Lisahally succumbed to their first defeat of the season at home to Bentleys on Sunday. It was a hard pill to swallow for Lisahally, who had dominated the first half, taking the lead on two occasions, but as the famous saying goes, 'It's a game of two halves' and the second half was one which Lisahally fans and players should try to forget.
There were a number of changes to the Lisahally starting lineup that defeated Strand; notable absentees included defensive lynchpin, Kieran McGlinchey, and injured semi-pro, Paul Lowry. A source close to McGlinchey said:
"Kieran being dropped has sent shockwaves around Strathfoyle. Nevermind Mark Duffy, this man was 'Mr. Consistent' for the past two seasons and was arguably Man-of-the-Match last week against Strand. I don't know how you can justify dropping a player like that. I'd be worried now that he might seek a move elsewhere. I've already heard rumours that Ciaran Dunne is offering him a pint and a packet of Mega Meanies every Sunday to play for Downey's."
Interestingly, self-styled role-model, Mark Duffy, made a return to right back, while popular kamikaze centre back, Christopher Nicholl partnered Jai in the heart of the defence. Super-sub, Cathal O'Kane started on the left-wing and free-scoring Peter Doherty joined Barry Murray in attack. Amazingly, "Iron" Dan Collins once more failed to make the bench, which is a startling indication of Lisahally's new-found strength in depth, something that Dan acknowledges to be "a good headache to have". The Bentleys team included two Strathfoyle men, with Ryan O'Kane playing in the unfamiliar centre-back role and Nathan Strawbridge playing on the left-wing.
The beginning of the game was extremely tentative, with both sides failing to create any clear-cut chances. Indeed, for the first five minutes of the game, the crowd was much more entertained by the shocking state of one Bentleys midfielder, who appeared to be utterly stocious as he staggered gracefully up and down the windswept Beechwood pitch. Such was the hilarity of it that the guy was even heralded as the new 'Poster Boy' for Sunday League football. However, Lisahally soon found a breakthrough after a passage of play, as a cross fell to Peter Doherty, who smashed the ball past the Bentleys goalkeeper. Lisahally had once more found their rhythm and began to create numerous goalscoring opportunities, but Lisahally's almost trademark lack of killer-instinct ensured that these chances were wasted. One attack saw Noel O'Donnell thread through a ball to Peter Doherty, who comically scuffed his shot with his left foot. It seems that Doherty was attempting to silence his critics on the sideline, who had previously derided his ability (or lack thereof) to score with his left foot. It would prove to be a costly miss, as Bentleys scored soon after when the Lisahally defence completely failed to deal with a low corner, allowing former Lisahally youngster, Nathan Strawbridge, to tap in from six yards.
The Strathfoyle Men responded instantly when another pin-point cross from Cathal O'Kane found Barry Murray, who made it 2-1 to Lisahally. It was all smiles at half-time. Lisahally were undoubtedly the better team, yet, oddly, the second half proved to be a disaster of nightmarish proportions as Lisahally conceded three goals without reply. While Lisahally were slow to start in the second half and Bentleys began to look markedly more composed, there was no shortage of chances, with goalscorer Peter Doherty finding many opportunities to score. However, the diminutive forward, who is Lisahally's top goalscorer this season, failed to convert any of the chances, leading the fans to jokingly suggest that he had somehow borrowed Paul Lowry's boots for the second half.
Cultured midfielder, Michael Cooke, replaced tough-tackling Emmett Kirk on the right-wing and the Lisahally management, evidently frustrated by the poor finishing, showed no hesitation when they substituted Peter Doherty for Jason Kam. Indeed, Lisahally's complacency was punished when a mistimed challenge allowed a Bentley's forward through to calmly convert past the Lisahally goalkeeper, making the score 2-2. With twenty minutes to go, Lisahally frantically chased the winner and a long ball over the top from Aidy O'Kane released Jason Kam free on goal. However, the young man's composure was practically non-existent, as he lost his footing and literally took a nose-dive, squandering yet another chance. There were humourous cries of 'Penalty!' from the Lisahally bench and one fan quipped that he was blinded by his dazzling yellow boots, but the laughter soon ceased when Mark Duffy was embarrassingly caught out of position, allowing Nathan Strawbridge to hammer home to make it 3-2 to Bentleys. Following this concession, there was a stark change in attitude from Lisahally, as Bentleys adopted a defensive approach with the aim of shutting out the opposition. Experienced midfielder, Noel Coyle replaced the tired Cathal O'Kane and Decky Brown was replaced by Kieran McGlinchey. Strangely however, McGlinchey was played on the left-wing, as opposed to his more familiar role in defence. As the clock ticked closer to the final whistle, Lisahally changed to 3-4-3 with Noel Coyle dropping into defence and Mark Duffy was sent forward in a desparate bid to salvage a point. The gung-ho mentality encouraged the creation of a number of chances, but Lisahally could not find a way through the determined Bentleys defence and the final nail in the coffin came when Lisahally lost possession in midfield, once more allowing the Bentleys forward through on goal. The Lisahally goalkeeper valiantly saved the initial shot, but was unluckily beaten by the second and the game finished 4-2 to Bentleys.
After the game, former player Stevo McAllister was vociferous in his criticism of the performance. He told the Listener,
"I predicted that Lisah' would triumph easily by two goals, but it wasn't to be. I couldn't believe what I was seeing. Hospital passes, reckless challenges, poor finishing and mis-timed headers. The second half was terrible. I hope Rory and Danny can sort this out. Hopefully it's just a blip."The major criticism, it seems, is what "Iron" Dan Collins previously described as the 'erratic' selection policy of the management. This was perhaps most obviously manifested in the decision to drop Kieran McGlinchey, but there were also questions raised over the motive behind the timing and manner of the substitutions, which caused upheaval to the midfield. Nevertheless, what is certain, is that this loss provides an even bigger incentive to triumph against local rivals Maydown next week. Indeed, if Lisahally are to bounce back with a win and maintain their promotion drive, there will need to be a drastic improvement.
The management would like to state that keiran mc glincey was not dropped but rested,he came off injured against strand and could not train the following week at our training session,in interests of the team he was rested with the view of coming on during the match which he did,somes teams call it rotation!great report as always!
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