Antrim All-County League Div.5
St. James Aldergrove II 0-10 St Brigids II 2-14
Venue: Aldergrove
In glorious conditions for football St.Brigids ran out worthy winners in what turned out to be stylish victory on Wednesday evening, however this was only part of the story…
If ever there was a game of two halves then this was it. St.Brigid’s started poorly as they struggled to work the ball out of defence as Aldergrove enjoyed complete domination around the middle third of the pitch. Had Aldergrove had their shooting boots on they could have had the South Belfast men out of sight. That said, the Naomh Bríd men did improve considerably in the second half and turned in a very satisfying second thirty minutes.
St. Brigids were slow out of the blocks as Aldergrove dominated possession at midfield and raced into a 0-4 to 0-0 lead. St. Brigids were made to work very hard for any scoring threat with the first score coming from the reliable boot of Jimmy King to try and steady the ship. Aldergrove hit back with two unanswered points before the Naomh Bríd men could register a second score. The hard working Eoin Ross linked well with Conor Mackle to fire over an important point. Ryan Brolly was then moved out from full forward to the half forward line in an effort to add some penetration to a static attack. This seemed to have an immediate effect as St.Brigid’s finally looked as if they meant business. Brolly started a swift move involving Jack Dowling and Thomas Niblock before Brolly fired over to end a forgettable first half for the Malone men.
Half time score: Aldergrove 0-07 St.Brigids 0-03
A different St. Brigids side emerged in the second half as they played with the benefit of an increased urgency and greater hunger for the breaking ball. The introduction of Colm Moan significantly contributed to ending the Aldergrove scoring threat as the St. Brigids midfield pair of Niblock and Malone also began to put their stamp on the game as they now dominated exchanges at midfield. King was again first on the scoreboard to start what became a scoring spree for the Belfast men. Mick Malone raced forward on two separate occasions to fire over two excellent scores before Thomas Niblock drew the match level for the first time. St. Brigids were now playing with their tales up as they ran at their markers and winning frees in the process, which King punished every time. Then came the move of the match as Niblock found Dowling who found the unmarked Ryan Brolly who unselfishly passed out to the goal bound King, who made no mistakes from close range. Points quickly followed by Mackle, Brolly and Malone before Niblock crashed to the net for St. Brigid’s second goal.
The Aldergrove men did attempt a late fight back as they added two quick unanswered points which were quickly followed by a serious attempt on goal but the shot was superbly saved by “Emo” McMahon. The Naomh Bríd defence stood strong and absorbed the pressure well with Ciaran Mackle, Paul Finnegan and Colm Moan mopping up any loose play whilst contributing handsomely to a satisfying second half performance.
With Championship around the corner the St.Brigids management team will take plenty away from this performance. The push for promotion from Div.5 continues.
St. Brigids: Eamon “Emo” McMahon, Ciaran Mackle, Thomas McKeogh, Brian Loughran, Paul Finnegan, Mickey Donnelly, Gary Brennan, Mick Malone (0-3), Thomas Niblock (1-0), Ryan Mackle, Jack Dowling, Eoin Ross (0-1), Jimmy King (1-08), Ryan Brolly (0-2), Conor Mackle (0-1). Subs: Colm Moan for Brian Loughran (30), Chris McCann for Eoin Ross (40) Niall Conway for Gary Brennan (45) Andrew Kelly for Ryan Mackle (49)
