Institute fall short against Linfield in Irish Cup quarterfinal at the Brandywell

Institute 1

Linfield 3

Kevin Deery believes that his young team have set the standards for themselves for the remainder of the season, after a battling and determined performance against Linfield in yesterday’s Irish Cup quarterfinal tie at the Brandywell.

In the first meeting between the sides in over five years, David Healy’s side came as massive favourites to progress to the semi-finals, and while they lived up to that billing, they left knowing they were in a game against a team battling for promotion from the Championship.

A first half goal from Ehan McGee and two quick-fire second half goals from Matthew Fitzpatrick and Kirk Millar ended the tie just before the hour, but ‘Stute held their own throughout and had at least the consolation of a goal from Shane McGinty as reward for their efforts.

“Particularly in the second half of the second half I thought we got on the front foot a wee bit,” Deery reflected afterwards. “For me, that was a good reaction to going 3-0 down. We didn’t fold, we kept going and we scored a good goal and Shane Boyle s really unlucky with a header which would have made it 3-2 with a couple of minutes to go.

“It would have been a good ending to the game, but it wasn’t to be. You can see why they are winning leagues and Irish Cups and League Cups for years. They are littered with quality in the final third and I think it was just three moments of quality which did us today.”

Opportunity

With a large crowd of fans of both teams in the stands, ‘Stute started the game well and Orrin McLaughlin found Michael Harris on the run after just three minutes. It looked momentarily as if the ‘Stute man was in, but his touch took him too wide and the chance was gone.

It was nonetheless a decent start from Deery’s side and they kept their disciple and shape well in the opening stages, showing ambition in possession and not shirking challenges right across the pitch.

A fine start might have gotten even better for ‘Stute just 15 minutes in when they created the first chance of the game, Mikhail Kennedy finding himself in space 30 yards from goal, and, encouraged to shoot, he drilled a low effort at goal with Christopher Johns having to scramble low to his right to push the ball behind for a corner. From that set-piece, the ball was cleared just outside the penalty area where Sean Carlin drilled a brilliant effort which again had the Linfield goalkeeper worried, but the ball flew just wide of the target.

Lindfield responded in kind, and forced Gareth Muldoon into his first save of the game, Kirk Millar’s dipping effort with the outside of his right foot headed straight towards the top corner, forcing ‘Stute’s goalkeeper to push it over the bar.  

‘Stute were undoubtedly fortunate to survive the goalmouth scramble that followed, the ball bouncing around from player to play before it was eventually cleared to safety.

The pace of Harris was always an outlet for ‘Stute, and that was shown again hen he led his team on a counter attack from a Linfield corner just past the half hour. He eventually turned back and worked the ball to McLaughlin, who tried his luck from 30 yards with his dipping and curling effort over the bar.

But Linfield finally found the breakthrough on 34 minutes thanks to a spectacular effort from Ethan McGee. The midfielder had just enough time to control the ball 20 yards from goal before volleying brilliantly across Muldoon and into the net to make it 1-0.

‘Stute stayed in the game and they had a claim for a penalty just three minutes before the break when Blues captain Jamie Mulgrew barged into Danny Lafferty just inside the Linfield penalty area. It was a definite coming together between the pair but referee Raymond Crangle waved away all appeals.

Half Time 0-1

‘Stute’s task became all but impossible with the concession of two goals in two minutes early in the second half. Despite a decent start, a momentary lapse of concentration saw Linfield double their lead. It was a soft goal to concede as well with Kirk Millar’s cross picking out Matthew Fitzpatrick, who was the only player moving amidst a number of players, and his glancing header beat Muldoon to find the corner.

‘Stute were still reeling from that when they conceded again, Muldoon’s kick-out falling short of its intended target and Millar took advantage, sweeping a brilliant effort over the ‘Stute goalkeeper and into the net to seal Linfield’s spot in the semi-finals.

‘Stute, to their credit, never gave in despite the circumstances, and they finished the game on a high, scoring a consolation goal on 87 minutes. Substitute Caoimhin Porter’s cross-field found Jamie Dunne unmarked and his volley across goal deflected perfectly into the path of Shane McGinty, who couldn’t miss from close range.

There could have been a grand finale to this cup tie, with ‘Stute coming close to a second just 60 seconds later. Tiarnan McKinney’s corner was cleared but Shaun Leppard hooked it back over his head into the area where Boyle rose high to power a header downwards at goal, only for Johns to make the save.

“I want that to help us catapult us now until the end of the season and for us to go to Knockbreda with the same mentality and same attitude,” Deery insisted afterwards. “That’s what football is about, being up for it every week, so we have Knockbreda away then Portadown to come here so we have a big fortnight in the league.”

Teams

Institute: Gareth Muldoon, Daniel Lafferty, Shane Boyle, Shaun Leppard, Orrin McLaughlin (Shane McGinty 57’), Liam Mullan (Jamie Dunne 69’), Dylan King (Caoimhin Porter 69’), Oisin Devlin, Sean Carlin (Cormac Burke 82’), Michael Harris, Mikhail Kennedy (Tiarnan McKinney 82’).

Linfield: Christopher Johns, Daniel Finlayson, Euan East (Dane McCullough 65’), Kirk Millar (Christopher McKee 79’), Ben Hall, Matthew Clarke, Jamie Mulgrew (Darragh McBrien 79’), Ethan McGee, Matthew Fitzpatrick (Aodhan Doherty 79’), Rhys Annett (Joel Cooper 59’), Joshua Archer.

Referee: Raymond Crangle.