Crusaders 5-0 Warrenpoint Town
Rampant Crues outclass the newly-promoted side at Seaview
Warrenpoint Town were given a rough welcome back to the Premiership as they were thrashed 5-0 by a ruthless Crusaders side at Seaview.
The newly-promoted team were taken apart in the first half, as the Belfast club built up a 4-0 lead with goals from Jordan Owens, Paul Heatley, Jordan Forsythe, and a Gavin Whyte penalty.
Michael Carvill came off the bench after the break to add the final goal, rounding off a comprehensive win which could have seen the home side find the net several more times.
They were in control from the beginning, and the first goal was as predictable as it was familiar.
From out wide, Billy Joe Burns whipped a 5th minute cross towards the back post, which was easily met by Jordan Owens who swept home his first goal of the season.
However, Warrenpoint weren’t too discouraged in the early stages, and continued to drive at Crusaders rather than sit back.
Darren Murray tested Jensen with a long-range free kick which needed a strong hand to turn it over the bar, and Conor McMenamin also had a pop from distance.
But Crusaders were too strong going forward, and in just the 11th minute Paul Heatley made it two, putting away a neat cushioned header to round off a superb, flowing move.
In the 18th minute, the fixture was killed off as a contest when Jordan Forsythe slammed home Lowry’s pullback at the far post to make it 3.
Crusaders should have gone further ahead in the 24th minute when Heatley raced onto a Declan Caddell through ball. He managed to step past Alan Blayney, but the keeper recovered to dive back and palm away Heatley’s left-footed shot from a narrow angle.
The Seaview crowd didn’t have to wait long for number 4 though, which came after Caddell surged into the box in the 37th minute, only to be hauled down, resulting in the ref pointing to the spot.
Up stepped Gavin Whyte, and the winger calmly sent Blayney the wrong way.
At the break, the home side withdrew Owens who was replaced by Michael Carvill after a knock resulted in a dead leg for the striker. Warrenpoint also threw on Lynch and Forde in place of TJ Murray and Stephen Murray as they looked for some sort of attacking spark.
Early into the 2nd half, there was a worrying sight for the Seaview crowd as captain Colin Coates was withdrawn with an injury, replaced in the heart of defence by Sean Ward.
The game had largely fizzled out by the time Crusaders made it 5 in the 68th minute, Michael Carvill poking home after latching onto a flicked-on header to race in behind the Warrenpoint defence.