The senior side took pole position in the ACL Division 3 with a comprehensive win over St Pauls at Boucher Road.
Playing into a stiff breeze, St Brigids adapted better to the conditions and notched a couple of early points through Joe Brolly. St Pauls did enjoy a period of dominance at midfield but unfortunately for them, had left their shooting boots at home. Half way through the half James Loughrey, now operating in the middle of the park, latched onto the end of a fine passing movement to register the game’s only major score.
Half Time: St Pauls 0 – 3
St Brigids 1 – 6
The second half was really a damage limitation exercise by St Pauls, who battled to the very end but were always struggling to find scores. A fine John Mackle save, late in the game, denied them the consolation they probably deserved. Meanwhile, at the other end, Brolly continued to torment the defence adding two more points from play. Frankie Devlin added to the total with a fine free kick while sub, Jimmy King, also made the score sheet. Loughrey capped an excellent performance with a long-range effort to add to his first half tally.
Full Time: St Pauls 0 – 4
St Brigids 1 – 12
This was a business like performance from St Brigids. All six defenders performed well, O’Hagan and Loughrey (who moved to replace the injured Conor Mullan) worked hard in the middle and the forward line, led by Brolly and Frankie Devlin, made the most of their chances.
Team:
John Mackle, Joseph McKeever, Richard Smyth, Malachy O’Kane, Paul Finnegan, Eunan Conway, James Loughrey(1-2), Conor Mullan, Deaghlan O’Hagan, Duncan MacAuley, Paul McCrudden, Aidan Owens, Frankie Devlin(0-1), Joe Brolly(0-8), Mark Kelly.
Substitutes used:
Paul O’Hara, Keelan McCrudden, Frank O’Neill, Eoin Murphy, Jimmy King(0-1).
