Clearer Water Irish Cup R1
Killyleagh YC 6
Seagoe 2
IT was all a little too easy for Killyleagh as they hit six goals for the second time in a week on Saturday.
After a resounding 6-1 league win over rivals Ballynahinch Olympic on Tuesday night, they followed it up with another six-goal haul in the Clearer Water Irish Cup opening round at The Showgrounds.
YC manager Stevie Lindsay chose to rest some of his first-choice players, with four of those who had played against Olympic missing from the starting line-up on Saturday.
Mid Ulster League side Seagoe opened brightly and gave as good as they got in the opening 20 minutes.
It was Jack Sharvin who scored the opener on the half-hour mark. It was his 100th goal in a Killyleagh shirt, an average of almost a goal a game, and his first competitive goal for the YC since December 2021, when he scored against Islandmagee in his first spell with the club.
Since returning at the start of the season, manager Lindsay has opted to play Sharvin behind the front line, where he has shown an unsung talent for orchestrating play and creating chances, as illustrated by his role in setting up three of the goals on Saturday.
The second goal arrived on the stroke of half-time through Cameron Howard.
Portadown-based Seagoe deservedly got back into the game after the half-time restart with two goals in the space of three minutes. First, Nathan Hamilton, who had an otherwise steady game, scored into his own net in a desperate attempt to clear the ball in the 53rd minute, and then Nathan Stoops rifled home from a corner to make it 2-2.
Lindsay responded by emptying his bench and, as a result, the crowd were treated to the type of goal they are fortunate to see once or twice a season on the hour mark.
Sharvin exchanged passes with Sam Carson and then threaded it through to fellow sub Kodi Carson. He jinked his way into the box before unleashing a wonder strike from 18 yards that hit the inside of the post so hard it bounced down inside the net at the opposite post. A goal to remember.
After this, Killyleagh had chances to put the result beyond doubt.
Declan McComiskey sparkled in an attacking role and went close along with Sharvin and Sam Carson before eventually getting on the scoresheet. Kodi Carson linked with Jack Sharvin, who played an inviting ball across to his brother Jon Joe, and McComiskey made no mistake from Sharvin’s left-wing cross to finish the move of the game.
Jon Joe Sharvin then thundered a shot off the bar after good work on the wing from Nathan Leckey before sub Toby Cairnduff and young teenage debutant Sam Drake engineered a fifth for Killyleagh through Kodi Carson in the 84th minute.
McComiskey then rounded off the scoring with a close-range effort on the final whistle.
