Lisburn City ground out a hard-earned point in Wales, keeping The New Saints at bay in a drab 0-0 that owed everything to keeper Andy McDonald’s safe hands.

The Saints looked lively early on, Beinn Ghlas galloping clear to tee up Matthew Olosunde, who promptly leathered the ball into row Z. From there, the Distillers’ back five settled, Bernardo Silva marshalling like a nightclub bouncer while John Kennedy cut out raids with calm assurance.

Lisburn nearly nicked one when Kalvin Phillips tried his luck from 30 yards, his rocket pushed onto the bar by Connor Roberts before being hacked away. After the break the Saints huffed and puffed, but McDonald stood tall – pawing away efforts from Llorente, Gallego and Holden, earning Man of the Match.

The home side’s afternoon worsened when Maxine Esteve was stretchered off concussed, and then Ghlas hobbled away with a sprained ankle, leaving them limping to the finish.

Lisburn offered little going forward, Brook and later McDonagh denied by last-ditch defending, but the Distillers will be content with a clean sheet and another CP in the bank for Grealish.

That gives relegation bound Lisburn only two defeats in their last 9 games. However it's those evasive "W"s that look like they will doom Lisburn to Division 2 next season .... unless they can work out how to win a couple of games in what is a very tough end of season schedule.

Full-time: The New Saints 0 Lisburn City 0

Man of the Match: Andy McDonald (Lisburn City)

Lisburn City ground out a hard-earned point in Wales, keeping The New Saints at bay in a drab 0-0 that owed everything to keeper Andy McDonald’s safe hands.

The Saints looked lively early on, Beinn Ghlas galloping clear to tee up Matthew Olosunde, who promptly leathered the ball into row Z. From there, the Distillers’ back five settled, Bernardo Silva marshalling like a nightclub bouncer while John Kennedy cut out raids with calm assurance.

Lisburn nearly nicked one when Kalvin Phillips tried his luck from 30 yards, his rocket pushed onto the bar by Connor Roberts before being hacked away. After the break the Saints huffed and puffed, but McDonald stood tall – pawing away efforts from Llorente, Gallego and Holden, earning Man of the Match.

The home side’s afternoon worsened when Maxine Esteve was stretchered off concussed, and then Ghlas hobbled away with a sprained ankle, leaving them limping to the finish.

Lisburn offered little going forward, Brook and later McDonagh denied by last-ditch defending, but the Distillers will be content with a clean sheet and another CP in the bank for Grealish.

That gives relegation bound Lisburn only two defeats in their last 9 games. However it's those evasive "W"s that look like they will doom Lisburn to Division 2 next season .... unless they can work out how to win a couple of games in what is a very tough end of season schedule.

Full-time: The New Saints 0 Lisburn City 0

Man of the Match: Andy McDonald (Lisburn City)

Ye Olde Spurs started last weekend with a home relegation battle against the Golden Dragons. The match was a tense affair with the game being decided by a last minute Robb goal for Spurs. The Dragons will feel higher done by not picking anything up. The second league game was away to third placed Orgullo Atletico. We lost four nil and didn't create a single chance. We remain in tenth position. In midweek we played the Dowson Shield semifinal against FC Blades. It was a cracking watch but we came out three two losers. The Blades just wanted it more and took more chances. Our last remaining goal is to avoid relegation. 

We started the weekend with an away game at Dan's Sheffield Rovers, a quality side who always make it hard to play against them,,they opted for a 4-4-2 normal as we went for a 5-3-2 stall hoping to pinch a cheeky point, game on and 1st half belonged to defences as both stood firm, 2nd half and much of the same but on 76 minutes they broke through and Sideshow headed home 1-0,we had no answers in an even game of 1 shot each ,well played Dan.

Next we were at home to Carl's Lisburn city, another side who really punch above their weight at times ,always hard to play against, we opted for a 4-3-3 longball as they went for a 5-2-3 stall,game on and 1st half was all about defences as both stood firm, 2nd half subs on and we pushed on but could not break down a stubborn defence as it ended goalless 0-0 ,points shared,McDonald in their goal was in outstanding form with 3 saves ,well played Carl. 

So a 1 point weekend sees us sit 7th. 

If you thought Lisburn City were going to roll over after Bernardo Silva got his marching orders on 11 minutes, you don’t know this side at all. The Portuguese schemer saw red quicker than a bull in Pamplona, leaving the home crowd seething and the Rockets’ travelling band roaring.

Darlington smelt blood and duly struck twice — first Lacomus Notadwarf looping a header over Carson, then Falstad Wildhammer tapping in from a scramble. At 0-2 down it looked like a long, grim afternoon, but up stepped Phil McDonagh. The Ballymena bullet lashed one low past Morose Stronginthearm on 37, then snaffled another on 42 after Kalvin Phillips pounced on a daft clearance. Two goals in five minutes and Windsor-esque roars around the ground.

