By Logan Marsh

The Douglas United Dragons have secured their place in the Division One final after doing it the hard way in their major semi final against Atherton on Friday night out at Cassowary Park.

All four previous encounters between the two sides had been won by the Dragons by just a single goal and the lads were keen to put an exclamation point on their unbeaten season by recording a more convincing victory this time around.

Early indications were that a comprehensive victory was definitely on the cards. The Dragons controlled possession, moving the Atherton side around the park at will and creating plenty of early chances. The Dragons took advantage of this dominance to race into a three-goal lead thanks to an early goal from Matty Smith and a double strike from Dan Ferrero. There were chances to extend this lead further with the best of these falling to Sam Neale who could not get his close range effort on target.

Atherton were given a lifeline just before halftime when Liam Gibson committed a foul inside the area. The penalty was smashed home to make the half time score 3-1 to the Dragons. In a bizarre incident, Atherton then had a player sent off during the halftime break for remonstrating angrily with the referee. 

The man advantage should have seen the Dragons comfortably close out the victory but a combination of complacency and a fired up Atherton side meant that every ball was fiercely contested in the second half. The Dragons could not exert any control whatsoever on the game and Atherton rightly sniffed their chance. They pulled a second goal back after Max Taylor needlessly fouled in front of goal. The resulting free kick was lashed into the top corner of the net with keeper Fitzgerald left with no chance.

The ten men of Atherton were coming home with a wet sail and the Dragons were powerless to gain any influence on the game. It seemed only inevitable that Atherton would pull level and so it proved as more poor defending from a set piece allowed the ball to be poked home following a penalty area scramble.

There were still a few moments to hang on for the Dragons before the final whistle and although the Dragons finally created a couple of chances of their own, neither side was able to break the deadlock. A further thirty minutes of extra time beckoned. A fiery five minute team talk ensued with a call for patience and ball retention key to the Dragons coming out on top before the lottery of a penalty shootout. 

Despite a much improved performance during the thirty minutes of extra time the Dragons were unable to crack a stubborn Atherton defence. The away side rarely threatened the Dragons goal while the home sides best chance fell to player/coach Nick Tither who had more time than he realised, heading straight at the keeper when he could have taken a touch and picked his spot.

With the thirty minutes up it fell to the exhausted players to put their hands up to take on the pressure of a penalty. The Dragons five takers were Gary Fitzgerald, Dan Ferrero, Logan Marsh, Nick Tither and Matty Smith but only the first four were required as they all calmly slotted home their spot kicks while Atherton’s second player blasted over and Fitzgerald produced a great save for the third kick enabling the Dragons to prevail 4-2 in the shootout.

The Paddy’s Bar Man of the Match went to Dan Ferrero who scored two, made the first and coolly converted his penalty to round out a fine all round performance. The Dragons have earned themselves a week off now while they wait to find out if they will face Atherton yet again or Dimbulah in the final at Endeavour Park on Friday the 18th. There will be a supporters bus heading down for the final so start clearing your schedule to come down and cheer the boys on as they look to complete their perfect season.