Antrim Football League – Division 2
St Teresa’s 1-9 Ardoyne 1-8
Report and pics by Brian McKee
St Teresa’s got over the line by the narrowest margin against Ardoyne at the Pairc Mhic Dhomhnaill/Ui Doichairtaigh on Wednesday evening. This was a display that neither team will want to be repeated as the season moves on but St Teresa’s will be very pleased with the result, considering their heavy defeat the previous week against Glenravel.
Ardoyne will be disappointed that their recent run of good results was brought to an end and will rue some good chances that they missed when assisted by the wind in the opening half.
The first half saw Ardoyne enjoy the benefit of the wind advantage but they will regret not making the most of the scoring opportunities that came their way. Aidan McNeill picked up a lovely goal for Ardoyne when he sent the ball to the net following a high pass in from outfield. There was no lack of commitment from both sides, but the first half lacked cohesion with passes going astray and passages of play breaking down too easily. The back lines kept the forwards under the leash and a low scoring first half finished with Ardoyne a goal ahead.
Half-Time: St Teresa’s 0-4 Ardoyne 1-4
St Teresa’s started the second half with a further point from Mark Small, a constant threat from frees that were given away too easily by the men from Ardoyne. Ardoyne responded quickly with a good period of interplay leading to a point on the scoreboard. While Ardoyne continued to press forward, they were finding scores hard to come by. A great ball in from O’Rawe was fielded brilliantly by Taylor and finished into the back of the net for St Teresa’s.
Ardoyne had the better chances in the second half but were frustrated by poor handling and passing and St Teresa’s were able to hold firm.
As the second half came to a close, St Teresa’s had a potential goal thwarted by a great save from Hughes in the Ardoyne goals. Ardoyne had a chance to equalise the game with a free in the last few seconds of the game, but the subsequent failed attempt to convert the kick summed up a frustrating visit to the West.
St Teresa’s will be delighted to collect two points in a topsy turvy season for them, while Ardoyne will need to refocus to get their campaign back on track against unbeaten Aldergrove in their next outing.
St. Teresa’s: 1 Odhran O’Neill, 2 Ryan Mallon, 3 Anthony Vandell, 4 Sean Maguire, 5 Colm McGoldrick, 6 Eoin Gault, 7 Conor O’Rawe, 8 Darren McCann, 9 Luke Cassin, 10 John Mallon(0-1), 11 Niall McCann, 12 Phil Maguire, 13 Mark Small (0-5), 14 Anton Taylor(1-3), 15 Paul McGoldrick
Ardoyne: 1 Tiernan Hughes, 2 Pearse Marley, 3 Sean Joe Rooney, 4 Fiontann Marley, 5 Kealan McCallan, 6 Declan McCormick, 7 Cormac Barnes, 8 Cormac Curran, 9 Aidan McNeill, 10 Ciaran McNeill, 11 Conor McDowell, 12 Conor McLaughlin, 13 Dan Moore, 14 Oisin McVicker, 15 Kevin Lynch, Conor Magee, Conor Carter, Joe McNeill, Kevin McLaughlin, Alan Davidson, Cathal Keown, Padraig Montgomery, Odhran Mullan
