Toal’s Bookmakers Co Antrim Steel & Sons Cup final: Newington 1 Linfield Swifts 3
From Brendan Crossan at Seaview
LINFIELD Swifts lifted the Steel & Sons Cup on Christmas morning for the 11th time in the club’s history after overcoming luckless Newington who defeated them in the decider two years ago.
A Jake Corbett double and a stoppage-time strike from Charlie Allen saw off a brave challenge from Newington who were desperately unlucky not to force this final to extra-time.
Midfielder Corbett capitalised on a defensive error to nod home the opener after 40 minutes from a corner despite the Swifts having been largely dominated by their opponents.
And the same player made it 2-0 in the 68th minute with a glancing header.
Newington substitute Robbie McVarnock stole in to make it 2-1 on 80 mintues before Allen broke clear to seal the cup for the ‘Wee’ Blues in the last attack of the game. The final scoreline was undoubtedly harsh on Newington.
Controversy reigned at Seaview when Newington’s Michael Gallagher headed home Gavin Taggart’s free-kick on 55 minutes that should have brought the game level, but it was chalked off by the linesman’s flag even though subsequent TV replays of the ‘goal’ strongly contested the decision.
It was rough justice on Newington, and yet only for a remarkable last-gasp save from Swifts keeper Alex Moore to keep out Johnny Gowdy’s effort, Wednesday’s final would have needed extra-time or penalties to declare a winner.
As Newington pressed for an equaliser, the impressive Allen raced clear to slot home Linfield Swifts’ third goal to avenge their final defeat of two years earlier.
Swifts boss Davy Dorrian felt several of his players were nervous during the final and admitted Newington made all the running in the opening half before his side grabbed the first goal.
“I thought at the start of the game we were a bit nervous and that Newington were better, and then we scored the goal and we settled down for a wee bit,” said Dorrian.
“I just thought some of our boys were a bit nervous. They’re far better footballers than they showed.”
Despite not testing Moore in the Swifts goal in the first half, Newington’s wide players Sean O’Reilly and Anto McGonnell were causing plenty of problems, while Kevin Bradley, Patrick Pierce and Michael Gallagher performed well for Conor Crossan’s side.
But after Gallagher’s ‘goal’ was chalked off, the Swifts found more spaces in the Newington defence as the north Belfast men pressed forward, and the second goal came through Corbett with 22 minutes of normal time remaining.
Substitutes McVarnock and Gowdy gave Newington more attacking impetus in the closing stages but they could never get back on level terms despite enjoying territorial advantage.
Dorrian added: “I thought the first half we were far too deep and it allowed Newington to win a lot of first and second balls in around the edge of our box, so we made a decision to try and push a wee bit higher in the second half and try and get people on the ball in the right areas and I thought it worked out for us."
Dorrian, who was on the losing end in the 2017 Steel decider, paid tribue to Newington.
“I’ve nothing but respect for Conor [Crossan] and big Duff [Thomas Duffy, assistant manager]. They’re competing in a league where there are teams that have more finances than them but they’re fighting the battle because they have a bit of community spirit about them.”
Crossan, meanwhile, paid tribute to the winners.
"Congratulations to Linfield Swifts and their manager Davy Dorrian. On the game itself, I thought we played well enough to get something out of it, but we didn't get the rub of the green, especially with the disallowed goal and the chance at the end. It could have been so different."
Linfield Swifts: A Moore, J McGivern, C McVeigh, R O’Hare, R Larkin, T Hume, M Green, J Corbett, D Reynolds (A Carroll 65), D Taylor, C Allen
Newington: M Maybin, S O’Reilly, P Pierce, A Casey, K Bradley, R Gowdy, G Taggart (N Cummings 70), M Gallagher, E Devine (J Gowdy 60), D White (R McVarnock 75), A McGonnell
Referee: R Stewart
