Two defensive errors costly for Bellurgan

BELLURGAN UNITED KINGSCOURT

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BELLURGAN suffered a shock defeat, paying the full price for two individual mistakes in a game they dominated but try as they did just couldn’t put the ball in the net, frustrated by the inspired Kingscourt goalkeeper and cruel luck, striking the woodwork on a handful of occasions.

It was the only game played on Sunday in the premier division of the North East League, with Bellurgan with the opportunity to close to within a point of the joint leaders and move into third place if they won. Instead Kingscourt went home happy with their first victory of the campaign.

Bellurgan strove all they could to achieve that win to extend their winning sequence to four games, but lady luck conspired against them. A portent was when Brian White had a soft penalty awarded against him for a tackle mid way through the first half when he appeared to win the ball.

Fortunately goalkeeper Robert Arthur came to the side’s rescue saving the spot kick. He along with right back Daniel O’Connor, Brian White in mid-field and Darren Gaynor in attack when he was introduced after the break, excelled in a hard working display if ultimately disappointing outcome, as, along with losing the points the home side also surrendered their run of clean sheets, not having conceded a goal in their three previous games..

Within a few minutes of that let-off the home side made the first of the two costly mistakes that enabled Kingscourt to go ahead.

Outstanding goalkeeping prevented Brian White from equalising, and the Kingscourt custodian performed more heroics to keep the home side out with three or four more saves out of the top drawer as Bellurgan camped in the visitors half for the opening 20 minutes of the second-half.

Manager Padraig Gollogley switched his strikers on the resumption, bringing on Ciaran Sheelan as well as Gaynor. But the side couldn’t manage the break they needed, hitting the post and woodwork three times in that spell.

To compound matters, the losers had a couple of claims for penalties which were turned down, and their fate was sealed when from another error, Kingscourt scored their second goal from virtually the second of only two shots on target in the match.

Bellurgan renewed their efforts to try and salvage something from the match but it was the Kingscourt goalkeeper’s day with a number of other top class saves, and the post and crossbar again also helped him to keep his goal intact. BELLURGAN: Robert Arthur, James Renaghan, Keith Finnegan, Ray Finnegan Daniel O’Connor, Brian White, Sean McEvoy, John Smith (Ciaran Clarke 75), Owen Armstrong (Sean McEvoy 80), Niall Donnelly (Ciaran Sheelan 45), Cormac Renaghan (Darren Gaynor 45).