Feisty and determined
are the way these Crusaders are playing lately and so far they are seeing
results, and with a match away on New Year’s Day against relegation prone Ballinamallard
United.
Scheduled as a lone
match in the NIFL, the Crues were looking for a positive result and going against
cellar prone and troubled Mallard squad, the possibilities of a positive result
was within reach, and one of them was the league top.
Still for the
Hachetmen manager, despite their foes record and situation in the general table,
for Stephen Baxter he was aware of the foe he had in front and these could give
them a surprise and play the hated role of spoilers.
As the show must go
on, the Crues were ready for the challenge.
And this something the
Belfast Boys did in the course of the match dominate and exercise their mastery
over their foes hat at the end succumbed to their push and all around hunger
that could place them in the end at the league top.
As the game went on
and with a first half were both locals and visitors alike playing a very stingy
defense and measuring one another the first half ended up tied at zero goals
and the promise of a very heated second half.
Despite some warning
plays between both squads, none of the squads could put the ball behind their
nets as an early shoot of goal from the Crues Gavin Whyte going wide the posts
and later Ballinamallard’s Cyaran Martin score but he was caught offside.
With the second half
in play, it took the Crues six minutes to score their first goal of the match
with Jordan Forsyhte taking advantage of a failed play by the Mallards goalie, putting
a hold on the deadlock in the 51 minute.
The second goal came
from a cross from Crusaders forward Paul Heatley and the locals Matthew Smith with
a header push the ball into his own goal in the 71 for the 2-0 lead and seeing
a total mastery of the match by the visitors.
In the 87 minute it’s
when Billy Joe Burns scoring the goa ahead and the security goal on a rout over
a troubled Ballinamallard United squad adding more woes to their cause and
sentencing their destiny in the league relegation.
This win places the
Crusaders squad with 57 points displacing Coleraine in first place and a match
pending by the Bannsiders after their match postponed against Linfield.
At the end, the
Hachetmen made an all-around statement that they are not going down so easily
and this win places them in the top for now with a point lead and a lot of work
before the league ends.
Post Contents and Property of Fern
Mc Costigan © Copyright All Rights Reserved
Photos Credit and Property of
Coleraine FC and INPHO/Stephen Hamilton 2017
Photos Credit and Property of © 2017
Northern Ireland Football League
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