P.GRAHAM TARMAC JFC Group 2 Round 2
Kickham’s Ardoyne 6-10 St. Brigid’s Cloughmills 2-5
Report & Pics: Brian McKee
The men from Ardoyne knew that nothing less than a comprehensive victory would be good enough to keep them in the hunt for the Junior Football Championship. Cloughmills would have travelled to the lough shore with a justifiable degree of confidence following their early-season shock defeat of Ardoyne, but a relentless North Belfast attack was a warning that Championship football was an entirely different matter.
Ardoyne opened the stronger of the two teams, finding an early goal when a high ball into the square was flicked into the net with a fisted punch from the in-form James Óg McAuley. This was followed shortly by a point from Brendan Hamilton, making it clear from very early on that Ardoyne were controlling the pace of the match through possession football.
Caolan Hardy had a chance for a second goal for Ardoyne but saw his shot landing in the arms of shot landed safely in the arms of Doran in the Cloughmills net. Moments later, Brendan Hamilton cut through the Cloughmills defence again; a goal looked to be on the cards, but his powerful shot sailed just inches over the crossbar.
The Cloughmills defence found the strong runs of McAuley and Lopez impossible to counter, while the experienced McKiernan was back to his best in an Ardoyne shirt. In his first year at senior level, Lopez was playing with a maturity and commitment that lifted his more experienced teammates around him. Cloughmills did have their chances early on, but their wayward shooting proved to be their downfall. At one stage, Watson broke through the Ardoyne line and a goal looked certain, only for the final shot to fly well wide of the target.
This miss triggered another period of dominance from Ardoyne. Lopez sent a high ball crashing towards the square, where Cahal Keown reacted quickest to flick it into the net. Three further points followed in quick succession for the North Belfast side. Veteran captain Cormac McMullan was not to be outdone by the emerging talent of Lopez, elegantly sending a pinpoint pass to McNeill, who stroked it home for Ardoyne’s third goal. McNeill was clinical again moments later, picking up goal number four.
Keown proved to be a masterful target man at full-forward, instrumentally conducting the lines of attack as the first half progressed. He was incredibly unlucky not to add another when his own shot bounced back off the upright. Cloughmills failed to register a score in the opening half against an Ardoyne defence where Copeland and Magee led a defence that effectively dealt with any incursions from Cloughmills.
Half-Time: Ardoyne Kickhams 4-07 St Brigid’s Cloughmills 0-0
The opening minutes of the second half saw Cloughmills once again under serious pressure. Keown quickly exerted his dominance at full-forward, setting up the opening goal of the half for Ardoyne from Caolan Hardy.
Cloughmills were clearly rattled, but they refused to buckle under the continuous pressure. Eight minutes into the second half, Devlin finally opened the scoring for them with a well-taken two-pointer. This provided the needed inspiration for St. Brigid’s. A series of sustained attacks on the Ardoyne backline saw 0’Mullan blast home two goals in quick succession. While the final result was never realistically in doubt, Ardoyne lost their composure and were visibly shaken by the spirited Cloughmill’s fight-back.
It was the ever-reliable Keown who put a halt to the resurgence. Following a free from McMullan, Keown collected possession and rifled over a point to steady the Ardoyne boat. James Óg McAuley then topped off a fine individual performance by slotting home a final goal for Ardoyne in the dying moments of the match.
Despite the win, the second-half display will be a major concern for the Ardoyne management team. They will be disappointed that the second-half performance was a pale shadow of their brilliant opening half. They will know that a repeat in their crucial final group stage match against Eire Óg will not be good enough to progress into the knockout stages.
Cloughmills, while well beaten on the night, will gain immense self-belief from their resilient second-half display as they look forward to their final game against O’Donnell’s.
Full-Time: Ardoyne Kickhams 6-10 St Brigid’s Cloughmills 2-05
Ardoyne: Tiernan Hughes Cormac Curran Micheal McGreevy Piarais Marley Oisin Copeland Emmett Corey Eoin Quigg Joe Gibson Brendan Hamilton Caolan Hardy Cormac Mullan Aidan McNeill Odhran Mullan Thomas McKinney Barry McKervey Gary McKernan Odhran McKee Aidan McConnell James Óg McAuley Anton Mallon
Cloughmills: Anthony Doran Jack McDowell Brendan O’Mullan Conal McCurdy Rian Dobbin Stephen McIlroy Jonny Duffin Michael O’Mullan Eoin Dobbin Dara Watterson Reece Watt Eoin McGee Aidan McNeil PJ McBride Gerard O’Mullan
Referee: Colin Mallon
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