The Saul bandwagon comes
to a halt - 09/05/2003
A.C.F.L Division 3, Round
6 - 09/05/2003.
Saul
0-08 Dundrum 2-08
Referee: G.Tumelty
By Marc MacSiomoin, Dundrum
The Saul bandwagon came to an immediate
halt on Friday evening as Dundrum ran out winners
by six points. This was Saul's first defeat of the
current campaign and Dundrum thoroughly deserved their
victory. Saul had the advantage of the wind in the
first half but they failed to take their chances.
They could only manage two from play and this was
mainly due to the tight marking by Dundrum.
The home boys were first off the
mark with a Paul Craig free after a minute of play.
The game evened out for the next ten minutes and both
sides had their opportunities to score. Dundrum got
off the mark on eleven minutes with a great goal from
Paddy Doran. The goal came about after Doran collected
a sideline ball from Walsh and followed through to
the back of the net. The goalscorer added the away
side's first point of the affair five minutes later
and this was swiftly followed by a John McKibben score.
A Michael Vint free was all that
Saul could muster in retaliation. This Saul score
was immediately followed by a slick Dundrum counter
attack which ended up with Venney laying off to Kielty
for a goal. This gave the away side a six point lead.
Saul rushed forward after the goal and their attack
nearly pulled the move off, only for Gibney to deny
them with a superb save. The half ended with Coughlan
pointing for Dundrum followed by two Saul scores from
play.
Half-Time: Saul 0-04 Dundrum 2-03
Dundrum came out for the second half
with the wind behind them and took greater advantage
of it than Saul did. However, it was a Joe Napier
free that opened the second half scoring after four
minutes of action. Dundrum's grip loosened for a period
but Saul couldn't capitalise upon this and ultimately
their chance of winning was not looking healthy. This
was reinforced with two well taken frees from Walsh
in the space of a minute. Despite both sides having
a man sent to the touchline, they battled on and possession
became hard fought. Another Walsh free was added to
Dundrum's tally on forty nine minutes. A minute later
McMullan collected from Venney to add his first score
of the night. Saul imposed themselves a bit more in
the final ten minutes but couldn't get that elusive
goal. Ryan Burns got a good score with four minutes
left and Vint added a free shortly after.
Saul pressed time and time again
but to no avail. Then, two minutes into injury time
Venney converted a free to finalise a good performance.
Saul managed a consolation late on but it was to prove
in vain. The game came to end after seven minutes
of injury time.
This was not a classic by any means
but Dundrum deserved their win as they were better
equipped on the night. Saul's forwards had the potential
to get scores but they were well shackled by a tight
Dundrum defensive unit. On the other hand Saul's defence
didn't cope with their pacy opposition and this was
the crucial factor in determining the outcome.
Saul were best served by Ritchie
and McGrady at the back whilst up front Vint and Burns
were the most alert. Dundrum had a consistent performance
from Gibney in goals. In defence McComiskey, Hurley
and Murray defended with guile whilst at midfield
Walsh was very strong. In the attack Coughlan, Venney
and Doran were most impressive.
Saul: S.Stratton, D.Higgins, A.King,
C.McGrady, L.Magee, D.Ritchie, H.McGrath, N.Napier,
D.McKinley, R.Burns, JP Burke, J.McKinley, P.McKenna,
G.Holland, P.Craig. Subs: J.Napier for L.Magee and
M.Vint for P.Craig.
Dundrum: J.Gibney, C.McKibbin, C.Morgan,
N.McComiskey, J.Hurley, M.Murray, C.Carey, K.Walsh
(0-03, 3 Frees), J.McMullan (0-01), P.Doran (1-01),
M.Coughlan (0-01), J.Barr, J.McKibben (0-01), C.Kielty
(1-00), C.Venney (0-01, 1 Free). Subs: P.Shields for
J.McKibben and K.Byrne for M.Coughlan.
