Moyola Park visited Tobermore keen to end their recent poor run of form in their penultimate match of the season in the Bluefin Sport Premier Intermediate League.

It was clear from the start that heavy rain would make the match tricky for both teams. Tobermore had more of the early possession but seemed unlikely to make anything of it until almost out of nowhere a foul from Stephen Doey in the 5th minute gave Tobermore a penalty, Kearns stepped up and calmly placed the penalty in the top right of the Moyola goal making it 1-0 to Tobermore. After the goal both teams appeared to play more defensively with Tobermore consolidating their lead and Moyola looking thoroughly demoralised. More chances would fall to Tobermore but poor finishing, such as a header in the 16th minute from Tobermore which went straight into Farniok’s hands. Oran McAuley saw the first yellow card of the game in the 29th minute when he was booked for a late tackle. Moyola would push forward more towards the end of the half but with McCann mostly chasing down the ball up front, it was clear he would need more support for Moyola to be able to equalise. The half finally heated up towards the end when in the 45th minute McClure saw a yellow card for jumping into a tackle. The free kick led to a corner that found Kearns at the back post, only for him to hit his header into the side netting. Moyola would finally make a clear chance to end the half after a wonderful dipping cross from Hudson was aimed at McCann who narrowly missed the ball with a desperate diving header. Despite this the half would finish 1-0 to Tobermore.

The second half began scrappier than the first with back and forth fouls as the more heated play of the end of the first half continued. Poor defence from Moyola in the 51st minute gave Tobermore a great chance when they failed to clear the ball in their box, however the half volley from point blank range was brilliantly saved from Farniok, keeping Moyola in the game. Moyola would make more chances this half however as in the 54th minute a nice turn from McCann on the edge of the box lead to a curled shot just passed the far corner. Oran McAuley followed this up in the 56th minute when he hit a dipping half volley just over the Tobermore goal. Tobermore also continued to attack however, with Farniok being forced to tip over a vicious shot after a one on one with the Tobermore number 9. In the 60th minute Moyola made their first change when Conor Taggart was brought on for Aaron Harris, an attacking change clearly looking for a goal as Moyola seemed to switch to a 4-4-2 rather than their 5-2-3. Moyola continued to make chances like in the 66th minute when Stephen Greer cut into the box and curled a shot at the near post, producing a good save from the Tobermore keeper. The match became very attacking at this point as Moyola applied pressure to equalise while Tobermore where keen to counter and double their lead. Moyola made another change in the 67th minute bringing Stuart Forrest off for Benji Agnew. McAllister would see yet another Moyola yellow in the 70th minute for a late tackle, with cards seeming to become a big issue for Moyola. Moyola continued to try and play nice football at the back but this resulted in a miscommunication in the 72nd minute where the Tobermore number 10 managed to get around Farniok only to miss an open net. More chances came to Moyola in the 77th minute when a volley from Benji looped towards the goal, bouncing on the wrong side of the far post. Following this in the 79th minute a scramble in the Tobermore box resulted in McCann receiving a yellow for a 50/50 with the Tobermore keeper. Moyola made their last substitution in the 80th minute as they brought Rafferty on for Stephen Greer. Frustration after giving away a free kick in the 83rd minute would see Hudson pick up a yellow card. The rest of the match was slowed down by Tobermore as they did everything to come away with a win. This led to Hudson receiving his second yellow to attempt to give Moyola a chance late on. A frustrating red card was soon followed by a yellow for Rafferty. The match would finish 1-0, a frustrating loss for Moyola who had the chances to draw.

Moyola Park: Farniok, McAllister, Harris (Taggart 60), Doey, McQuillan, McClure, Hudson, Greer (Rafferty 80), McAuley, Forrest (Agnew 67), McCann. Subs not used: Hassan, Moore.