Linfield put in a professional display at Wilgar Park to overcome Dundela in Round 1 of the Bet McLean Cup last night as the Blues kicked off the defence of the trophy they’ve held for the last two seasons.
Sadly, a number of injuries in the match put a dampener on things and leaves the Blues with a threadbare squad. It was a bad night for young duo Ryan McKay and Rhys Annett who were returning to Wilgar Park having joined Linfield from Dundela in January 2023.
McKay was withdrawn after 14 minutes due to a swollen ankle before Rhys Annett picked up what looked a serious injury in the 19th minute. Annett was in a footrace with Dundela defender Jay Magee when his foot seemed to plant in the ground and he went down holding his knee. A leg brace and stretcher was required for striker Annett who was heading to hospital for a scan. Duns’ captain Magee innocuously fell over Annett as he went down and the defender also had to be withdrawn with a subsequent groin injury – he was replaced by Oisin Barr.
In a first half of few clear-cut chances, Annett had gone close for the Blues inside the opening two minutes when Kirk Millar crossed low from the left, with the young forward getting a touch to turn it goalwards from the front post area, but Dundela ‘keeper Lewis Deane made a good save.
When Annett was withdrawn after injury, he was replaced by Matthew Orr who went to right back, with Ethan McGee moving into central midfield and Joel Cooper pushing on up to become a lone striker. The Blues did have a centre forward on the bench in the form of Matthew Fitzpatrick, however he was only fit for five or ten minutes in case of emergency as he’s carrying an injury from Saturday’s win over Coleraine, in which he had to be substituted after colliding with their goalkeeper.
The Blues took the lead after 33 minutes in east Belfast as Kirk Millar continued his good form. It was a well-worked goal. Joel Cooper clipped a ball over the top for Charlie Allen running down the left and he pulled it across to Josh Archer in a central area. The midfielder could have shot but he unselfishly shifted it on to Kirk Millar to his right, before the winger drilled a low strike through the legs of a defender, beyond the goalkeeper’s reach.
Charlie Allen threatened a short time later, cutting inside from the left to shoot from just outside the box with his stronger right foot but it was well held by the goalkeeper. The Duns then had a decent spell before the break, having a penalty appeal waved away before Jaydyn Withers’ header narrowly missed the target.
Duns’ attacker Withers had another decent chance before the break when a free-kick was punched by David Walsh but only as far as the edge of the box from where Withers fired a low strike wide of the post.
HT: Dundela 0-1 Linfield
The first ten minutes of the second half saw a quiet spell in the match before Joel Cooper was denied by a good stop after the attacker played a one-two with Charlie Allen after surging with the ball from deep.
Then, shortly after, the Blues doubled their lead on 58 minutes as the two linked up again. Cooper received the ball from Ballantyne in a central area before finding Allen to his left and he burst into the box onto his stronger right foot to score from around the penalty spot, with the sheer power of the strike beating the goalkeeper. It was Allen’s first goal for Linfield.
The Blues’ injury concerns continued in the 61st minute of the match as Kirk Millar went down and, after receiving treatment, he was replaced by Kalum Thompson. This meant the Blues had used all three of their substitution stoppages through enforced changes and couldn’t make any further changes. Within the next ten minutes, Josh Archer went down from two heavy challenges and required treatment on both occasions. Rather than have Linfield finish with 10 men for the remaining 25 minutes, Archer played through injury to finish the match, which is a credit to his commitment.
Dundela had a chance to get themselves back into the match with 20 minutes remaining. Linfield ‘keeper David Walsh just about beat striker Aaron Prendergast to a through ball, however the ball broke for Dundela’s Jaydyn Withers who had an opportunity to lob Walsh, but he opted to go low and his shot was blocked by Chris Shields.
Linfield put the result beyond doubt with seven minutes remaining. 16-year-old Kalum Thompson released Joel Cooper to go through on goal from a lovely pass. Cooper was denied by a good stop by the ‘keeper who made himself big, with the ball then deflecting out for a throw. McGee threw it quickly and Allen flicked it on to Cooper who slotted in from a tight angle for his seventh goal of the season.
The Blues will be pleased to be in the hat for the Round 2 draw which takes place today (Wednesday) at 3pm, but the question is, at what cost? At this moment in time, Ben Hall, Sam Roscoe, Ryan McKay, Josh Archer, Stephen Fallon, Kirk Millar, Darragh McBrien, Robbie McDaid, Rhys Annett, Chris McKee and Matthew Fitzpatrick are all injured. David Healy’s squad is looking light on numbers ahead of Friday night’s derby against Glentoran at Windsor Park.
FT: Dundela 0-3 Linfield
Written by Jamie Megarry