Rec Romp Home at Rosario

On Saturday, and for the second time in three weeks, Comber Rec came back from Belfast with five goals in the bag, complemented by a clean sheet. The venue was Ormeau’s Ulidia Playing Fields, and the opposition was a Rosario team that was totally outclassed by a Rolls Royce Rec performance in which the visitors’ pace, power and coordination put the home side out of their depth. They were decidedly fortunate that the winning margin was not appreciably greater.
Comber were missing the injured Gareth Larmour and Chris Nicholl was on the bench, but back in attack was Gordon Leckey, and in midfield Ross Hegan, whose strength and determination were an important ingredient in the successful mix.
Comber kicked off into a strong downfield wind and immediately threatened down the left from a Jim McCloskey ball that found Leckey in the area, but the whistle went for an infringement. The promptings and skilful running of McCloskey were to be a prominent feature of the match, and in the 5th minute he again made ground from the centre circle down the left side and put over a dangerous low cross that the Rosario defence did well to block.
It was no surprise when Rec went ahead in the 8th minute, and once more McCloskey was involved in the action. His free kick from the left sideline to the near post was glanced by Peter Kelly off keeper Alder’s thigh into the net, and Comber were on their way to a comfortable victory.
Rosario’s efforts on goal were few in number, and when they did manage to find the target Nicky Cowdy was more than equal to the challenge, as was the case in the 10th minute when he got down to smother a White snapshot.
The home team’s best weapon was the wind which allowed them easy access into Rec territory, and Neil Magowan, back to his impressive best after injury, did well to block a Corwan drive on the quarter hour, but all the combination football and movement were coming from Rec.
Midway through the half they came close to scoring a special goal. Tim Ritchie, having his best game to date in Rec colours, launched a huge cross from the left deep to the far angle of the area and Craig McCracken met it perfectly to fire in a fierce volley that unfortunately went  a few yards wide of the left upright.
More goals were promised in every Rec forward movement, and just after Alder had done very well to punch clear a long dropping Keith Dougherty cross, the second one arrived, exactly on the half hour. Dougherty’s throw from near the right corner flag was headed on across goal by Leckey, and there was McCloskey to head cleanly home from 6 yards.
Cowdy showed his worth as a shot stopper 5 minutes later when he parried a close range White strike in a rare Rosario attack, and then he dealt with a 25 yard free kick. Between these saves at the Rec end there was a sweet move at the other when Marty Robinson collected a McCloskey free kick and beat the keeper with a lovely lob, but it also beat the crossbar.
Robinson was not to be denied his name on the scoresheet, however, and just two minutes later he hit a beauty. Persistent and skilful work by McCracken set up the chance, and from 22 yards Robinson struck a perfect low drive into the corner of the net.
McCracken himself threatened to stretch the lead further right on the half time whistle, but Alder palmed out his corner from the left that was curling in just under the bar.
Immediately after the restart McCracken followed up a through ball and his left foot shot brought a fine save from Alder at the expense of a corner.
His counterpart Cowdy in the Comber goal stretched high in the 53rd minute to claw clear a tricky high bounce in his area, but a minute later Comber hit their fourth goal and it was a fine individual effort by Leckey. The big striker swept past two defenders and from 20 yards let fly a left foot shot that took Alder by surprise and flashed past him into the net.
McCracken was properly judged offside when nicely put through by Robinson as Comber maintained their offensive, and Robinson himself was unlucky when a beautifully struck left foot grounder came back off an upright.
McCloskey was brought down minutes later a few yards from the Rosario goal line, a clear penalty, but nothing was given and the Rec captain himself will know that he had ample opportunity to shoot before the tackle upended him.
Comber understandably took the foot off the pedal at this stage of the match. Robinson pulled a left foot shot wide of the target with just the keeper to beat, and sub Chris Nicholl’s surging run from defence set up Kevin Monson, but his cross shot fell behind the net. The Rec drop in pressure encouraged Rosario to the extent that a Downey poked shot came back off a Rec post.
On the half hour the fifth goal arrived in freakish fashion. Sub David Brotherston’s drive across goal struck central defender O’Neill on the back of the head and rocketed into the net.
Brotherston’s square ball 5 minutes afterwards presented McCracken with a good opening from the edge of the area, but his chip was a yard too high, and then when the long goal kick broke across to a Rosario sub, Cowdy kept his sheet clean by spreading himself well on the ground to snuff out the danger.
This was a cup tie that Rec won at a canter. There can be no player in the division better than Craig McCracken at receiving the ball with his back to goal, turning his marker, and laying the ball off or going on tricky runs, so it was unfair that his name was not among the scorers on Saturday. The balance in this Rec team at present is just about perfect, and it is pleasing to see confidence growing. While it was acceptable in Saturday’s cup game to turn down the scoring heat with the game well won, the same would not be the case in a league match where every goal could be valuable in goal difference placings at the end of the season.