Naomh Brid’s seniors losing sequence stretched to four on Wednesday evening with a resurgent Lamh Dhearg the latest visitors to plunder both points in this ACL Div 1 encounter at Harlequins. The four-point defeat was further evidence, if any were needed, that the frailties of a threadbare squad, shorn of physical power and experience, will be exposed and exploited at this level. The result means that the south Belfast side now hover just above the relegation zone ahead of their rivals from last season, Rasharkin, who have two games in hand.
Lamh Dhearg, fresh from their surprise championship victory over Creggan, were bolstered by the return of Paddy Cunningham and Michael Herron who swapped three points with Brolly (2) and Cunningham in an evenly contested first 10 minutes. However, it was notable that two of the visitors’ openers were the result of soft defensive turnovers. Naomh Brid forged ahead with a Sweeney score following a break from Edwards, before Brolly added to his tally after a fine run by O’Hagan. While the visitors responded with a point from a 45, Edwards quickly restored the two-point advantage. The pacy Red Hands attack was menacing, though, and sent a warning when Mackle saved at point blank range. A minute after Cunningham converted a free to reduce the gap, he again proved a thorn in the home defence, giving the visitors a controversial lead with an unstoppable goal with the referee seemingly unsighted to what seemed a clear push in the back in the build up. Their tails up, Lamh Dhearg outmuscled the home defence again in taking another good score before the break.
Half Time: Naomh Brid 0-6 Lamh Dhearg 1-6
An early point from Brolly and a super score from defender-cum-attacker McMahon raised hopes momentarily as the deficit narrowed to the minimum. But Paddy Cunningham was in the mood and blitzed the home defence with three points in as many minutes courtesy of a steady midfield supply line. While Edwards and Cunningham defiantly raised flags in reply, the Red Hands, with Herron a constant threat, were in no mood to relinquish their lead and stretched their advantage to four again. Naomh Brid rallied with a final point to leave an improbable goal deficit, but the deadly Paddy Cunningham had the last word, punishing a naïve foul to cap a fine display from the county star.
Full Time: Naomh Brid 0-12 Lamh Dhearg 1-13
Team: J Mackle, D O’Hagan, J McGuckian, P O’Hara, A Christie, P Finegan, B McMahon, M Malone, M Sweeney, A Cole, M Donnelly, J Brolly, N Cunningham, M MacSherry
Conor MacSherry will be relieved to have a fixture break until September, when he will hope to have a number of absentees, particularly the influential James Loughrey, restored to his squad.
