Castleabbey FC vs Ballynahinch Olympic 2nds
Castleabbey FC started the new season with a league match at home to Ballynahinch Olympic 2nds on Saturday 24th August. Both teams started off very strong with Stephen Rowden just missing out on a goal scoring opportunity in the first five minutes by running the ball into the box and striking the ball just over the bar. This was a shake up for Ballynahinch Olympic who came back fighting and twenty seven minutes into the game one of their players was brought down on the edge of the box and awarded a penalty. The Olympic player struck the ball low to the keepers right with Abbey Keeper Cookie McKinney diving low to save the ball but unfortunately the ball bounced to the Olympic player who headed it in. 0-1 Olympic. The abbey responded in kind in the forty second minute with Paul Turley running down the right hand side and switching the ball to Stephen Rowden on the left who struck the ball past the keeper from just outside the box to make it 1-1.
The abbey came out fighting in the second half with Shane Baggley making it 2-1 when a free kick from Robbie Palin from behind the half way line was flicked on by Stephen Rowden and Shane Baggley placed the ball in the back of the net. Olympic returned two minutes later when the ball was struck through the Abbey defence and the Olympic player calmly placed the ball passed the Abbey keeper. The Abbey were determined to take the three points and with Shane Baggley hitting a wonder strike from twenty five yards into the keepers top left hand corner brought the Abbey to a 3-2 lead in the sixty ninth minute. This was all the encouragement that the Abbey boys needed and with Ryan Brannigan running home to score he was brought down in the box and the Abbey were awarded a penalty. Usual penalty taker, Nathan Curran stepped aside to give Shane Baggley a chance at a hat trick. Shane stepped up, stuck the ball firmly to the keepers bottom right corner but the keeper was two quick and passed the ball round the post for a corner but the Abbey lads did not give up hope – two minutes later Stephen Rowden again, from another super cross from Abbey player Ross Laverty, made it 4-2 to the Abbey. Shane Baggley didn’t give up hope of his hat trick though, as on the eighty seventh minute he received a cross from Gareth “Gazza” Brown, Shane took the ball on his chest into the air and drove it into the back of Olympic net to give Castleabbey FC their first win of the new season. 5-2 to Castleabbey.
