Bens Stunned By Stonehouse

It's been a few weeks now that have left Bens stunned following the death of Dennis Donnelly and Stonehouse meted out the same feelings today in a football context with a 4-2 win at Tinto Park.
Both sides and their fans participated in a one minute applause for the loyalty, commitment and spirit that was Dennis Donnelly before today's match commenced.
The Bens match programme was filled with remembrances of Dennis but close readers may have noted the statistics that Stonehouse had scored 29 goals in 8 away games while Bens' forwards McKenna and Waddell were averaging a goal every two games.
Waddell and McKenna weren't playing for Bens today but everything else went according to type.
Stonehouse opened their account after 2 minutes and went in at the interval 1-0 up.
Avid readers of the match programme may have noted in the last meeting of the clubs at Tinto Park in May 2007, Bens went in at half-time 1-0 before a second half cavalry charge left them 7-1 winners.
Those readers may have felt the plot was lost when Kevin McGlinchey netted for Bens in 47 minutes. Lovering's shot was blocked well by the Stonehouse keeper before a defender's attempted clearance struck McGlinchey and he bundled it over the line.
The story took a further unexpected turn on 52 minutes when Bens scored a second in a brilliant piece of counter-attacking. The ball was swept forward from the Bens' defence to Lovering on the halfway line; he stepped past the defender and homed in on goal before laying to McGlinchey on the right. A perfect cross was delivered to the inrushing Wright and he volleyed past the Stonehouse keeper. It was Wright's first goal for the Bens following his move from Glencairn.
Bens had a further chance to improve things when McGlinchey floated in a perfect free-kick only for Smith to lift his effort over the bar.
With the programme reader in two minds regarding the predictions for the game he was ultimately swayed by Stonehouse's performance in the last twenty minutes when they fired in three goals against an, at times, weak Bens defence. The home side's response was to fire high balls into their shorter forwards with the expected limited return.
Bens will require to up their performance in the remaining fixtures as Stonehouse have leap-frogged them to fourth position but with their games in hand the Tinto side will be more concerned that they haven't made further impact on the three promotion places.

BENBURB: Quinn, Gillan, Smith, McGrath, McInnes, Wright, Hepburn, Carroll, Lovering, McGlinchey, Lavery.