F&W Division One
Tummery Athletic 3 Lisbellaw United 0
By John McGovern
TUMMERY Athletic secured their first victory of the season with a dominant showing against visitors Lisbellaw United at Crawfords Lane on Saturday, during a very damp and rainy occasion in Dromore.
The hosts looked determined to recover from their previous thrashing from NFC Kesh as they welcomed Lisbellaw, who were riding high off a 6-1 victory over Augher.
Both teams battled well for possession in the initial stages of the match until Lisbellaw’s defence blundered a simple free-kick chance from distance by Adrian McCaffrey, which Ciaran Beacom latched onto, putting the hosts ahead after 10 minutes.
Tummery’s early goal helped the squad settle defensively to handle some dangerous counters by Lisbellaw, who were pacing up both wings threateningly.
The visitors were unable to break through despite a chance from Craig Johnston, whose shot from outside the box was caught well by Nathan Hunter.
The visitors refused to let up in the first half as they worked tirelessly to gain a footing back into the match, however, despite impressive dribbling skills from Samuel Lindsay to beat his man, the comeback did not seem to be on the cards; his shot curled narrowly wide of the top right corner of the goal.
The hosts mounted pressure on Lisbellaw towards the end of the half with heavy pressing and forced mistakes from the visitors, which allowed them to make some chances of their own, including a powerful strike from McCaffrey, which fizzed over the crossbar.
It didn’t take Tummery long into the second half to find another goal as a deflected shot from Kyle McCrory fell into the path of late first-half substitute Lorcan McGrady, who rifled home after four minutes of play.
Tummery would look to press their advantage with a quick counter down the left wing, however, they were denied by a well-organised trap from the visitors, which was followed by a counter of their own.
Lisbellaw set up a perfect chance to decrease the deficit with a piercing through ball to Moutray, but a last-ditch tackle from Blain Campbell denied them, as many of the visiting fans called for a penalty.
Lisbellaw began to pile the pressure on as they kept most of the possession for the duration of the half, but were unable to find the finishing touch as a tight Tummery backline cleared each ball that came their way.
The visitor’s heavy pressure would leave them open to the threat of a counterattack as the match drew to a close.
Deep into injury time, Tummery took advantage of such a chance as McCrory blistered up the right wing and crossed it towards Nikodem Hareza, who slid in to secure the final goal of the contest and put the game to rest.