Brown at the double

The Maghera lads started this game well and within five minutes Ryan Winton’s cross from the left forced the Ardmore keeper Richie Stewart to make a save.

The Strollers seemed to be nervous and good defending by Dermot O’Doherty at the back prevented Ardmore from taking the lead as a deflected shot ended up in Lorcan McKenna’s hands. It was end to end football and the Strollers had their chance to go ahead but Mark O’Donnell’s shot was saved by Stewart.

McKenna made an outstanding run down the right hand side and although he was dispossessed the ball fell to Winton’s feet, he crossed into the heavily populated Ardmore box and O’Donnell somehow managed to take a strike but yet again the keeper covered it.

Strollers had another great chance to take the lead a minute later but Chris O’Kane’s shot was infuriatingly saved again.

A goal-mouth scramble between Ardmore’s keeper and Declan McErlean resulted in the ball spinning towards the line but somehow the ball was cleared and the frustration from the Strollers support was palpable.

Ardmore took the lead just after the half-hour mark when Gary Brown made no mistake blasting home from the edge of the box.

As the second half kicked off it was clear the Strollers were out of sorts. On 49 minutes they made a change bringing off the injured O’Connor for Caolan McGuckin.

The rub of the green was not with the Maghera lads and a mistake at the back forced McKenna from his line to inhibit another chance for Ardmore.

After the hour mark Ardmore again and again pressed forward and McKenna as the last line of defence saved the Strollers on a few occasions, at one stage clearing the ball off the line; the Strollers were finding it difficult to create any sort of chance to level the game.

Just before 75 minutes the Strollers had a goal disallowed when O’Doherty hit the net but was deemed to be off-side. Heads were shaking in disbelief and it was a feeling of no matter what you do right, the result is always wrong.

On 80 minutes Damien McGee’s side scored their second goal through Brown inflicting an almost mortal wound to the Strollers spirits, then in the closing stages Gary Collett netted Ardmore’s third goal.

Maghera Strollers: Lorcan McKenna, Michael Scullion, Dermot O’Doherty, Stephen Merron, Ryan Winton, Declan McErlean, Jerome McKenna, Christopher O’Kane, Mark O’Connor, Gary O’Doherty, Mark O’Donnell. Subs: Caolan McGuckin, Stefan O’Donnell, Colm Sargent.