Marc Mac Siomoin

East Down U-16 Football League Section B

Bright 2-12 Ballykinlar 4-05

Ballykinlar's opening league game ended in a cruel one point defeat to near neighbours Bright at a windy Killough on Tuesday past.

Bright, who had dispatched of Saul in the opening round of fixtures produced a very efficient second half display to just edge the Kinlar by the minimum.

The first half was a low scoring affair with Ballykinlar holding a two point lead at the break. A slight breeze aided them in this period and scores arrived through Declan Kavanagh (0-02), B.Melville (0-01) and Anthony Robb (1-00). Bright chipped in with 1-01.

The second half was extremely entertaining and Bright were very grateful for the strong breeze that picked up during the interval that give them a huge advantage.

However, Ballykinlar looked the more capable in the early exchanges and captain Declan Kavanagh opened the scoring with a point. Bright countered with a free but the Kinlar raced down the field and substitute Sean O'Rourke fired to the underside of Bright keeper Eoghan Tumelty to get a goal for the away side.

This goal marked the end of Ballykinlar's productive period and as the wind picked up, so did Bright's performance. Three points on the trot reduced the Kinlar's advantage to two.

The away side tried to edge back in to it with an O'Rourke point but three long range efforts from Bright put the sides level with eight minutes remaining.

With the game on a knife edge both sides raised their performance levels and Ballykinlar got lucky first with a Declan Kavanagh goal. However, this lead was soon cut to a point when Bright sent over two points in succession.

As the game entered the final five minutes the Kinlar could not believe their luck when Richard Fitzsimons fired to the Bright net from close range. With a four point gap between the two entites it now looked like Ballykinlar could snatch the win. However, this was not to be.

What followed was a desperate scramble for possession in the Ballykinlar box. As the away side tried to clear their lines, full back Anthony Mageean touched the ball on the ground. Then to Ballykinlar's amazement the referee awarded Bright a penalty instead of a free from the 14 yard line, which the rulebook indicates for such a foul.

Unfortunately the penalty was converted and in the dying seconds Bright had themselves two further scores to sneak home by a solitary point at the death.This was a desperately disappointing result for Ballykinlar who felt very aggrieved by the penalty decision.

For the away side Blaine Warnock was as competent as ever between the sticks, saving no less than four goalbound shots during the sixty minutes. Ryan Cardwell, Anthony Mageean and Eamon King were near faultless in the full back line as Martin Willoughby and Barry Melville helped share the defensive responsibilities in the half back line.

Anthony Robb and Declan Kavanagh battled tirelessly in the middle of the park with Laurence Smith and Richard Fitzsimons putting in workmanlike performances in the half forward line. Shaun Cunningham and Brendan Cunningham put in encouraging first half efforts in the full forward line. Substitute Sean O'Rourke looked dangerous when he was introduced in to the fray.

Controversy aside, Bright were worth their win. They worked the small pitch to their advantage and made it hard for the Kinlar to play their usual expansive game.Full points from two fixtures is a very productive way to start a season.

Ballykinlar: B.Warnock, R.Cardwell, A.Mageean, E.King, M.Willoughby, B.Melville (0-01), L.Grant, D.Kavanagh (1-03), A.Robb (1-00), L.Smith, R.Fitzsimons (1-00), C.McKee, P.Curry, S.Cunningham, B.Cunningham. Subs: S.O'Rourke (1-01), K.Carville, D.Smith, M.Mageean.