Rec resistance finally broken

However, if anyone expected the minnows to be thumped out of sight they were to be proved wrong for a second time.

Dunmurry Rec once again produced a great team effort which had Linfield worried until the 66th minute of the tie when the Blues secured some breathing space with a second goal.

On 23 seconds, hero of the first match Philip Warnock, produced another stunning save when he tipped over a dipping shot from Philip Lowry.

But the Blues had plenty to think about when Alan Blayney had to dash off his line to close down Paddy Rooney who was through on goal. From the corner Blayney was beaten by Richard Rutherford’s header but Jamie Mulgrew cleared off the line.

Linfield struck the front midway through the half, a corner from Curtis Allen was not cleared and Stephen Douglas had time and space to lash the ball into the middle of the goal from the edge of the box.

Linfield had loads of possession but until the second goal there was an air of unease among the ranks, especially when Rec again went close as Mulgrew was on hand again to clear a Kerr header off the line.

Peter Thompson’s header clipped the bar and substitute Michael Carvill created space before firing straight at Warnock. The second goal eventually came, Carvill the creator with some neat footwork to set up Lowry who headed home.

Dunmurry almost pulled a goal back when Paul Redpath looked certain to score bit a last ditch block from Aidan O’Kane denied him.

The best goal of the night arrived from the boot of Lowry, a wonderful strike that flew into the top corner of the net, his 11th goal of the season.

“Overall, we deserved our victory and I’m glad to be through to the next round,” said boss David Jeffrey. “You’ve got to give great credit to Dunmurry Rec. To say they raised their game would be an understatement. Infact, I expected them to come here with a little more confidence after the first game and they certainly made us work very hard and our goalkeeper had to make some very good saves and we had to clear two off the line.”

Two goal hero Philip Lowry said it was good to get into the next round. “For teams like Dunmurry Rec this is a dream for them, this is their cup final, so they are going to fight all the way. We knew it would take a good performance to get through and I felt we did a professional job on the night,” said Lowry.

“Now we have to think about Saturday and a tough trip to Glenavon.”