Naomh Brid’s poor start to the league campaign continued with a four point away defeat to St Paul’s on Wednesday evening. Our recent history of senior matches against the Shaws Raod side has been a general picture of drab affairs and this latest insipid episode, played out before a paltry attendance, did nothing to buck the trend.
Playing up the slope in the first half Naomh Brid had the better of the early midfield exchanges but with no tangible reward. But once St Pauls began to settle, their lively forward line, led by the impressive Billy Joe Burns, punished some loose marking and tackling as they picked off a succession of unanswered scores. The count against had graduated to five by the time Dowling opened the whites’ account with a relieving long range score on 19 minutes. That, sadly, coupled with a quick Ronan McGrady follow-up point, was the sum total of the visitors’ dismal first half return as they looked distinctly off the pace.
HT: Naomh Pol 0-7 Naomh Brid 0-2
The hoops hardened their advantage to six immediately on the resumption, latching onto another defensive lapse. The sides then exchanged points but the clock was noticeably ticking on with no inroads being made on the deficit. With severely limited options on the bench Loughrey was propelled forward into attack and the gamble paid almost immediate dividends. First, the county man took a pass from Ronan McGrady for a point. Then, from the resultant kick-out Cormac McGrady burrowed his way into the large rectangle and as the ball spilled, Loughrey’s quick reaction was enough to squeeze home a scrappy goal on 49 minutes. When Lundy curled over an excellent near sideline free to reduce the gap to the minimum with eight minutes left, it looked as though the visitors were well placed to steal the win their play had hardly deserved. But while Lundy responded to a converted St Pauls free with another of his own, it was the home side who finished strongly on top as they scored three unanswered points from play to maintain their three-year unblemished record against Naomh Brid.
Full time: Naomh Pol 0-14 Naomh Brid 1-7
Team: W McSorley, C Mackle, R Daly, T McCrudden, M Donnelly, D O’Hagan, P Lundy (0-2), D Edwards, J Loughrey (1-1), R Mackle (A Duffy), R McGrady (0-1), C Mohan, N Cunningham (0-2), J Dowling (0-1), C McGrady
Rd 3: Naomh Brid vs Ahoghill at Musgrave Park on Sunday, 29th April. Throw in 4pm.
