Lisbellaw 3 Beragh Swifts 1 

Ten-man Lisbellaw recorded their first league win of the season with a 3-1 victory over Beragh Swifts.  

The game was finely poised at one apiece after goals from Peter Armstrong and Stephen Browne either side of halftime, and Swifts looked to have gained an advantage when Jamie Coalter was dismissed, but Lisbellaw responded well to the setback and a second goal from Armstrong and a header from Sam Johnston gave them their first three points of the campaign. 

Lisbellaw manager Kyle McCleery admitted he was relieved to finally get a win under their belts.  

“It is a relief, but I felt we deserved it,” he said. “I feel like we have been playing well, and I think we have been the better team in most of the games, we just haven’t been able to turn our performances into results. It’s good to get that monkey off our backs and get our first win.” 

“The first half an hour was very stop-start and it was only in the five or ten minutes before halftime that we started to play a bit of football.  

"Whenever Jamie got sent off I hoping it wasn’t going to be another one of those days, but we reacted really well.  

"Hopefully, we will be able to kick on now and get a bit of momentum going.” 

Player/manager McCleery only lasted four minutes of the match before he had to come off injured, and Swifts’ Colin Adams followed suit later in the half as both teams struggled to get any fluency into their play.  

Swifts’ best chance of the first half was a shot from the edge of the penalty area from Eamon McGrath that flew wide of the upright, but as the half neared an end Lisbellaw started to take control.  

Paul McGrath had a shot saved from close range after Richard Woods had won a header from Craig Johnston’s cross, and moments later Johnston fired a shot off the post before Swifts scrambled it clear.

Deep into added time at the end of the half the home team took the lead when Peter Armstrong got to Johnston’s free-kick ahead of the goalkeeper and glanced a header into the unguarded net. 

Swifts responded immediately after the interval, equalising in the first minute of the second half. From the kick-off, Lisbellaw carved out an early chance when Paul McGrath got on the end of Woods’ cross, but Peter Ward in the Swifts goal made the save.

From his restart, Beragh released Stephen Browne down the right wing. He got to the byline and cut the ball back for Niall Devine on the edge of the penalty area.

His shot was saved by Josh Brownlee, but the loose ball fell kindly for Browne who tapped in. 

Lisbellaw were reduced to ten men just before the hour mark. A short back pass from Nathan Graham resulted in a challenge between goalkeeper Brownlee and Browne, with the rebound falling kindly for Browne, who looked destined to roll the ball into the empty net from 20 yards before he was brought down by Coalter.

The defender received a red card, with Brownlee saving McGrath’s effort from the resultant free kick.

Five minutes later Lisbellaw took the lead when Armstrong scored another header from a Johnston free kick. 

Lisbellaw continued to press forward and Scott Moutray had a shot from six yards blocked by a defender on the goal line, but from the corner, Craig Johnston headed his side’s third goal.  

Sam Lindsay then had a dipping shot drift just over the bar.  

As the game reached the closing stages Swifts threw players forward in a bid to claw their way back into the contest, but Lisbellaw held on to claim a long-awaited victory.