Revitalised Corner now hoping for a cup run
Thursday, 6 November 2008
Hockey veteran Alistair Reilly was on the scoresheet again for Antrim on Saturday.
CHIMNEY Corner Football Club recorded their first win of the season on Saturday beating lower opposition Seagoe in the first round of the Intermediate Cup.
The Allen Park outfit overcame what was potentially a tricky obstacle for a team coming off the back of a disappointing Irish Cup exit just a week previous.
That loss was similarly at the hands of a team much further down the league tables and one Chimney Corner expected to win.
This week's impressive 5 -1 victory in Portadown, however, means the local team advances from the 108 first round teams to the next stage, possibly setting up a lucrative showdown against a Championship side.
Having made the journey to Seagoe, Chimney Corner, who were yet to record a victory this campaign, set out their stall early and any pre-match nerves were soon cast aside as they took the lead after just ten minutes.
Gary Brown ran onto the end of a fine pass from team mate John Banks to slot home the opener and allow the Corner lads to take a collective sigh of relief.
Feeling the comfort of taking an early lead, Chimney Corner calmly kept possession and played some of their best football for sometime. The players were obviously growing in confidence and just four minutes after the restart Adam Gray ran through the middle of the park and side footed the ball past the Seagoe goalkeeper.
By this stage it looked certain that had Chimney Corner rallied together and pushed for a third the match would have been over in the first half.
But on the stroke of half time the travelling fans were reminded of previous games this season that have seen the Allen Park lads struggle to keep a clean sheet.
Seagoe's deflected shot and subsequent goal put a momentary downer on the match, which could have seen the home side come out in the second half with nothing to lose and push to take something from the game.
However, the Antrim team started the half just as their manager would have wanted scoring after two minutes through Chimney Corner standout, Adam Gray.
His low shot from 20 yards found a welcome home in the Seagoe net before he completed his hat trick on 73 minutes and all but guaranteed their place in the hat for the next round. Again he shot from 20 yards plus, this time firing high into the net keeping the home shot stopper guessing. Eight minutes from the end, substitute Paul McIntyre finished off a fine performance by the travelling team making the final score 5 -1.
Chimney Corner Club Secretary, John Robinson said: "It was a tricky hurdle but we shouldn't get overly excited just yet, we're in the second round and it was great to pick up a victory.
“I'm sure it will be a boost for the boys morale and it was a shout back to the good old days."
The Club Secretary explained the importance of picking up a victory at the weekend.
“We would love a good cup run considering we went out of the Irish Cup last week to Rosario," said John. "With the cup matches played on consecutive weeks it is important to stay in one otherwise the players are out of action for two weeks in a row."
Chimney Corner will have to wait to build on their impressive win with no match this week before travelling to Lurgan Celtic the following Saturday.
