Killyleagh put Swifts to sword in Steel Cup

Killyleagh put Swifts to sword in Steel Cup

23 October 2024

KILLYLEAGH YC defied the odds to breeze past Linfield Swifts and book their place in the semi-finals of the Steel and Sons Cup.

Jack Davis did the bulk of the damage with two second half goals after Caolan Lennon fired them in front with a wonder free kick in the first half.

The Whites entered the match as underdogs but came flying out of the gate, putting their opponents under serious pressure from start to finish.

Their first opportunity came after just six minutes of play as striker Andrew Carberry latched on to a defence-splitting through ball before firing just wide. 

Linfield Swifts failed to gain a foothold in the game and Killyleagh were first to every ball as they continued to pile on the pressure in the search for an opener. 

Lennon was next to come agonisingly close, rattling the crossbar with a rocket of a free kick that looked certain to fly into the top corner. 

The home side were not disheartened by their near misses though and with half-time looming, Lennon made no mistake with his second free kick attempt, firing into the bottom left corner to open the scoring.

Swifts may have been hoping to start the second half in better fashion than the first but despite their efforts to play a passing game, they struggled to break their way through Sam Carson and Keegan Rice in the Killyleagh midfield.

The Blues never looked like scoring and aside from a couple of wayward efforts from Alex Watson and Leyton Hutton, they failed to create any notable chances as their wingers were continuously stifled by their opponents’ full backs. Their fortunes would not turn and the hosts sniffed a chance to widen the margin.

Killyleagh pushed forward as they looked to grab a second goal and thought they had done just that when Swifts’ goalkeeper Jack Wilkins spilled Jack Davis’ deflected shot before Carberry tapped it over the line. Much to the dismay of the home support, the referee raised his arm to signal for offside. 

Nonetheless, the away defence looked rattled and Kodi Carson sensed an opportunity, collecting the ball from a defensive mix-up to find himself one-on-one with the ‘keeper, who got down well to cut out the chance and deny what looked like a certain goal.

The visitors simply could not cope with the constant waves of attacks and Davis found himself in space once again to burst through the defence before slotting into the bottom corner to double the lead. 

It did not take long for Robert Todd’s side to grab yet another goal as just five minutes later, Dane McCullough’s misplaced back pass was met by Davis, who took full advantage of the open goal to secure a brace for himself and put the tie to bed.

In spite of their comfortable lead, Killyleagh did not let up, pushing for yet another goal.They would be denied by the woodwork once more with Rice’s free-kick being tipped on to the bar before Sam Carson found himself alone in the box, rolling the ball wide of the post just minutes later. 

The trailing visitors would find their first clear-cut chance of the day with three minutes left on the clock, but were unable to find a consolation goal with substitute Jon Graham failing to hit the target despite being in acres of space.  

With play stopped for an injury, the two managers shook hands to signal the end of the match as the referee’s early full-time whistle was met with great cheer from the Showgrounds crowd who were in full voice all afternoon. 

Killyleagh will now be looking forward to their semi-final next month when they take on tough opposition in Derriaghy for a place in the final at Seaview on Christmas Day.

Killyleagh: Aaron Carberry (captain), D Johnston, C Lennon, E Davidson, F Keenan, D Carberry, S Carson, K Rice, Andrew Carberry, J Davis, K Carson.

Linfield Swifts: J Wilkins, C Leacock, C Anderson, A Watson, D McCullough, L Burns, L Hutton, R McGarry (captain), J Farr, Z Anderson, K Beattie.