased his skill to battle through the opposition box and played a sumptuous back-heel pass to confuse the defence and find McCartan for a top corner finish.

Jarosinski had an assist under his belt and was determined to drag his side’s attack through the match almost singlehandedly. 

He was unlucky not to fire them in front when he produced a powerful, moving drive from around 30 yards out, forcing the Portavogie goalkeeper to pluck the ball out of the top left.

There was nothing between the two teams at half-time, but Castlewellan came out for the restart firing on all cylinders and again that man Jarosinski was at the heart of it.

The striker unleashed a ferocious volley from the edge of the box and although it looked certain to nestle in the bottom corner, the swerve sent it marginally wide.

Rangers took 15 minutes to find their feet in the second half and Town were determined to be the architects of their own downfall.

Strattan scuffed his pass and presented Jay Cully with an opening, but he could not find a team-mate with his cross and Burns gathered comfortably.

A similar scenario presented itself less than a minute later, when Paul Kearney was called upon to clean up after Jarosinski’s attempted flick was intercepted by Jude Carlisle.

Castlewellan were denied a stonewall penalty with 15 minutes remaining as substitute Aaron Cheevers was bundled over in his attempt to meet a dangerous cross from Strattan.

They were truly left with a sense of ‘what if’ minutes later when McCartan met Strattan’s flicked header and poked wide from inside the six-yard box.

The final 10 minutes required backs-to-the-wall defending from Portavogie as the hosts’ dominance forced them to set up camp inside their own box. However, Town were left frustrated by a lack of clear-cut chances and ultimately had to settle for a solitary point.

Castlewellan Town now trail table-toppers Dundonald by seven points and will have to wait to make amends, with a Clarence Cup tie against Crumlin United up next.

Castlewellan: R Burns, C Strattan, R Morgan, A Garland (captain), P Kearney, C Marron, M Carvill, D McCartan, C Burns, K Jarosinski, S Kearney. Subs: D McKay, A Cheevers, N Murray.

Portavogie: B McNamara, R Orr, J Nixon, A Coffey, D McCormick (captain), Jay Cully, B Adair, R Cully, J Carlisle, M Moore, James Cully. Subs: A McKee, C Rogers, E Woods.