This eagerly awaited cup tie certainly lived up to expectations as Celtic edged out the Blues courtesy of a wonderful winning goal from John Higgins after 75 minutes and send Draperstown into the semi-final draw. The victory came as a result of dogged determination and no shortage of character from the Draperstown side as opposed to some of the excellent creative play which has been seen recently.
They initially appeared somewhat lethargic and were in danger of being over-run in the first half by a rampant Blues’ side which threatened to take the game by the scruff of the neck but the home side’s inability to turn their dominant possession into clear cut goal chances was to play a large part in their ultimate downfall.
ndeed from as early as the second minute Magherafelt should have taken the lead when hesitancy in the Celtic defence let in Ciaran Monaghan but the winger blasted over when he should have scored. This was indicative of the how the game was to pan out in this half. Magherafelt enjoyed the vast majority of possession as their midfield pairing of McAleese and Hawe were getting the better of Conway and Higgins while Larkin and Maynes were causing Celtic’s defence a few headaches with their pace and good hold up play. In these early stages, Celtic were unable to get enough of the ball to pose any type of threat to the Magherafelt goal.
Hawe came close when he headed over from a corner on 7 minutes and such was the Blues’ dominance that Celtic’s first noteworthy chance came after 23 minutes when Conway shot wide. Sean Young saw his shot blocked after Kerr spilled a free kick on the half hour while at the other end McConnell had to be quick off his line to prevent Maynes from latching on to a good through ball. However, the striker was not be denied five minutes later when he turned in a good cross from Walls to give the home side a deserved lead.
The half time whistle came with Celtic somewhat relieved not to be more than one goal in arrears and with some stern words needed from the management team.
The first ten minutes of the second half was more of the same before Celtic introduced subs Seamus Bradley and Kevin Ward and moved Sean McBride into midfield. The Celtic mid-field began to win tackles and put Magherafelt on the back foot for the first time in the game. Kerr spilled a Higgins’ shot before the danger was cleared and it was Higgins again who came close on 55 minutes when, following great work from Eamon Murray on the right, he shot narrowly wide. Larkin and Maynes were not getting the same supply of ball they enjoyed in the first half as Celtic’s Darren McKillion and Davan McSorley grew in stature as the game progressed. Indeed it was McSorley who grabbed the Hoop’s equaliser on 70 minutes when a free into the heart of Magherafelt’s defence was not cleared and the centre-half stabbed home from close range.
Draperstown had now the upper hand and four minutes later came their winner from John Higgins who, having collected a throw in on the right, cut in past two defenders and curled a superb shot into the far corner of the goal past Kerr. The remaining fifteen minutes saw Celtic deal quite comfortably with Magherafelt’s attempts to rescue the tie with goal keeper McConnell in good form. However, Gareth Cassidy almost sent the game into extra time but his header flashed over the bar and with it went the Blues’ last chance and at the final whistle it was Draperstown who enjoyed the victory.
Next week Draperstown Celtic travel to play Newington Y.C in the Irish Cup.
