Comber Rec Outshone by Crumlin Star

Going into their Clarence Cup game on Saturday against Division 2A’s Crumlin Star, Comber Rec must have been on paper clear favourites to go through to the next round, but on the narrow gluepot pitch at Mallusk Playing Fields the odds counted for nothing and it was home advantage that was key in putting Star comfortably through against a Rec side that just could not adapt to the conditions. Rec will in all honesty not blame the ground alone for the defeat, because too many players were well below par and Crumlin Star proved to be a really tough and well organised team that knew from experience the best game to play to suit the situation. Comber were never able to play the expansive passing game they prefer, and in the tight confines of the small pitch they were easily closed down and hustled out of their style. Nothing should be taken away from Star, who were hungry for success and very direct in their no-nonsense approach to the contest, and they fully deserved the victory and their appearance in the next round.
Rec were facing into a strong downfield wind as Star kicked off, and in the opening minutes it was the visitors who were on the offensive, but a hint of things to come was given in the 5th minute in Star’s very first venture into opposition territory. A ball from the centre circle reached O’Reilly 20 yards out and he cracked it immediately at goal and saw it smack off the right post.
That was an indication of the game ahead, with Star passing and shooting first time, with no ambition to take extra touches, play one-two football, or keep possession. The tactics were ideal for the conditions, as was witnessed in the 8th minute when keeper O’Dwyer’s long kick out was seized on by Doran who instantly fired in a shot that bounced awkwardly right below the keeper and Brian Burgess did really well in grabbing the ball cleanly.
The height of Devenney was causing trouble in the air for a Rec defence that looked unusually fragile as Star continued to make use of  wind advantage, but right on the quarter hour Rec missed a sitter. Lovely McCracken play on the right side of the area fed Kevin Monson who could have shot but he instead squared a pass to Ross Hegan who, right in front of goal, scooped the ball over the top from 6 yards.
Star delivered a couple of menacing free kicks that Rec defenders did very well to clear, and then on the half hour Marty Robinson at the other end got in a shot from a blocked ball and O’Dwyer held it firmly on the ground.
Just after a Jim McCloskey snapshot had been blocked in the home area, Comber suddenly went ahead from nowhere. A loose ball was picked up about 30 yards out by Adam Welsh who let fly with a left foot shot that surprised everyone, including the home keeper, and although he got a hand to it, the ball finished up inside the left post in the back of the net.
At this point Rec were well in the game and the goal was a fair reward for their standard of play, but it proved to be their only highlight and it was Crumlin Star who got a grip on the proceedings and snuffed out all subsequent Rec endeavour.
In the 38th minute Star should have drawn level from a free kick which gave Nellis a free header on goal, but he placed it well over the top. Two minutes later, however, the equaliser arrived and it was a fine goal, struck from the left side of the area by McKervey diagonally high into the far top corner of the Rec net.
The final minutes of the half saw a chance at either end. McCloskey’s splendid run from midfield down the right side ended with a low cross to the near post that Monson back heeled wide, and then almost on the interval whistle Burgess came out smartly to just beat Brown to a defence-splitting through ball.
Some Rec fans were hopeful at half time that the storm had been weathered and with wind advantage in the second period their team would run out winners, but they were to be disappointed on both scores. First of all, the wind virtually died away to nothing over the interval, and secondly, Comber Rec were never allowed to settle into any pattern of creative play by a strong and straightforward Star second half performance.
The highly dangerous Devenney had the ball in the Comber net early after the restart, but he was quite rightly blown up for shirt pulling, but it was noticeable from the start that Rec were finding real trouble going forward, with the midfield allowed no time at all to put things together, and the front men increasingly lightweight against a robust and committed home rearguard.
Star went ahead in the 56th minute. McKervey took a ball out wide to the left, got in a cross to the near post in spite of being shadowed all the way, and Brown headed cleanly home from a few yards, just inside the upright.
On the hour Rec had their best effort on target of the half, and significantly it came from central defender Peter Kelly. His header down from a McCracken corner was fisted off the line by O’Dwyer, a good save from a tricky header on goal.
O’Dwyer punched clear another McCracken corner as Rec tried to step up their attacking play, but Rec’s need of a striker was once more in evidence as the match proceeded.
In the 78th minute Crumlin Star went further ahead with an easy third goal. A corner kick curled into the box was clawed off the goal line by Burgess but Devenney met the clearance with his head and steered it back into the net from a few yards.
Rec looked demoralised, and Star were totally in control. Minutes before the final whistle McCracken had a chance a few yards out but O’Dwyer rushed out to block the strike with his body, and then, right on the final whistle, Star humbled Comber further with a fourth goal nicely taken by McKervey. The left sided player had been off for treatment on the line, but came back on in time on the right side to cut inside with the ball and drive it cleanly home low into the far corner.
Make no mistake about it, this is a redoubtable Crumlin Star team, strong in every department, and well used to taking advantage of their cramped, third-rate pitch. They quite simply crushed Rec’s attempts to play football, and gave an exhibition of determined defensive play, strong running, and first-time finishing. For Comber Rec, this is one to forget and an opportunity to concentrate upon league consolidation.
The best performance of the day was indisputably that of referee Graham McIlwrath, who gave a flawless display of fair, firm and judicious control. The one criticism that could be levelled at Crumlin Star was their incessant whingeing thoughout the game, leading one Rec fan to label them Grumblin’ Star, but the referee was impervious to the constant bombardment of claims and criticisms and ruled play with independent judgement and exemplary accuracy of decision.