Moon pile more misery on Coagh

KILLYMOON defeated local rivals Coagh United on Saturday at the MUSA to pile more misery to the depleted Hagan Park outfit. Two first half goals from Ferry and a disputed third goal from Gari Crooks sealed a comfortable win for the Cookstown outfit.

It was a case of top versus bottom at the Sports Arena on Saturday but any neutral spectator would have struggled to tell the difference between the two. Coagh were sluggish and failed to deal with a much hungrier Killymoon.

The opening stages of the tie were frantic as both sides pushed for that elusive opening goal. Mark Scott went close for Coagh while Johnny Yorke had to be on his toes to save from veteran striker Warren Smith.

It was the home side who grabbed the lead on the 20th minute. Ferry picked up the ball in space and rifled home past Yorke to make it 1-0.

Coagh tried desperately to get back into the game as Ferguson and Colin Donaldson went close. However, the home side soon scored a second. A flowing Killymoon move left Ali Young with space on the flank. Young crossed with precision and Warren Smith netted at the back post.

The action came thick and fast after the half time interval. Referee Burns had his hands full as he attempted to keep the game under control following a number of feisty challenges.

The next goal in the tie was going to prove to be crucial and Killymoon nearly grabbed a third. Purvis rose highest to head a Young corner towards goal. However, the centre half saw his effort scrambled off the line.

It was game over on 64 minutes as Gari Crooks hammered the ball in off the crossbar. Burns ran over to his assistant and after a brief discussion, the goal was given.

Coagh had one minor opportunity to get back into the game when Brown made a smart save from a header. However, this was all that the Hagan Park side could muster. The result sent shockwaves throughout the division. However, United are down to the bare bones. Missing key players such as Hawe, Gillespie, Lamont and Park has proved crucial over the last few weeks,

Coagh now have a mountain to climb. They lie four points behind Knockbreda but have a game in hand. Next up for United is trip to the Dub to face Queens and then a tough trip to Knockbreda on Easter Tuesday.

Killymoon will be hoping to push on from this fantastic derby victory by keeping up their good form with a win against Lurgan Celtic at the MUSA next Saturday.