Linfield exited the Irish Cup in Round Six last night with a 2-1 defeat to Glentoran at The Oval, as the Glens struck an extra time winner after the Blues went down to ten men.
Having played to the 102nd minute against Cliftonville last Saturday evening and to the 99th minute against Crusaders on Tuesday night – two hard-fought matches that were closely-contested to the wire – tonight’s extra-time period proved a bridge too far for a stretched squad that absolutely emptied the tank over the last six days.
Matthew Fitzpatrick’s dismissal against Crusaders on Tuesday meant he was out through suspension, whilst Sam Roscoe was also unavailable having picked up an injury in the same match, and Euan East was unavailable for personal reasons. Ben Hall, Dane McCullough and debutant Kieran Offord came in, in their absence.
It was a cagey first half. Both teams’ attackers had little involvement in a half disrupted by niggly fouls, leading to several free-kicks, most of which went the way of Glentoran. The Glens have a capable set-piece taker in Danny Amos who was first to threaten in the match as his 25-yard free-kick was well saved by David Walsh down to his right before the alert Matthew Orr was well positioned to stop David Fisher’s dangerous cross on the rebound.
Amos further displayed his set-piece qualities, finding the head of Lyons-Foster with a free-kick from the right, but the defender headed over a good chance.
After a slow start, the Blues improved as the first half went on and two Kyle McClean free-kick deliveries spelled danger. Firstly, he found Matthew Orr unmarked, but the defender was around 15 yards from goal and was unable to generate the required power to trouble the Glentoran ‘keeper who saved comfortably. The free-kick was awarded for a foul on Joel Cooper who had the beating of Marcus Kane, with the Glentoran captain perhaps fortunate not to receive a card for the tackle, and this later became more significant as the booking he did receive in the second half would otherwise have seen him dismissed.
Then, later in the half, another McClean free-kick from the right found Orr – this time with the help of Ben Hall’s flick-on – but the Glentoran ‘keeper was quickly off his line to claw it away and prevent Orr, or a teammate turning it in at close range.
The closest the Blues came to scoring in the first half was in the 39th minute when Joel Cooper’s deep corner was met sweetly by Ben Hall, who was unlucky to see his header strike the crossbar. Debutant Kieran Offord also threatened towards the end of the half when he did well to make room for a shot after cutting in from the left, but his shot was deflected just over onto the roof of the net with the goalkeeper scurrying backwards.
HT: Glentoran 0-0 Linfield
The deadlock was broken seven minutes into the second half as Glentoran took the lead with a goal that Linfield will be disappointed with from a defensive viewpoint. It looked like a mix-up as Ben Hall left a hopeful ball forward, perhaps in the expectation that Shields behind him would mop it up, but Glentoran forward Jordan Jenkins was alert to nip in between the defenders before drilling the ball into the corner from just inside the box.
The Blues responded well and were on top for the remainder of regular time, and were disappointed not to initially have equalised just four minutes after going behind as Matthew Orr’s pinpoint cross from the right found Chris McKee who put a free header wide of the post from a good position.
McKee then put things right as he made no mistake in the 72nd minute as he stooped to head in Ethan McGee’s long throw into the box, as the forward continued his good form to put the Blues back on level terms.
At this point, the Blues were battering the door down and it felt like only a matter of time before they’d score another, and McKee almost struck again when played through by Offord who’d shown good footwork, but the ‘keeper did well when McKee attempted to round him.
The match was then paused in the 76th minute for a medical emergency concerning a Linfield steward, and the best wishes of everyone at Linfield FC go out to him for a full and speedy recovery. The quick actions of the Glentoran goalkeeper, Daniel Gyollai, during the incident must be acknowledged and applauded.
Play was stopped for six minutes and the Blues lost their momentum as it gave Glentoran a breather from relentless pressure. That said, Linfield very nearly went in front just a minute after the restart as Kieran Offord’s flick put Joel Cooper through to squeeze a shot past the onrushing goalkeeper, only for backtracking Glentoran midfielder Fuad Sule to kick it off the line.
Linfield’s second-half substitute Kirk Millar then had to be substituted for Charlie Allen. Millar lasted 37 minutes before suffering a recurrence of an injury that kept him out of the previous two matches.
Nine additional minutes were added at the end of the ninety, and Glentoran passed up two great chances to win it. Firstly, on 95 minutes, David Walsh was let off the hook as he came for a cross and lost out to David Fisher, whose header was cleared off the line by Chris Shields. Then, on 97 minutes, Jenkins’ cross from the right was stopped by Ballantyne, but he miscued his clearance straight to Glentoran winger Connolly who fired straight at Walsh from a great position.
FT: Glentoran 1-1 Linfield
Linfield started extra time on the front foot, but then came a game-changing moment as the Blues went down to ten men on 97 minutes. Joel Cooper tangled with a Glentoran defender on the ground after the ball had gone, and he was adjudged to have kicked out. The referee and linesman both played on initially, but it happened in front of the dugouts and 4th Official, Shane Andrews, made the call. What frustrated the Linfield faithful was that Glentoran midfielder Joe Thomson avoided red for a very similar action in the first half of regular time.
At this point, it was going to be a tough ask for the Blues to hold out with ten men. A heroic goalline block by Ethan McGee denied Dylan Connolly at close range, then Danny Amos struck the woodwork for the Glens. On both occasions Glentoran couldn’t believe they hadn’t scored.
Having given everything and being a man down, coupled with multiple players having to play out of position, the Blues were breached on 112 minutes with what proved to be a winning goal for Glentoran as substitute Finlay Thorndike drove a clean strike in from distance.
Offord had half a chance to equalise on 116 minutes, but he fired wide after the ball fell to him from a long throw-in, then there was a very heated ending to the match. The Blues finished with nine men as Chris Shields received a second booking for being adjudged to have obstructed a Glentoran attacker’s run. Glentoran midfielder Joe Thomson was also dismissed for antagonistic behaviour.
It’s now a case of all eggs in one basket for the Blues who will put their full focus on trying to bring the Gibson Cup back to Windsor Park for the first time since 2022. Next up is a trip to Ballymena next Friday, for which the Blues will be without Joel Cooper and Chris Shields, and the fitness of several injured players will have to be assessed in the lead-up to the match.
FT AET: Glentoran 2-1 Linfield