Happy days for Ardee club as Gaynor seals the deal
BOYNE HARPS ARDEE CELTIC 1 3
A GOOD week for Ardee Celtic got even better at United Park last Thursday night as they finished strongly to inflict a second consecutive defeat on Boyne Harps.
This game was a repeat of the nervy relegation/promotion play-off last May in which the Drogheda side emerged victorious - although the Deesiders were subsequently afforded a position in the top tier due to Navan Cosmos’ withdrawal.
The newly-promoted club had received confirmation last week that their appeal to have the controversial game against Bellurgan United replayed has been successful, and after a slow start they struck for the lead goal here in the 25th minute.
First blood had almost gone to Harps when Alan Wilton shot beat Ardee keeper Declan Butler but slide wide of the upright.
However, the visitors responded with a James McMullen effort that tested former Ardee netminder Alan Sweeney and they made the breakthrough early in the second quarter.
The home defence was cut open by a slide-rule pass from former Dundalk and Drogheda United man John Flanagan, the Ardee assistant manager, and McMullen burst through unchallenged before cleverly lifting his shot over the advancing keeper Sweeney.
Harps came up with the perfect response on the half-hour, however, as Austin McCann surged forward before releasing Wilton who out-witted defender Mikey Nulty before rifling a diagonal shot past Butler.
After half-time it was the visitors who looked the more threatening, though, and the key moment in the match arrived coming up to the hour mark.
An Ardee player ran at the Harps defence and as Austin McCann tracked back the two players tangled in the box, the referee pointed to the penalty spot and showed McCann his second yellow card. Robbie Reynolds fired the spot kick into the roof of the net to give Ardee the lead once more.
Despite their numerical disadvantage, Harps pushed hard for an equaliser and created a good scoring opportunity when an untimely slip by Kenneth Thornton allowed substitute Dean Fitzpatrick set up Wilton, only for Butler to show quick reactions and made a point-blank save.
Ardee’s Darren Gaynor, the man of the match, made Harps pay for that missed chance when he ran at home defender Luke McDonnell, turning one way and then the other, before striking an excellent effort past Sweeney. BOYNE HARPS: