Kilroot’s promotion hopes dented by Crumlin

Crumlin Star 4

MANAGER Paul Hannan acknowledges that Kilroot will finish their season with ‘seven cup finals’, after their hopes of finishing as runners-up to Crumlin Star for were dented by Saturday’s defeat to Division 1C’s long-term leaders at Wilbourne Park.

Kilroot remain second but there are a posse of teams just a few points behind, with games in hand, with so many of the other challengers still to go head-to-head, points will invariably be dropped.

It was Kilroot who forced the early pace, with Andrew Dummigan and Paul Garvey both going close.

But the Ardoyne side were first to make their mark on 25 minutes when a goal-mouth scramble resulted in the ball ricocheting in off the shin of debutant Matthew Bingham.

For the remainder of the half, there was little in it with Paul Thompson smashing one just over the bar, while Star fired a free kick from 20 yards.

The Carrick boys, however, grabbed a well-deserved equaliser just five minutes after the break when Thompson cut in from the left before thundering the ball past the keeper into the far corner of the net.

It was very much ‘game on’ until the hour mark when Sterling committed a needless foul on a Star forward who inside the box. The visitors duly tucked away the resultant penalty but Kilroot’s troubles doubled when Sterling saw red for continuing to debate the issue with referee John Leith.

A goal up against ten men, Star never looked like they would throw this one away. They added a third a short time later courtesy of another own goal. The ball found its way into the net after it careered off the back post bouncing in off the keeper Dean Haggan’s back.

The game was over as a contest when Star helped themselves to another when the prolific Gormley pounced on a loose pass from Aaron Anderson.

Hannan said after the game: “I was hoping for at least a point against Crumlin Star and we deserved a point. We beat them in the league at home last year and Star knew we were capable of beating them.

“A 4-1 defeat sounds bad but it was nowhere as one-sided as when they beat us 8-1 up at Solitude in October, when we had around seven players missing.

“We were the better side, until they opened the scoring with an unlucky own goal – and then, at one-each, there was nothing between the teams - until we gave away a stupid penalty and had a man sent off. From then on, it was game over. But that’s what really annoys me – it was anybody’s game, until we shot ourselves in the foot with the penalty and a sending off.”

On Saturday it’s an away day for Kilroot when they travel to Bloomfield.