McNiece hat-trick helps Southside into cup final

Southside’s large crowd of followers at the neutral semi-final venue of Mallusk had only five minutes to wait for the opening goal as the Ballymena boys started this game on fire.

It came from Sam McNiece on the right, who reacted quickest inside the Antrim penalty area to shoot home and stun the Antrim team.

Southside were showing the hunger and determination which would be needed to keep their treble hopes alive, and they increased their lead on 15 minutes when Ryan Stewart received the ball with his back to goal, before turning and shooting low into the bottom corner of the Antrim goal.

From a free kick on 20 minutes, the unsung hero in the Southside line-up – Josh McCready – had his minute of glory when his superbly executed free kick found its way perfectly into the bottom corner of the Antrim net.

It was no surprise when again Sam McNiece punished indecision in the Antrim defence on 25 minutes, when he rifled home to make it 4-0.

However, before the half time whistle did blow, Antrim got one back when, following poor marking from a free kick, a looping header found its way into the net.

The second half was only minutes old when Sam McNiece completed his hat trick, again following a neat interchange of passes between Bonnes and Nixon to release Sam, who made no mistake to make it 5-1.

Slack marking in the Southside back line allowed Antrim to narrow the scoreline to 5-2 on 50 minutes, as the game continued to excite the large crowd in attendance.

Persistence and a perfect cross from the right wing left the Antrim defender with no option other than to turn the ball into his own net on 70 minutes ,making it 6-2.

The final say would go to inspirational Southside midfielder Stewart Nixon when he ran onto a superb exchange of passes between McNiece and Bonnes again to calmly fire home from just inside the penalty area.

The final will be played in early April at Mallusk against Newington, where no doubt the usual massive following will make the trip.

Southside: Erwin, Hamill, Livingstone, Logan(C), McNiece, Nixon, McCready, Bonnes, Corrigan, R Stewart, Calderwood, McDowell, J Stewart, Henry.