ACFL 1:
Bryansford 1-5 Rostrevor
1-11
By Colm Fitzpatrick
ACL 1
BRYANSFORD BAFFLED
Bryansford 1-5 Rostrevor 1-11
What a topsy turvy league season this
has been so far. Nothing exemplified it
better than this Division One clash at
St Patricks Park. Ford, coming off the
back of a spectacular win in Hilltown
the previous Friday looked like a team
with nothing but the highest
expectations as they warmed up
beforehand. Rostrevor, with wholesale
changes from the team lucky to draw at
home against bottom-of-the-table Attical,
looked like a side in disarray.
COMPOSED
Yet it was the visitors who played the
more composed football on the evening,
good value for their six point victory
margin, even if they did need two fine
saves from young goalkeeper Padraig
Mulholland in the last five minutes to
see them through! Reds, with Shaun Parr
playing some scintillating football
through midfield, were 0-3 to 0-1 up by
the end of the opening quarter, despite
the early threat from Colm kearney, who
had opened the scoring after just two
minutes. But the visitors replied
impressively. Colm Clerkin kicked an
excellent point, Patrick McGreevey
tip-toed along the end line to fist them
in front and Conor Daly added a free
after eleven minutes. And with three
minutes left in the half, Reds had
increased their lead to 0-6 to 0-3,
Great Play from Shaun Parr and Colm
Clerkin set up the latter for a fourth
point and two Conor Daly frees cancelled
out one from Conor Gribben and a
breakaway score from Joseph Ireland. But
all of a sudden, Bryansford were back,
when Gary Farrell made a rare handling
error, and Gribben pounced to put
Michael Valentine in for an equalising
goal. Indeed, it could have been worse
for Reds, for in a rocky spell just
before the interval, young Mulholland
had to fling himself full-length to beat
down another goalbound shot, this one
from Gareth Toner!
SUBS
Two substitutions seemed to have tipped
the balance in Fords favour by the end
of the third quarter. First Aidan Cole,
who had pulled the strings for the reds
on the 40, and who hit two very good
points to leave his side 0-8 to 1-4 up
after 41 minutes, had to retire injured.
Then Ford sprung Ciaran Brannigan off
the bench. Brannigan certainly spiced up
the flagging Bryansford attack, but
Coles departure prompted Aidan Farrell
to move Conor Daly up to the forty, and
that posed a whole new set of problems
for the home rearguard. First daly raced
half the length of the field to stretch
Reds lead, and then , in the 50th
minute, a gorgeous pass from Eamon
McConville sent Sean Farrell galloping
through to beat Peter Travers! 1-9 to
1-4 up, Rostrevor now had to hold out
against a Brannigan-inspired onslaught,
but, thanks to two super saves from
Padraig Mulholland, all the little
corner forward managed to add to his
sides tally was a single point, and reds
closed out the match with further points
Conor Mackin and Lloyd Parr, with young
Mackin unlucky not to have rounded it
off with a goal when he cut through the
defence only to shoot into the
side-netting.
IMPRESSIVE
Reds continue to baffle, though tis time
it was the sort of bafflement their
supporters wont complain about. Once the
wily Gary Farrell got the measure of
Conor Gribben, their defence was
generally on top, with Eamon McConville
and Colm Murney especially prominent at
half back. Shaun Parr had a sparkling
hour at midfield, with Conor Mackin and
Aidan Cole doing well at half forward
and Colm Clerkin ever a threat in the
full forward sector. But even though
they were the better team, they still
needed special heroics from Padraig
Mulholland to take the points they
deserved.
DISAPPOINTING
Bryansford were disappointing. Their
attack had promised much early on, with
Colm Kearney and Joseph Ireland to the
fore, but the final fifteen minutes
showed just how much they needed the
fizz provided by Ciaran Brannigan.
Defensively, Stephen Toner, Luke Howard
and Aidan Shields were sound, but more
might have been expected from a midfield
pairing as experienced as Simon Poland
and Adrian Carville.
Bryansford scorers; Michael Valentine
[1-0]; Conor Gribben [0-1 1 free; Colm
Kearney [0-1]; Joe Ireland [0-1];
Christopher Brannigan [0-1] 1 free;
Ciaran Brannigan [0-1]
Rostrevor scorers; Conor Daly [0-4] 3
frees; Sean Farrell [1-0]; Colm Clerkin
[0-2]; Aidan Cole [0-2]; Patrick
McGreevey [0-1]; Conor Mackin [0-1];
Lloyd Parr [0-1] 1 free.
Bryansford team; Peter Travers; Ciaran
Fitzpatrick, Stephen Toner, David
Morgan; Luke Howard, Aidan Shields,
Jonathan Cunningham; Adrian Carville,
Simon Poland; Gareth Toner, Joseph
Ireland, Christopher Brannigan; Michael
Valentine, Conor Gribben, Colm Kearney.
Sub used; Ciaran Brannigan
Rostrevor team; Padraig Mulholland;
Eddie Magee, Gary Farrell, Jarlath
Farrell; Eamon McConville, Colm Murney,
Conor Daly; Shaun Parr, Jarlath Austin;
Conor Mackin, Aidan Cole, Sean Farrell;
Lloyd Parr, Patrick McGreevey, Colm
Clerkin.
Subs used; Turlough Murphy;
Man of the match: Padraig Mulholland
[Rostrevor]
