Clearer Water Irish Cup sixth round
Glentoran 2- 1 Linfield AET*
Glentoran’s Finley Thorndike popped up with a 112th minute winner in a helter-skelter extra-time period as Linfield were denied in the sixth round of the Irish Cup tonight.
Linfield were reduced to nine men while Joe Thomson also saw red in extra-time in a gripping battle between the two most successful sides in the competition’s history.
The first half was a rather drab affair, as neither side gained a real edge in a competitive midfield duel.
Having not been beaten in their previous 11 matches, Glentoran looked confident and hit the front courtesy of Jordan Jenkins.
A defensive error from Ben Hall created an opening, and Jenkins curled an inch-perfect finish into the bottom right corner beyond David Walsh.
That sparked Linfield into life, and they duly bit back. A long throw-in found its way to Chris McKee, and he made no mistake from close range, stooping home a header at the near post in the 71st minute.
Joel Cooper was denied by a goal line clearance as Glentoran held out until extra-time, which descended into chaos with three red cards.
Cooper himself was sent off, before Daniel Amos struck the woodwork as Declan Devine’s men wrestled back control.
Subsititute Thorndike then produced the goods with a long-range strike off his left foot to ensure his manager’s tactical decision paid ultimate dividends.
Chris Shields then followed Cooper in falling foul of Tim Marshall’s notebook, with a third red card for Glentoran’s Joe Thomson, but it mattered little as Devine’s charges held out to advance.