Ballinamallard Youth made the short journey to Sion Mills to face Sion Swifts in their last league fixture of the current league format.
The Mallards had been in impressive form, chalking up three victories on the trot.
Conditions were far from ideal at Braefield and it was a real struggle for the Mallards to play their usual attractive passing football.
The away side made the better start as Darragh McGrath created the first opportunity as he broke forward but saw his shot go wide.
Slowly the home side began to get back into the tie and took the lead with ten minutes gone.
A corner was met by a Sion forward who nodded past Brownlee in the Mallards goal.
The young Mallards failed to react to going behind and they were punished once again. A break down the left hand side caught out the Mallards and Sion made it 2-0.
It was an infuriating half for the Mallards as Sion used any means possible to defend against the pacey Mallards attack. Time and time again, Holder and McGrath were taken out off the ball as the Mallards became frustrated with the stop start nature of the game and the negative tactics of the home side.
A few wise words were said by the coaching staff at half time and the away side made a number of tactical changes.
The away side dominated the second half. Sion failed to get out of their own half as the Mallards drove forward with Holder, Irvine and McGrath all performing superbly ably assisted by Houston Kinnear at right back.
The next goal was going to prove crucial and it was a stunning individual goal by the inform Michael Gallagher who got the Mallards back into the tie.
McGrath worked his way down the right hand side and crossed into box. Gallagher pounced on a Sion clearance and volleyed a stunning effort into the top corner of the net.
The away side pushed for that elusive equaliser and pushed for their second. Ryan Keaney somehow saw his effort scrambled off the line by the Sion net-minder.
The home side were getting increasingly frustrated by their inability to get the ball out of their own half. Toal and Smyth were dominant in the air and controlled the back four admirably.
The only time Sion troubled Brownlee in the Mallards goal was when Sion pounced on a poor clearance and the Mallard keeper pulled off a stunning save to keep it at 2-1.
Soon the home side found themselves down to ten men. A young Sion forward lashed out a Darragh McGrath and was immediately given his marching orders. Credit to skipper Smyth who immediately sorted out the situation and took control of his side and reminded them of the task in hand.
Soon the home side had two more in the referees notepad as Sion lost their discipline and focus.
In the end the home side were hanging on for dear life, as the referee blew the final whistle. The home side celebrated as if they had just won the league as the young Mallards trudged off the sodden pitch after a hard fought second half where they deserved at least a point if not all three.
Mallards man of the match was Houston Kinnear with strong showings from Smyth, Brownlee and Kennedy.
The Mallards had been in impressive form, chalking up three victories on the trot.
Conditions were far from ideal at Braefield and it was a real struggle for the Mallards to play their usual attractive passing football.
The away side made the better start as Darragh McGrath created the first opportunity as he broke forward but saw his shot go wide.
Slowly the home side began to get back into the tie and took the lead with ten minutes gone.
A corner was met by a Sion forward who nodded past Brownlee in the Mallards goal.
The young Mallards failed to react to going behind and they were punished once again. A break down the left hand side caught out the Mallards and Sion made it 2-0.
It was an infuriating half for the Mallards as Sion used any means possible to defend against the pacey Mallards attack. Time and time again, Holder and McGrath were taken out off the ball as the Mallards became frustrated with the stop start nature of the game and the negative tactics of the home side.
A few wise words were said by the coaching staff at half time and the away side made a number of tactical changes.
The away side dominated the second half. Sion failed to get out of their own half as the Mallards drove forward with Holder, Irvine and McGrath all performing superbly ably assisted by Houston Kinnear at right back.
The next goal was going to prove crucial and it was a stunning individual goal by the inform Michael Gallagher who got the Mallards back into the tie.
McGrath worked his way down the right hand side and crossed into box. Gallagher pounced on a Sion clearance and volleyed a stunning effort into the top corner of the net.
The away side pushed for that elusive equaliser and pushed for their second. Ryan Keaney somehow saw his effort scrambled off the line by the Sion net-minder.
The home side were getting increasingly frustrated by their inability to get the ball out of their own half. Toal and Smyth were dominant in the air and controlled the back four admirably.
The only time Sion troubled Brownlee in the Mallards goal was when Sion pounced on a poor clearance and the Mallard keeper pulled off a stunning save to keep it at 2-1.
Soon the home side found themselves down to ten men. A young Sion forward lashed out a Darragh McGrath and was immediately given his marching orders. Credit to skipper Smyth who immediately sorted out the situation and took control of his side and reminded them of the task in hand.
Soon the home side had two more in the referees notepad as Sion lost their discipline and focus.
In the end the home side were hanging on for dear life, as the referee blew the final whistle. The home side celebrated as if they had just won the league as the young Mallards trudged off the sodden pitch after a hard fought second half where they deserved at least a point if not all three.
Mallards man of the match was Houston Kinnear with strong showings from Smyth, Brownlee and Kennedy.
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