It began as expected, and for eighty minutes it looked like Challaid were heading for a typical derby tale in this lunchtime fixture. A comfortable lead, holding on until the end, leaving the home of their bitter rivals with three more points. But the last seven minutes of football turned a mediocre match into a classic, and reminded everyone of the power of the Union Park crowd.
The match began in an atmosphere of noise and hate, the small away crowd drowned out, but not for long. The warning signs for Ear were flashing as early as the eighth minute, when Casper Foster flapped madly at a corner and was fortunate to see the ball fall to Challaid center-half Havard Prek at the back post only for the Norwegian to blaze it high over. The young keeper, yet another product of the club’s academy, has been in fine form this season, but this was not a game he’ll remember fondly. The crowd got nervous and that translated to the pitch, where mistakes became abundant and good football was substituted for blood and thunder effort.
The breakthrough, when it came, was predictable. A run to the by-line from in-form winger Florent Albert who fizzed a cross in to the front post where Arthur Samba met it with a diving header to open the scoring. Questions can and will be asked about the defending, and a young keeper beaten at his near post, but none are being asked about Samba. The £2.8 million fee paid for the Englishman, top of the scoring charts with 27 in 31 league games, continues to look like the bargain of the season.
With the crowd quietening and Challaid dominating possession the second goal was no surprise when it came. This one was all about Samba, taking possession, beating two men and driving the ball low into the corner of the net from twenty yards. Two minutes before half-time and a team known for their stifling defense was two goals in front.
As the second half wore on the game became a classic example of the two teams’ styles. Ear playing at a high tempo, crunching into tackles and picking up five bookings, without creating a single meaningful chance. For all the buzz about the derby game, this was heading for typical disappointment for Ear, who have won only two of the last ten derbies against their richer rivals. Now the Challaid fans were making themselves heard, reveling in what looked like three more points in their championship charge.
In the eighty-third minute the game changed. Ear created their first clear chance of the game when Pataki Bozsik won the ball in the center circle and played a perfectly weighted ball through for the onrunning Feliks Brozek to slip it under the keeper and into the net. 2-1 and the crowd were back in the game, the momentum behind their side. Their screaming encouragement, wordless and loud, pushed the side forward in wave after wave of attack, the Challaid defense holding firm until the ninety-first minute. A long ball from keeper Foster, allowed to bounce by the defense, and a half-volley from much-maligned Costa Rican international striker Joel Cayasso had Ear level.
In truth, a point in an away derby is not a bad result for Challaid, and although it was the home fans that left the happier, staying to the end to a man, Ear needed the three points more. The draw moves them up to third in the table, a point ahead of Rangers, but Challaid move four points clear of Celtic at the top as they aim for back-to-back title wins.