We travel to Blanchflower Park tomorrow afternoon to take on Harland & Wolff Welders in our next Lough 41 Championship fixture.

Match Info

When: Saturday 27^th November – Kick-Off 3:00pm

Where: Blanchflower Park

What: Lough 41 Championship

Entry: Pay at the gate – £8 (Adult) / £5 (Concession)

The Opponents

The Welders currently occupy 6^th position in the Lough 41 Championship, just 2 points ahead of the Comrades. Last Saturday saw the Welders just pipped by Annagh United in a 5-goal thriller at Blanchflower Park. The Welders moved in front on 17 minutes through Alan McMurtry after Annagh keeper Eoin Hughes fumbled his shot before dropping it over the line. Annagh levelled just after the half-hour mark when Ruairi McDonald sent over a cross which Stephen Murray rose to head past Ben McCauley. McMurtry restored home advantage just before the break with a near post finish but, nine minutes into the second half, Annagh levelled again after Murray cut the ball back for Lee Upton to touch home. However, the visitors moved in front for the first time with what proved to be the winner on 62 minutes after Murray again turned provider to tee up Craig Taylor to beat McCauley for a third time.

The Comrades

Despite last Saturday’s much-improved performance compared to recent weeks, the Comrades came home from their trip to Fermanagh with nothing to show. The deadlock was broken on 32 minutes when a corner was played to the back post where Morris got his head to the ball directing it back across goal. Richard Purcell stuck his leg out to block it, but the ball rebounded off him and into the net. The second half saw the visitors largely making the running, but it was not to be Comrades’ day and this was clear a minute into injury-time when Matthew Herron got onto a high ball down the middle and hit a shot from just outside the box only to see it take a deflection and strike the bar. The result keeps the Comrades in 7^th position in the Lough 41 Championship. Following the game, manager Paul Harbinson was feeling “upbeat” as he felt “the team came together and put in a much-improved performance”.  

Last Time Out

The last time these two sides met was back in August where the Comrades ran out 1-0 winners at Dixon Park. With the opening 85 minutes of the game being goalless, the game looked to be heading to a deadlocked finish until Liam McKenna cut into the box from the left and struck an unstoppable shot from 14 yards which rifled into the roof of the net to the delight of the home supporters. This proved to be the winner as the hosts comfortably saw out the remaining minutes to seal the victory.