The second half? Grit, sweat and a few near misses. Cochrane volleyed over, Barry had a run snuffed out, and Eric Brook stung the keeper’s gloves. At the other end, City’s patched-up back line held firm, even when spitting incidents (yes, really) threatened to drag the whole affair into Sunday League territory.

Final whistle: 2-2, a point apiece, and Phil McDonagh rightly crowned man of the match. City will curse Silva’s rush of blood, but they’ll toast McDonagh tonight.

Closing line: Ten men, two goals, one hero — Lisburn live to fight another day.

Lisburn City were left drowning their sorrows last night after crashing out of the Dowson Plate semi-final on penalties – and you could almost hear the groans from Bow Street to Broomhedge.

It all started like a dream when big Andy Morrison leathered one from 30 yards that nearly took the net off its pegs. The Distillers were buzzing – until Preston’s Alan Armstrong decided to spoil the party with a volley that had Scott Carson stretching like a man reaching for the last sausage roll at a wedding buffet.

Second half? Chaos. Chris Harling nicked one for the Lillywhites, but up popped local lad Jamsie Irwin with the coolest of finishes to level it at 2–2. Cue wild scenes in the stand – and a few spilled pints.

But then came the dreaded shoot-out. Lisburn’s lads suddenly couldn’t have hit the Lagan if they’d been standing on the bridge. Bernardo Silva, Phil McDonagh and Peter Barnes all fluffed their lines, leaving poor Dave Watson as the only man in sky blue to find the onion bag. Armstrong slammed home the winner and Preston wheeled away like they’d won the Cup Final.

Lisburn out. Preston through. And plenty of sore heads in the morning.

Star Man: Dave Watson – came on, scored, and looked like he’d run through a brick wall if you asked him.

It says a lot when your GK gets MotM and so it was in the SFLSL Cup Quarter-final against DB. A great performance from Pete between the sticks and clean sheet means OPT go through to the semi-finals to play FCB.

That match left the squad a bit flat and so it was something of a rested team that faced BIB. To be fair, BIB are a shadow of the team they once were and, even with a below average SL, OPT managed to sweep away a very passive BIB lineup.

Away to GD in the next match and it was a completely different starting 11. OPT began brightly and two early goals from Douglass with only one in reply saw the first 10 minutes swing the way of OPT. A third on 13 minutes and then a forth on 36 had OPT in the driving seat by halftime.

A couple of changes for EL were made and the final score of 5-2 was about right for this game. Another CB for Douglass which was well deserved given his two goal input but a red card for Alba was not what we wanted.

It would have been unlikely that Alba would start against SFR on Wednesday in the Dowson Cup but he would have been useful if required to come off the bench.

The game on Wednesday is the highlight of the season for all OPT fans. It is not the final but, as it is against SFR, it will have that feel about it. It should be a cracker - as are all Cup games between these two - but with a strict ref, who can risk the most aggression.

St Mirren POTS player is Gary Linarcer. The young forward was an early purchase from the auction as the team looked to blooster there attacking options. He has played over 1400 minutes in the league and cup competitions this season. He has scored 2 goals from the 9 shots he has managed in the games he has played.

The manager has sated that the play will be a major asset to the taem as he continues to improve and get more experience in the upcoming seasons and is a future captain of the team.

The season is coming to an end for ORA.
The two early cup exits not only damage this season's sporting aspirations. The loss of the morale boost and several cup ticket sales are a financial blow that will affect their fight for next season.

ORA has a high-quality, young team, but it hasn't been up to par this season, and it's now unclear whether it will be able to renew itself next season without the expected resources. Curiously, despite its Juventus status, it has never before needed to renew so many positions.

The last chance will come this weekend. Only a victory over OPT could revive hopes at ORgy Park, with a last-minute comeback against OPT to be dreamed of while Colin's team tries to secure the treble.

Ye Olde Spurs kicked off last weekend's league games with a home match against Dundee Broncos. We went three nil down after just 33 minutes and ended up losing four nil. We got outshot ten to four, so no complaints. The second game was away to bottom side the Bijker Boys. This time we came out on top, four goals to nil. The three points leaves us tenth just above the relegation playoff positions. A place we would settle for at the end of the season.

We started with a home game against Roy's Locomotive Darlington, a side we always have a cracking game against and we usually end up on the wrong end and lose,we opted for a 4-3-3 longball as they went for a 4-2-4 longball, game on and the 1st half was dominated by defences as both stood firm, 2nd half and subs on we kept pushing and got the breakthrough on 75 minutes when Oteh drilled home a loose ball 1-0,88 minutes and we were down to 10 men as Villalibre  stretchered off with a broken leg and his season over,but we stood firm and outshot them 8 to 2 ,Stronginthearm was in outstanding form in their goal with 6 outstanding saves to keep them in it,well played Roy.

