Newcastle vs O’Higgins – Premier section Globe Final match report

Jul 31, 2015 | Premier Section | 0 comments

O’Higgins won the Globe trophy with a 2-0 win over Newcastle, in an entertaining encounter at the Showgrounds, Coleraine.

The afternoon’s first chance fell to Jhon Alejandro Avila, who forced a routine save from Newcastle goalkeeper Nathan Parker. But the best chance of the first half fell to Newcastle’s Daniel Robert Lowther, who headed over unmarked from Mackenzie MacCubbin’s freekick.

O’Higgins had most of the ball in the opening half, but struggled to carve out any meaningful chances. Midfielder Hugo Alejandro Herrera, who was excellent throughout, was the catalyst for most of the Chilean’s good work, dictating play from the middle of the park. Newcastle’s Callum Lee Smith provided a good outlet for the English side on the counterattack.

The second half was far more open. O’Higgins’ Matias Francisco Meneses drew a great save from the Newcastle ‘keeper. Moments later, the Chileans thought they’d taken the lead; Herrera’s shot bobbled in front of Parker, who fumbled the ball into the path of Meneses, who lashed the ball in, only to see the linesman’s flag go up.

Chances were now coming thick and fast; Newcastle were coming back into the game, substitute Kieran Aplin long range attempt was saved well by the O’Higgins’ goalkeeper. Winger MacCubbin looked lively for the English side and had a good run of possession, but couldn’t fashion any real openings.

At this point, the content was still 0-0 and the game had turned into a very enjoyable, end-to-end encounter, the lack of goals not doing the match justice. But the crowd weren’t to be denied for long. The South Americans took the lead with 5 minutes to go after Newcastle failed to clear their lines following a corner and Francisco Eduardo Liberona capitalised by smashing home from the edge of the area.

Newcastle were pushing forward in search of an equaliser, which was always going to leave gaps at the back. Aplin was dispossessed and O’Higgins countered; David Andres Salazar stroked the ball into the back of the net.

The final whistle blew and the Chilean side were clearly delighted with their victory in this season’s Globe.

Ben Smith