Naomh Brid ended a disappointing week as they fell victim to a Paddy Cunningham-inspired Lamh Dhearg at Hannhstown on Saturday evening. The Antrim county marksman clocked up a staggering 2-10 to steer the Red Hands home almost single-handedly.
Things could hardly have started more brightly for the visitors who welcomed back Loughrey and O’Hagan to the ranks. Playing up the hill and into the slight breeze they raced into an early lead with points from MacAuley and McGrady before O’Neill sent McGrady clear for a fine goal on five minutes. Gradually, though, Lamh Dhearg settled into the game and the ploy was evidently to feed their ace marksman at every opportunity. Cunningham was in irresistible form and notched five withering points without reply as he left a succession of defenders floundering in his wake. On 13 minutes Cunningham was expected to tap over a 13 metre free for the equalizer, but he had spotted a gap in the defensive wall through which he blasted the ball past McSorley for the lead. To fall once for the quick trick was naive but for Cunningham to be allowed to repeat the dose three minutes later from a mirror image set piece was downright careless. In the space of 10 minutes Naomh Brid’s five point lead had morphed into the same deficit and alarm bells were ringing. There was nothing else for it but to sacrifice Loughrey from the attack to curtail Cunningham before irreparable damage was done. The rot was momentarily stopped as O’Neill won a free converted by McGrady and then set up Sweeney for a good point from play to narrow the gap. However, the hosts responded in kind as the blues paid twice for foolhardy distribution from the back. Naomh Brid hauled themselves back into contention just before the interval when O’Neill’s quick free found Sherry who trundled the ball past the keeper from close range.
Half time: Lamh Dhearg 2-7 Naomh Brid 2-4
With the gradient and any wind advantage in the second half the three point deficit did not seem insurmountable. However, Naomh Brid’s old failings at winning sufficient primary or breaking ball in midfield would prove a significant handicap. Loughrey burst from defence for an excellent point but Cunningham was back with an instant response. And the tit-for-tat continued as Taylor cancelled another from the Lamh Dhearg captain. The momentum briefly seemed to tilt in Naomh Brid’s favour with scores from the gutsy O’Neill and a McGrady free, which reduced the margin to a single point on 43 minutes. But Cunningham was a constant menace and hoisted a dubious white flag from a suspiciously narrow angle to ease the pressure slightly. Try as they might Naomh Brid were finding it difficult to prise open a blanket defence who were working overtime. McGrady won and converted his free on 50 minutes as the tension mounted. But Lamh Dhearg were increasingly snapping up crucial loose ball and feeding their talisman at every opportunity. Cunningham’s accuracy was lethal and two more points all but secured victory. An Edwards point on 58 minutes was the final score in a frustrating hour for the boys in blue. As for the home support, there was only one name on everyone’s lips.
Full time: Lamh Dhearg 2-12 Naomh Brid 2-10
W McSorley, B Reilly, M Rooney, M Donnelly (G Bogue), D MacAuley, D O’Hagan, B McDonnell, D Edwards, R Smyth (J Dowling), M Sweeney, J Loughrey, C Taylor, R O’Neill, F Sherry (C Donnelly), C McGrady
Man of the match: P Cunningham (Lamh Dhearg)
