Pre-Match Guide | Dundela 25/02/23
We welcome Dundela to Dixon Park tomorrow afternoon for our next Lough 41 Championship fixture.
Match Info
When: Saturday 25th February – Kick-Off 3:00pm
Where: Dixon Park
What: Lough 41 Championship
Entry: Pay at the gate – £8 (Adult) / £5 (OAP & U16) / £3 (U12 in the company of an adult)
Match Sponsor: Montgomery Transport Group
Ball Sponsor: Kenny Homes
The Opponents
Dundela returned to winning ways with victory over Ballinamallard United at Ferney Park last week. The Duns moved in front just after the half-hour mark when Peter McKiernan knocked home the rebound after the ball hand been initially saved by Jack Le-Moignan. United came close to levelling early in the second half when Nick Palmer and then Darragh Byrne saw efforts saved by Sam Johnston before, on 56 minutes, David McMaster extended Dundela’s lead somewhat against the run of play. Palmer did pull one back for the Mallards midway through the second half but, with four minutes to go, McKiernan made sure for the visitors with his second of the afternoon.
The Comrades
Ballyclare Comrades hit Institute for six at Dixon Park to boost their claims for a top six post split finish last week. Calvin McCurry opened the scoring after eight minutes with a left-foot volley into the top right corner. The home side doubled their advantage on 28 minutes courtesy of a Darius Roohi spot-kick before, five minutes after that, Callum Ferris tucked the ball away from inside the box. Gary Donnelly extended Ballyclare’s lead on 66 minutes with a dinked finish over keeper Dylan Doherty at the end of a solo run. ‘Stute hit back with a couple of goals in three minutes to drag themselves back into the game. Ronan McAleer pulled one back with a fantastic half volley on 69 minutes before Oisin Devlin found the net from a free header. However, Howard Beverland added Ballyclare’s fifth with a quarter-of-an-hour remaining with Liam Hassin completing the scoring in stoppage time with a header from Caomhan McGuinness’ cross.
Last Time Out
The last time these two sides in October, a second half collapse saw Dundela go down 5-2 away to Ballyclare Comrades. Niall Currie’s side raced into a two-goal lead when a Tony Kane free-kick came off home defender Caomhan McGuinness early on followed by a Benny Igiehon nodded finish before half-an-hour was up. Home skipper Ian Fletcher reduced the deficit just before the break with a well taken free-kick, and this inspired Ballyclare to go on to claim the points through Darius Roohi, Cathal Farren and Calvin McCurry in the second half. Roohi equalised following a goal mouth scramble, with Farren edging Ballyclare in front with a lovely finish after an hour. McCurry then added a fourth on 77 minutes with a dink over Neil Shields before Roohi doubled his tally deep into stoppage time.
