A badly under strength Naomh Brid came up short by a single point at Shaws Road on Wednesday evening in this Div 1 round 6 clash with St Paul’s. However, with a miserly return of four scores over the hour they could have little complaint about the result, which leaves them unchanged in sixth spot after six matches.
If there was a gate for this game, then the paltry attendance should have been reimbursed with interest for this endurance test. Frankly, this was football straight from the bottom drawer. After an error strewn, soporific opening 15 minutes, one point from O’Neill was the sum product of the sides’ combined efforts. That scores were hard to come by was not surprising as the sides tried to outdo one another either by conceding possession, missing frees or finding the keeper. By the law of averages St Paul’s had to score at some stage, which they did with an equalizer on 16 minutes. A brace of points in quick succession from Edwards and O’Neill edged the visitors ahead after 20 minutes, but there was little to enthuse about. The hoops got a grip of midfield to the interval as Naomh Brid’s defence began to strain under pressure. Despite the valiant efforts of Reilly and Christie, in particular, the defence was pierced five times in a costly 10 minutes to leave the blues with a double score deficit at the interval.
Half time: Naomh Pol 0-6 Naomh Brid 0-3
The introduction of Mark Sweeney for the second half injected some fresh momentum and after a scoreless five minutes Naomh Brid’s fortunes seemed to have swung when O’Neill latched onto Rooney’s pass with a smart half volley that beat McGreavey low into the corner. That would prove a false dawn, however, as for the remaining 26 minutes Naomh Brid failed to register a single score despite enjoying more than their fair share of possession. At the other end St Paul’s were denied twice by the excellent Mackle with point blank saves as two powder puff attacks cancelled each other out. Edwards had two goal efforts blocked and further hesitancy in attack launched St Paul’s on the counter with a crucial point on 53 minutes that neither side had seemed capable of taking. Conway had emptied the four man bench in desperation, but inspiration and ingenuity were badly lacking in a frustrating finale and there was almost an inevitability to the disappointing conclusion.
Full time: Naomh Pol 0-7 Naomh Brid 1-3
Team: J Mackle, B Reilly, A Christie, M Donnelly (G Bogue), B McDonnell, M Rooney, B McMahon, F Sherry (J Dowling), R Smyth, R O’Neill (1-2), C Taylor, C Moane (M Sweeney), C McGrady, D Edwards (0-1), R Brolly (J King)
