Betsy Gray Shield S/F
Match Report
Bredagh 4-12 Kilclief 1-05
Bredagh 3-07 Liatroim
3-10
Betsy Gray Shield S/F Match Report -
Bredagh 4-12 Kilclief 1-05
Bredagh hurlers bounced back from last
week's defeat to Laitroim with a convincing
victory over Kilclief to qualify for
a semi-final spot in the Betsy Gray
Shield. Playing with wind advantage
Bredagh's Eoghan Donnelly registered
a brace of points in the first few minutes
but his younger brother, Niall, went
one better with a brace of goals to
give Bredagh the best start possible.
In between Donnelly's goals, Bonner
lashed in 1-1 from his new top of the
left position. Kilclief snatched a goal
from a sideline cut that squeezed inside
McMullan's post to leave the score at
the end of the first quarter 3-3 to
1-0.
Bredagh continued to dominate the first
half with captain Liam McCollum commanding
the half-back line and chipping in with
a point from long range. He was well
supported by Charlie Dillon at left-half
and Ali McAlastair at centre-half forward
who controlled that area of the pitch
landing two points, one direct from
a '65. Eoghan Donnelly who was a constant
threat to the Kilclief defence finished
the half with another brace of points
to leave the score at the break 3-8
to 1-1.
As expected Kilclief came out fighting
in the second half landing three unanswered
points in what looked like a potential
comeback. But their efforts fizzled
out as Niall Donnelly struck the point
of the day, killing a well driven pass
from Cormac Hughes on his stick, he
caught and struck first-time over the
bar from an acute angle on the right.
This was followed by another great score
from Bonner as he rounded his man and
carried the ball into close range before
striking over the bar. As the game entered
the final ten minutes Kilclief went
all out for goals but resolute defending
from Whyte, Woods, Devlin and Mullan
gave them little hope of breaching the
Bredagh goal. Donal Hughes nailed the
coffin down with a brace of great points
near the end before the killer instincts
of Niall Donnelly roofed the net to
complete his hat-trick of majors clearly
making him the topscorer on the day
and no doubt bragging rights over his
older brother Eoghan.
Unlike last week when it was difficult
to pick a man-of-the-match, Bredagh
had a range of star performers from
Liam McCollum and Charlie Dillon in
the defence, Bailey and Cormac Hughes
controlled midfield while the Donnelly
brothers who scored 3-5 between them
and Ali McAlastair along with Donal
Hughes always posed a threat upfront.
The Bredagh minors of Cormac and Donal
Hughes, Niall Donnelly, Michael Mullan,
Matthew McAfee and Paddy Woods, all
who represented Down in a convincing
win over Armagh the day before, proved
their credentials for a starting position
on the senior side. Bonner, contributing
1-2, had probably one of his best games
in a Bredagh shirt. Power, Brady, Galway
and Guerin all came on to good effect.
Manager Sean McGuinness was pleased
with the win "I thought the younger
lads were smashing and they were given
good leadership by the senior players
on the team, overall there was plenty
of positive points to build on but it's
important we don't get carried away,
we need to remember Kilclief were relatively
weak missing all their key county players".
Panel and scorers: Lorenzo McMullan,
Mark Devlin, Michael Whyte, Paddy Woods,
Michael Mullan, Liam McCollum 0-1, Charlie
Dillon, Cormac Hughes, Leon Bailey,
Donal Hughes 0-2, Ali McAlastair 0-2
1 65, Eoghan Donnelly 0-4 2f, Cathair
Bonner, Michael McKervey, Niall Donnelly
3-1, Ultan Power, Matthew McAfee, Mark
Galway, David Brady, Michael Guerin,
Kevin Duffin.
