Antrim Football League – Division 1
St Brigid’s 1-17 All Saints 0-08 at Musgrave Park
St Brigid’s secured a convincing victory over All Saints Ballymena in this Antrim Football League Division 1 clash at Musgrave Park. While St Brigid’s were the dominant force overall and well-deserved winners, the final 1-17 to 0-8 scoreline belies a spirited second-half performance from Ballymena. Had the visitors been more accurate in front of the posts, the contest could have been a lot closer.
St Brigid’s flew out of the traps, establishing control in the opening minutes with a flurry of points from play. Donal Harrison opened the scoring just 45 seconds in, followed by a point from Patrick Finnegan at the three-minute mark. Niall Duffy added an excellent individual point shortly after, and Brian Mc Gurk further extended the advantage after eight minutes. Ballymena finally got on the board at the 12-minute mark with a well-worked team point finished by Brendan McDonnell. Any momentum shift was quickly halted, however, by a superb save from St Brigid’s goalkeeper Fearghus Canning on 17 minutes. St Brigid’s continued to turn the screw as the half progressed. Brian Mc Gurk slotted his second point on 22 minutes, and shortly after, following a defensive infringement in the small square, Paul Bradley stepped up to confidently dispatch a penalty too the All Saints net. Patrick Finnegan closed the half with another point, leaving the half-time score at St Brigid’s 1-6, All Saints Ballymena 0-1.
The second half was a much more competitive affair. St Brigid’s resumed scoring within 30 seconds through a point from play, via JJ Higgins. Ballymena immediately answered with a Brendan McDonnell free on two minutes. Individual points were traded by Ballymena’s Brendan McDonnell and St Brigid’s Brian Mc Gurk before Ballymena looked to freshen their attack, bringing on Sean Mc Veigh to replace Sean O Brien. Brendan McDonnell then hit a purple patch, knocking over two consecutive points from play around the 12-minute mark to narrow the gap.
Ballymena goalkeeper Ryan Stewart produced an outstanding save to deny St Brigid’s Jack Dowling, but the Belfast men responded to the pressure with a point from Paul Bradley on 15 minutes. Ballymena suffered a setback when they had a player black carded on 19 minutes and St Brigid’s capitalized on the numerical advantage, and JJ Higgins added a point on 21 minutes, followed shortly by a goal. Joseph McCarney added a point at 23 minutes but Ballymena continued to fight valiantly, with Brendan McDonnell adding another point to his impressive tally. St Brigid’s orchestrated a well-worked team point finished by Niall Duffy, and Fearghus Canning was called into action again, making another crucial save for St Brigid’s. Ballymena’s persistence finally paid off with a late goal from the prolific Brendan McDonnell, and Cal O Brien converted a final free for Ballymena to close out the scoring.
TO SEE MORE OF BERTS PICS FROM THIS GAME CLICK ON THE LINK BELOW
https://myalbum.com/album/JEvLQfHNzHGLXb/?invite=8361e3f2-05fd-4417-944d-914ed286f4eb