Bright 5-02 v 8-13 St John’s               Championship R1                 5th May 2005

St John’s had a comfortable win away to Bright to get their championship up and running. Bright had overcome Ardglass the week before to get to this stage but found that the Johnnies had altogether too much ammunition for them.

Bright’s is a very small and uneven pitch, and not the most conducive to open football but St John’s managed very well. Despite the best efforts of Daryl Kelly for the home side St John’s dominated at centrefield where David Milling, Shane Rice and Conor McQuoid were dominant. This provided the platform for success as the game was then played in the Bright half for long periods of the game.

Bright didn’t help their cause either as indiscipline and poor technique meant that they gave away lots of needless frees – ten of the twenty-one scores against them came from placed balls. When Conor Morgan pointed a free in the opening minute (the first of his six points) it was a sign of things to come. Martin Keenan netted soon after with a chip over the goalkeeper but Bright then produced a few chances of their own. One shot went wide and then another chance was fisted wide of the nets when a goal might have just as easily have been the outcome. St John’s pointed a couple of frees to add to their tally before David Milling won a kick out and returned it with interest for a point.

Then Martin Keenan and Shane Rice both netted to make the margin 3-4 to no score – both with identical shots over the keeper’s head. Bright counterattacked and fired a low effort wide of the goals before Daryl Kelly pushed through the centre to fire a low shot to the back of the net. St John’s didn’t let this knock them out of their stride and were soon back on the attack and converted three frees before David Milling netted - again a shot over the keeper’s reach. The last score of the half was another goal for the home side as a cross from the left was fisted into the net. This left the score at the changeover at 4-07 to 2-00 – a comfortable lead but not insurmountable.

The change of direction didn’t change the pattern of the game as the visitors continued to dominate with scores from Martin Keenan, Hugh Flanagan and Conor Morgan before Bright netted again, six minutes into the half. In reply Ruairi McGlynn netted twice and pointed before Martin Keenan rattled the bar and half-way through the period David Milling knocked in St John’s eighth goal.

St John’s relaxed after that and as Bright send on a series of substitutes they benefited from confusion in the St John’s rearguard. Daryl Kelly netted twice either side of a Shane Rice point. Bright then added their first points of the evening before Conor Morgan rounded up the scoring with his sixth over of the day. 

St John’s: Joe Lennon; Ryan O’Reilly, Daniel McKay, Anthony Doran; Harry McMullan, Declan Gilmore, Darren Savage; David Milling (2-1), Shane Rice (1-2, 3f); Hugh Flanagan (0-1, 1f), Conor McQuoid, Conor Morgan (0-6, 4f); Kevin Keenan, Ruairi McGlynn (2-01, 1f), Martin Keenan (3-2, 1f). Subs – Patrick Keenan for K Keenan, Barry McAnulty for M Keenan.