Ashford Rovers A 1
Avonmore 1
Ballinalea Park
Eoin Horkan
Honours Even After Wind-Swept Encounter in Ballinalea
With a strong wind swirling across Ballinalea, both Ashford Rovers and Avonmore produced an entertaining contest, creating a host of chances before ultimately having to settle for a share of the spoils in this hard-fought league encounter.
The Rathdrum-based Avonmore side started the stronger and looked lively from the opening exchanges, with Mark Cullen immediately causing problems for the home defence. Inside the opening minute Cullen found space down the flank and four minutes later he was at the centre of controversy when he went to ground in the box, only for the referee to wave away strong penalty appeals.
Avonmore continued to press early on and Cullen again went close when he latched onto a loose ball inside the area, but his goal-bound effort was bravely blocked by an Ashford defender.
Despite Avonmore’s early dominance, it was the home side who struck first and against the run of play. On ten minutes, a long ball forward was collected by Steven Kavanagh, who showed great awareness to whip a delicious cross into the box. Danny Byrne timed his run perfectly and made no mistake, finishing well to give Ashford a 1–0 lead.
The visitors almost hit back on the quarter-hour mark when a mix-up in the Rovers defence nearly resulted in an own goal. A misjudged back-pass flew past goalkeeper Craig Armstrong but the upright came to Ashford’s rescue, keeping the slender advantage intact.
Avonmore possessed a dangerous front three and striker Jack Manley proved a constant handful, controlling everything that came his way in the difficult conditions. Manley tested Armstrong shortly afterwards with a powerful effort that the Ashford keeper did well to save.
The middle third of the half belonged to Ashford as they began to impose themselves in midfield. They carved out a couple of promising opportunities, the first falling to Byrne, whose effort was cleared off the line. Moments later Colin Ashley surged down the wing and cut inside before firing narrowly wide of the post.
As half-time approached Avonmore finished strongly, with Manley at the heart of everything. His free-kick from distance drifted just the wrong side of the post before, on the stroke of the interval, he came agonisingly close to an equaliser. Rising highest to meet a corner, Manley’s controlled volley rattled the crossbar before bouncing wide, leaving Ashford relieved to go in ahead at the break.
The second half began at a quieter pace but burst into life when Ashley found himself through one-on-one for the home side. With time to pick his spot, he dragged his effort just wide of the post.
Cullen continued to threaten for Avonmore and soon found himself on the end of another chance, but his effort from a tight angle flashed past the near post.
As the visitors piled on the pressure, John Murphy tested Armstrong with a long-range free-kick that forced a good save from the Ashford goalkeeper.
With just under twenty minutes remaining, Avonmore finally got the goal their pressure deserved. Cullen cut in sharply off the wing, skipped past his marker and calmly finished past Armstrong to level the tie at 1–1.
The remainder of the contest belonged largely to Avonmore, who sensed the chance to claim all three points. Callum Pursey had the best opportunity when the ball broke kindly to him in the box, but he fired over the crossbar. A couple of half-chances followed, with Ashford defending resolutely as the clock ticked down.
Despite late pressure from the visitors, neither side could find that elusive second goal, and the final whistle brought an end to an absorbing encounter played in difficult conditions.
Ashford Rovers A:Craig Armstrong,Chris Smith,Conor Willams,Anto Byrne,Gary McNabb,Finn Brooks,Paul Maher,Colin Ashley,Danny Byrne,Niall Vaughan,Steven Kavanagh.
Subs Used Jason Ashley for Steven Kavanagh,Reane Murphy for Colin Ashley,Adam Daly for Finn Brooks.
Avonmore:Matty Boland,Ryan Hanlon,Cody Reid,Eric Olohan,Brendan Gahan,Cian O’Hanlon,Callum Pursey,John Murphy,Jack Manley,Alex Olohan,Mark Cullen.
Subs Used;Karls Phelan for Jack Manley,Calub Fox for Alex Olohan,Stephen Kavanagh for Cian O’Hanlon
Referee Mark Wynne
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