Beragh leave it late to advance in the Irish Junior Cup

Beragh Swifts ..3
Portadown BOBB… 2

A LATE goal by Kris Hamilton secured safe passage into the fourth round of the Irish Junior Cup for Beragh Swifts at Fountain Lane on Saturday.

With just three minutes remaining Hamilton hooked the ball home from close range to eventually kill off the visiting challenge.

For the most part Wes Ferguson’s outfit were in control of this intriguing cup-tie but their inability to take a higher percentage of their chances combined with some hesitant defending meant the visitors were always in with a shout until the final significant act.

Twice Swifts led through Anthony McCullagh and Stephen Browne (pen) but a fine strike by Daniel Robb and a poacher’s finish by Josh Mathers meant it was still all to play for at the break.

Swifts dominated large spells of the second half but it wasn’t until the arrival of Milan Matecz, as a second half substitute, that Beragh looked like conjuring up a winner.

And it was of little surprise that Matecz had a major hand in the deciding goal. His pinpoint delivery to the back post was nodded down by Browne and Hamilton improvised by hooking the ball inside the Portadown keeper’s right post.

The tie was a lot closer than it needed to be and Beragh boss Ferguson admitted as much. “It’s been the story of the season so far – making hard work of games, “ he said.

“I told the players to take the game to them and they did that but we gave away two soft goals, that’s happening week in week out. If we stop that we have quality to hurt other teams.

“But to be fair to the players they showed character last week (in a 3-3 draw with Enniskillen Rangers) and they showed character again to win it. We didn’t give up and that was the most pleasing thing. I keep telling the players to keep believing.”

Beragh began on the front foot and after Hamilton had a goal-bound shot blocked and Collie Adams had an effort cleared off the line, McCullagh opened the scoring by powerfully heading home a Johnny Kuruc corner kick at the back post.

Conceding that early goal seemed to act as a wake-up call for Portadown and Adams, with a visiting attacker breathing down his neck, did superbly to steer a dangerous low cross from Ryan Smith wide of a gaping goal. However Beragh failed to heed that warning and approximately 10 minutes before the interval, following good work by Portadown skipper Raymond Harpur, Robb let fly from 22 yards to send the ball arrowing into Peter Ward’s top right hand corner.

Just prior to that Stephen Browne had a goal chalked off for offside and volleyed over in quick succession but it was the attacker who put Swifts back in front from the penalty spot after Hamilton had been brought down.

But once again the lead was short-lived. A rasping drive by Harpur was coughed up by Ward and Mathers reacted first to poke the ball home.

It could have been even worse for Swifts when on the stroke of half-time Robb curled an effort against Ward’s left upright.

In the second half though Ferguson’s outfit stamped their authority on proceedings. Adams had a downward header from a Kuruc corner saved by visiting keeper Andrew Wright and, just after his arrival, Matecz sent Hamilton through the middle but Wright made a superb stop at the striker’s feet.

By now Portadown were penned in their own half as the homesters upped the ante in search of a winner. Matecz was central to that effort and he played Luke Henderson in on the right but no one was able to apply the finishing touch to the raiding right-back’s inviting cross.

Matecz delivered similar quality from the same flank but again his team-mates weren’t on the same wavelength.

Shortly after, Henderson and McCullagh seemed to get in each other’s way as substitute Craig Breen delivered a free kick to the back post but Swifts remained patient and they eventually got their reward when Browne nodded down Matecz’s cross and Hamilton hooked home.

Beragh had another glorious opportunity to add gloss to the final score line. Matecz danced his way through on the right to place the ball on a plate for Browne, who cut back onto his weaker right foot to send a rising shot inches by Wright’s left post.

But it mattered not. Swifts had already done enough and now look forward to the fourth round draw.