McGIVERN GOAL THE DIFFERENCE
Amy McGivern grabbed the only goal of the game as Crusaders Strikers narrowly defeated Sion Swifts Ladies at Seaview.
The visitors started stronger, with Kerry Brown causing havoc in the midfield with her strong runs. For the first 20 minutes Maddy Harvey-Clifford was the busier keeper. However, she showed great composure and pulled off some amazing saves, showing a safe pair of hands.
Eventually a Julie Nelson free kick caused chaos in the Sion Swifts box and was eventually dealt with. Next a wonderful free kick by Sion’s Naomi McLaughlin was expertly tipped over the bar by Harvey-Clifford.
Strikers went closest before half time with a low strike by Morganne Beggs which just went wide of the left hand corner. Shortly afterwards, Sion Swifts had their corner ball scrambled off the line.
The second half started the same with both teams playing well on the ground and showing lots of skill. Again, both keepers were solid and commanded their boxes well.
A couple of great saves by Harvey-Clifford helped the Strikers gain more confidence. Young Darcie McNeill started to grow in stature and set McGivern up for a sublime finish.
She threaded the ball through and McGivern superbly placed the ball in the top left hand corner. Keeper Ailey Tebbett had no chance.
Both sides had goal line scrambles afterwards as Sion Swifts pressed for an equaliser and Strikers were hungry for more.
Crusaders Strikers: Harvey-Clifford, Hamilton, McGivern, Nelson, McCann, Beggs, Armour, Chalmers, McNeill, McLaren, Rea subs McDowell-Tuffey, Johnston, McVarnock, Redmond, Caldwell, Mann, Boyle
Sion Swifts Ladies: Tebbett, Neal, McCarter, Crompton, McGlynn, Brown, McLaughlin, Haynes, Lynch, McGlade, Doherty subs Currie, McMenamin-Kirk, Crumlin-Hawes, Sheerin, O'Connor-Farren, McFarland, O'Neill
