A spirited performance saw the seniors emerge with two precious league points from Corrigan Park following a narrow win over the Johnnies on Wednesday evening. This was just the tonic needed after two home defeats and before the league takes a three-week break for the Ulster Championship.
On a balmy May evening, Naomh Brid settled well and got off the mark early with a free from Cunningham followed by an Edwards point from play. However, St John’s were level by the ninth minute as the portents signalled a ding-dong battle. Back came the visitors, who restored their two-point advantage courtesy of Brolly following good work by Loughrey and Edwards, who was proving a handful at full forward. Again the sides exchanged scores, though the visitors’ wide tally was creeping up. However, Brolly kept his personal tally ticking over with further scores, the second a free from a foul on the rampaging O’Hagan. For a big team, the Johnnies had pace aplenty and were particularly threatening on the flanks. Naomh Brid were relieved to concede just a point on 24 minutes when a goal briefly threatened. The Johnnies were then incensed when Edwards expertly lofted over a hotly disputed side-line ball to extend the gap to four. But the visitors rewarded their hosts with two simple scores from softly conceded frees to leave the affair wide open at the interval.
Half time: St John’s 0-6 St Brigid’s 0-8
In such a tight match, the early scores in the second half would be important. And so it proved. The Johnnies hit two wides in the opening minute but worse was to follow almost immediately, when a sweeping move involving McMahon and Edwards sent Brolly clear, and he showed all his composure to extend the lead to five. There was now a sense of urgency in the home ranks, who were clearly rattled. Their pressure paid off with a brace of points to reduce the deficit to a single score. The Johnnies’ frustration threatened to boil over when a late tackle was punished by a converted free, as the referee remained impassive under a verbal onslaught. They were themselves gifted a point when the visitors’ defence twice failed to clear their lines, as the battle raged on. With both sides defending deep and marking tight, scoring opportunities were at a premium, as their wides tally mounted. Cunningham’s converted free after a disputed foul on Brolly was cancelled by a Johnnies’ point that skimmed the bar. As the clock ticked onto 30 minutes the gap was narrowed to two, but Naomh Brid were in no mood to succumb and they held out well to the finish.
Full time: St John’s 0-11 St Brigid’s 1-10
Team: J Mackle, J McKeever (C Mullan), A Christie, B Reilly, B McMahon, D O’Hagan, J Loughrey, R Smyth, M Donnelly (R Brolly), D MacAuley, A Cole, M Sweeney, J Brolly, D Edwards, N Cunningham
Man of the match: D O’Hagan
The seniors now have a break until Sunday, 25 May when they host Cargin before making the short trip to Gort Na Mona the following Wednesday.
