Fightback not enough for Foyle

Larne played host to Foyle men for Saturday’s Senior Two fixture of the Ulster league.

Previous encounters saw hard lessons for Foyle to take away in what were always action packed games but this time it was a little different with much improved performance from the northwest side.

Weather conditions were perfect and Foyle brought a strong 13 man side which included Kevin McKinless who would be playing his first ever game for the club.

Foyle began the first half with the sun in their eyes yet starting with possession they were able to work the ball up-field by a string of passes using the full width of the pitch, attacks and counterattacks made up the first 10 minutes of the match with both teams not having any real scoring opportunities.

Larne bagged the first goal of the game from a counter attack leaving half of the midfielders no time to get back and defend, their second goal came five minutes after from a strike just inside the circle and Foyle keeper Johnny Ellis was unlucky not to get a pad to the ball.

Larne had a number of penalty corners awarded to them in the middle of the first half but tight defending from Scott Burnside, Paul Charlesworth, Steven Cleverly and Daniel Donaghy along with saves from Ellis ensured none of them got through to goal.

Foyle left midfielder David Gordon received a quick pass from Glenn Wilson and was able to keep possession and finished his run by taking the ball around the Larne keeper and scoring Foyle’s first goal of the day to keep them in reach of the seasoned Larne side.

This lifted the North West spirits greatly, however it was premature as the home team were able to score again straight from the restart through a slick and simple series of passes which failed to meet a satisfactory challenge from the Foyle defence.

Yet another short corner was won by the home team and this time despite the stretching efforts from GK Ellis, Larne racked their first half goals to four and ended the first half 4-1.

At half-time the men must have had a feeling of ‘déjà vu’ as hefty defeats usually came by full time against this well seasoned Larne side. With this in mind the team reshuffled somewhat to give everything they had in the second half.

Now with the sun on their side the second half of the game was truly dominated by a more attacking Foyle team.

Attack after attack the men had many chances and after been awarded a penalty corner Steven Cleverly was able to slot in another goal to narrow the gap for our guys.

Kevin McKinless made a great impression in his first game and was unlucky not to score from a cross in by Gary Throne, yet other chances by Rory Dunne and David Gordon could have seen the sides draw level.

A quick free hit taken by Zahid Bahli found Scott Burnside who shelled the ball into the scoring area where Chris Black got a crucial touch to see a tentative score line of 4-3 with 10 minutes remaining.

Foyle’s new attacking play saw them hold possession for almost the whole second half until the last five minutes when the home side were able to break through once more and score the final goal of the game to restore their two goal cushion.

Friends, family and fans of men’s hockey in the Foyle region are encouraged to come along this weekend to St Columb’s Park as they endeavour to win their first league points and finally, after three years of perseverance lever themselves off the bottom spot in the league.

Training on Tuesday’s and Thursday’s and all welcome, more information is available through Facebook, website or text (0776) 449 9495.