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Brannigan
shows ford the way - 16/02/03
East
Down MFL Section A Round 3
Lorcha
na Farriage 0-09 Bryansford 1-09
By Marc MacSiomoin, Dundrum
Bryansford came to Ballykinlar today and
netted all the spoils thanks to a Ciaran Brannigan goal
with ten minutes remaining. The goal proved decisive as
it gave Bryansford the slender lead which they needed to
carry them to the final whistle. This win maintained Bryansford's
100% record in the league but as the scoreline suggests,
it wasn't all plain sailing.
Both sides fielded very strong panels but
Bryansford had that depth which Lorcha craved. The first
score of the game arrived on two minutes with the "terrier
like" McComiskey slotting over after a fine pass from McShane.
Bryansford then settled themselves three minutes later when
corner forward Ward found himself in a good position to
finish. The ten minute period which followed was frantic
with six scores amassing, three for each side. The first
of these came from Lorcha with instrumental midfielder Doyle
powering his way past Fergal Maguire to fire over. A minute
later young McComiskey gathered a loose ball to punish the
'Ford backline for poor handling. Then on eleven minutes
Bryansford scored twice through midfielder's Maguire and
Murphy. This levelled affairs at 0-03 each. However, there
was going to be no respite for any team as Barry Mageean
battled his way past Howard before shrugging of the attention
of Rafferty to point. The action then moved to the other
half of the field as Maguire raced through the Lorcha ranks
to level. This ten minute melee ended and both sides got
a chance to steady themselves.
Lorcha were first to find a response as
Paul McComiskey slotted over a straightforward free after
McShane was plumelled to the ground by Sheehan. All this
action only summed up eighteen minutes of play. As the pace
of the game slowed both teams found it hard to take control.
Then with five minutes remaining in the half Maguire hit
between the sticks to put the 'Ford on level ground. Two
minutes later saw the score of the half from Murphy. This
proved to be vital as it gave Bryansford the advantage in
going in at half time with increased confidence for the
next thirty minutes.
Half-Time: Lorcha na Farriage 0-05 Bryansford
0-06
The tigrish vigour which possessed Lorcha
when they came out for the second half was clearly evident
as straight from the throw in, Mark O'Hare gathered, to
race past Kearney and level the game after only a minute
of play. The constant barrage gained steam as McShane pointed
four minutes later to put Lorcha in pole position. Doyle
was beginning to exert more influence around the middle
and Rory Hanna and James McFerran were being marked a lot
more tight by Neil McComiskey and McKibben. However, increased
influence counts for nothing when the scores don't arrive.
Bryansford took advantage of this poor finishing and placed
the mantle of responsibility upon the shoulders of J.P Brannigan.
The young forward found a response to McShane's score and
put the game back at a stalemate. Then on forty five minutes
he found the space to convert his second score. If this
wasn't bad enough for Lorcha, within thirty seconds of his
previous, he found between the uprights again to put the
'Ford into a commanding two point lead. The killer blow
arrived four minutes later when sub Ciaran Brannigan found
the net after a defensive mix-up from Lorcha. The nifty
forward was causing all sorts of problems in the Lorcha
backline.
However, Lorcha deserve a host of credit
as they refused to give in to this onslaught. Manager John
Morgan threw on Michael Rooney and Mark Fitzsimons and this
payed immediate dividends as Fitzsimons pointed a difficult
free after McComiskey was hauled down yet again by Sheehan.
Then with only minutes remaining McComiskey found the net
only for it to be ruled out by referee O'Hanlon. This was
a cruel blow for Lorcha to take and their concentration
lapse nearly cost them as Mark Brannigan hit the post when
a goal looked likely. A foul on Fitzsimons in injury time
led to McComiskey grabbing a late free but this proved to
be in vain as O'Hanlon blew the whistle to the delight of
the 'Ford.
This was a tough, at times bruising encounter.
Both sides had a very physical approach to proceedings.
'Ford manager Burns must have been well pleased with using
super substitute Brannigan. It payed off and ultimately
won the game for Bryansford. The 'Ford had a star in Maguire.
His poise and temperment were to be applauded throughout
the game. The away defence found it hard to keep up with
the pacey Lorcha frontline but Chris Kearney must be recognised
for containing O'Hare to great effect. Lorcha had a top
notch game from Doyle and Neil McComiskey did himself no
harm at centre half back either. Overall this was a tight
game from start to finish. The stroke of luck Bryansford
received with the late goal undeniably won them the game.
Matters could have gone either way and Lorcha may feel dissapointed
that they didn't exert more pressure late on to get that
elusive goal.
Lorcha na Farriage Scorers: P.McComiskey
(0-04), Doyle (0-01), Mageean (0-01), O'Hare (0-01), McShane
(0-01) and Fitzsimons (0-01)
Bryansford Scorers: Ward (0-01),
Maguire (0-03), Murphy (0-02), J.P Brannigan (0-03) and
C.Brannigan (1-00).
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