Table toppers St Brigid’s continue their winning run in Div.5 with a comprehensive win over Dunloy on Sunday.
The South Belfast men exercised dominance right from the opening moments and after just 55 seconds on the clock they opened their account with a terrific goal. Midfielder John McGuckian received a pass on the run, leaving his marker in his wake before crashing to the Dunloy net. This goal was to set the tone for the first half as points followed by Conor Mackle, Ryan Brolly and a free kick by Jimmy King.
Despite playing with a strong wind Dunloy were finding it difficult to insert penetration into their game and struggled to cope with the high intensity of their Belfast rivals. The Glens men worked hard but were simply unable to pass the St.Brigids half back line as Niall Conway and Conor Mullan mopped up a high percentage of breaking ball. Dunloy had to wait till the eighteenth minute to register their first score.
Meanwhile John McGuckian was at it again and another break from midfield saw him register a score with a long range point. This was quickly followed by a long ball by Ben Sinnott who found Ryan Brolly who in turn rounded the Dunloy keeper and netted superbly adding considerably to the already healthy St.Brigids lead.
The relentless St.Brigids defence still held the door firmly shut as Dunloy struggled to threaten in front of goal. St.Brigids were now dominating all sectors of the park yet they were guilty of over playing the ball within the inside forward line which resulted in further scoring chances being wasted.
The weather conditions deteriorated considerably in the second half but the heavy rain did nothing to dampen the enthusiasm of the Naomh Bríd men as they started the second half similar to that of the first. Points from Jimmy King, Damian McElhome and Conor Taylor preceded another goal for the South Belfast men, this time from the boot of Mick Malone. St.Brigids then lost the services of Niall Conway with a hamstring injury as Dunloy started to threaten the St.Brigids defence scoring two unanswered points. It was too little too late for the hosts as St.Brigids ran out convincing winners.
With a high scoring return for St.Brigids they have now won their third consecutive league match in a convincing fashion. Conor Mackle and Damien McElhome unselfishly worked hard over the hour, much of which resulted in bringing others into the game. John McGuckian and Mick Malone controlled midfield whilst Collie Connolly, Eddie Smyth and Conor Mullan where excellent in defence.
St.Brigids: Daniel Nolan, Eddie Smyth, Brendan McDonald, Collie Connolly, Paul Finnegan (0-1), Niall Conway(0-1), Conor Mullan, John McGuckian (1-1,) Michael Malone (1-0), Conor Taylor (0-2), Ben Sinnott (0-1), Damian McElhone (0-1), Conor Mackle (0-2), Ryan Brolly (1-2), Jimmy King (1-4) Subs: Brian Loughran for Damian McElhone (45), Jack Dowling for J.McGuckian (50) Anthony McVeigh for N.Conway (52), Daniel McKeever for C. Mackle (55), Dallin McAlinden for R. Brolly (60).