Next we were at home to Steve's AC Sapone, always a tricky side to play against, as you never know how they will set up ,we opted for a 4-3-3 normal as they went for a 4-2-4  early ball, game on and both defences on top for the 1st half,2nd half and subs on and again both defences stood firm and refused to give any ground ,we just edged the shot count 12 to 8 ,but Edith in their goal was in outstanding form with 11 saves as it ended goalless 0-0 ,points shared ,well played Steve.

So a 4 point weekend sees us sit 6th.

Lisburn City’s trip to the capital ended in disappointment as Dublin Illuminati claimed a deserved 2–0 victory, powered by a Dustin Hopkins brace.

The Distillers were under pressure from the off, and only Andy McDonald’s sharp reflexes prevented an even heavier scoreline. But on six minutes Dublin got their reward when Sma Darius Zith’s effort was diverted into the net by Hopkins. The home side doubled their lead just before the break, Cack Jonklin providing the cross and Hopkins hooking home a fine finish past McDonald.

Lisburn rarely threatened, with Eric Brook’s blocked shot their best moment of the first half. Substitutes Bernardo Silva and Phil McDonagh were introduced at the interval, but the Dublin defence—marshalled by Ment Bratiscik—kept the visitors at arm’s length. Hopkins might have had a hat-trick but for the post and a fingertip save.

In the end, the statistics told the story: Dublin managed seven shots on target to Lisburn’s none. For the Distillers, this was another afternoon where honest endeavour couldn’t disguise a lack of cutting edge.

Lisburn must regroup quickly—Division One doesn’t wait for sympathy.

Lisburn City’s trip to the capital ended in disappointment as Dublin Illuminati claimed a deserved 2–0 victory, powered by a Dustin Hopkins brace.

The Distillers were under pressure from the off, and only Andy McDonald’s sharp reflexes prevented an even heavier scoreline. But on six minutes Dublin got their reward when Sma Darius Zith’s effort was diverted into the net by Hopkins. The home side doubled their lead just before the break, Cack Jonklin providing the cross and Hopkins hooking home a fine finish past McDonald.

Lisburn rarely threatened, with Eric Brook’s blocked shot their best moment of the first half. Substitutes Bernardo Silva and Phil McDonagh were introduced at the interval, but the Dublin defence—marshalled by Ment Bratiscik—kept the visitors at arm’s length. Hopkins might have had a hat-trick but for the post and a fingertip save.

In the end, the statistics told the story: Dublin managed seven shots on target to Lisburn’s none. For the Distillers, this was another afternoon where honest endeavour couldn’t disguise a lack of cutting edge.

Lisburn must regroup quickly—Division One doesn’t wait for sympathy.

After a defeat ended NHL run of seven consecutive league draws they seem to have hit a run of winning form. Four straight victories and up to sixth place in the league is quite unexpected in this season of rebuilding. The key difference has been up-front with the addition of Cort and Cordone providing attacking options and both have integrated well. A shortage of TP has seen the development of the clubs youngster stall a little this season and this could be an issue next season and beyond.

There is still a bit of a misbalance in the squad. Goalkeeping options are limited despite having three goalkeepers in the squad and the desire to add an extra quality defender (or two) to the squad have just not been possible with the clubs finances somewhat stretched this season.

Despite the pessimism at the start of the season it has gradually improved and whilst the club are unlikely to be in a position to push for the play-off spots this season there is belief that next season things could be looking up again at last.

Lisburn City went toe-to-toe with some of Amsterdam’s finest in a lively 0-0 draw at the Distillery Ground, a match where Edwin van der Sar showed why he remains one of the game’s greats. The Distillers created chance after chance in the opening half, with Eric Brook twice chipping towards goal only to be thwarted by the giant Dutch keeper’s fingertips. Bernardo Silva also saw a close-range strike clawed away, while Kalvin Phillips volleyed narrowly over.

Ajax Legends, boasting names like Bergkamp, Davids and Kluivert, struggled to break down a disciplined Lisburn back line. John Kennedy and Gary Wray stood firm, while Carson had a surprisingly quiet afternoon. The second half followed a similar pattern: Lisburn carved openings through Barry’s passing and Grealish’s industry, but the final touch deserted them. Jamsie Irwin blazed wide after van der Sar spilled, and Bernardo Silva’s late effort was again parried.

The referee added a touch of theatre, booking Grealish for handball and even reprimanding Ronald de Boer for an odd spitting incident. But nothing could break the deadlock.

In the end, Lisburn left frustrated yet proud—dominating shots and territory but held at bay by van der Sar’s brilliance.

Final word: On another day, the Distillers would have won handsomely, but against legends, sometimes a draw still feels like a statement.