Missed penalty costs Richhill

Lurgan Town......................................................0

Richhill AFC......................................................0

A MISSED penalty meant that Richhill AFC had to settle for a draw in their Intermediate A match at basement side Lurgan Town on Saturday afternoon.

Marty Rice’s side entered the game on the back of a morale boosting victory over league leaders Oxford Sunnyside last weekend but blustery playing conditions meant that Richhill were unable to build on this with any free flowing football from both sides limited.

The villagers were presented with an early opportunity from the penalty post after good pressure from Adam Wright resulting in Town ’keeper Boyce bringing down Aaron Black.

Up stepped the normally reliable Davy Ross to take the penalty but Boyce redeemed himself with a smart save.

At the other end, AFC were thankful to their own ’keeper Daniel Acheson who made two smart saves, one of which was destined for the top corner of the net following a strike from distance.

Aaron Black did have the ball in the net just before the interval with a well-taken strike but the referee correctly ruled out the goal for offside to leave both sides level at the interval.

The second half proved to be a carbon copy of the first 45 minutes with both sides struggling in the windy conditions. Keepers Boyce and Acheson both made good saves and dealt comfortably with any high balls thus leaving it a day of frustration for both sets of strikes.

In the end, a draw was a fair result with Richhill continuing with league action again this Saturday as they host Fivemiletown United. Kick Off at Richhill Recreation Centre is at 2.15pm.

Richhill AFC: Daniel Acheson, Nathan Stoops, Jac McElveen, Matthew McSorley, Josh McCarten, Aaron Haire, Ben Rice, Sam McKew, Adam Wright, Davy Ross, Aaron Black. Subs: James Nesbitt, James Ballantine & Logan Cooke.