Bredagh 2-13 Carryduff 1-14
Bredagh reserves left it quite late on in the game to get their noses past Carryduff to take the spoils in an energy sapping balmy Sunday afternoon at Cherryvale.
Carryduff were the better side in the opening period, racing into a 3 point lead at the start of the game, a lead which they sustained right through until the short whistle after 30 minutes. Bredagh held up well in defence but squandered many attacks with poor final passes, coughing up possession far too easily at this level. Feeding off scraps, the forwards did their best, although they were getting on the ball too far out from goal to be able to do any damage. Purposeful running from the wing half backs Sean Blaney and Matthew Hamilton and wing half forwards Liam O’Keefe and Eamon Carville yielded positive outcomes on occasion, contributing to the six Bredagh scores in the first half, Eamon Carville (0-2), Liam O’Keefe (0-1), Jack Holywood (0-2) and Sean Blaney (0-1). Half-time Bredagh 0-6 Carryduff 0-9.
The first 10 minutes of the second half continued along the same pattern as the opening period, an exchange of scores kept Carryduff ahead by a 3 point margin, the Bredagh scores coming from full-forwards Jack Holywood (0-2) and Conal O’Rawe (0-1). 15 minutes into the second half Carryduff took what appeared to be a winning score when their full-forward hit a rocket of a shot from the right-hand side which rebounded off the bottom of the crossbar, hit a Bredagh defender’s leg and ended up in the back of the net.
Fresh legs were introduced to the Bredagh team for a final push which ultimately won the game for the home side. A strong run in the penalty area by minor footballer Joe Blaney saw him getting dragged down, the resulting penalty was duly converted by a well taken spot kick by Conal O’Rawe. Bredagh pushed up at this stage and applied pressure on the Carryduff kick-out. Points by Conal O’Rawe and Jack Holywood got Bredagh within touching distance. Carryduff’s defence was under the cosh at this stage as Bredagh dominated possession in the middle third, supplying plentiful ball to the scoring zone. Joe Blaney again made his presence felt when he hit the back of the net with 5 minutes remaining on the clock to give Bredagh the lead for the first time in the game. Carryduff chipped over a point at the other end to keep in touch. This was followed up by good points by Cillian Durkan and Joe Blaney, giving the harps an advantageous lead going into the dying seconds. Carryduff got one final point before referee Brian Higgins blew up proceedings, leaving the final scoreline Bredagh 2-13 Carryduff 1-14
Well done to the entire squad for a big effort to keep going with determination despite being 6 points down with less than a quarter of the game remaining. Next game away to Bryansford on Sunday 29th July
Squad; Liam Francis, Ronan Smyth, Daniel McGrenaghan, Connor O’Keefe, Michael Napier, Feargal Nolan, Eamon Carville (0-2), Sean Blaney (0-1), Tim Cunningham, Matt Holywood, Matthew Hamilton, Ben Scullion, Liam O’Keefe (0-1), Carlos Sanha, Joe Blaney (1-1), Jack Holywood (0-5), Conal O’Rawe (1-2), Ruairi Sheridan, Cormac O’Rawe, Matt McAreavy and Cillian Durkan (0-1)
Referee- Brian Higgins
