Bryansford Notes And Match Report

Bryansford ladies returned to St Galls 7’s tournament to try and do one better than the heartache of last year’s final where Bredagh scored a last minute injury time penalty to beat them by a point. Played in perfect footballing conditions and in a very sporting manner the Ford ladies did indeed just do that and beat fellow Down team Carryduff in a great final. The day started off with wins in the league section against Glenavy and St Brigids with some great scoring returns by the ladies they then progressed to the semi-final against hosts St Galls. A strong team ethic with great shooting, tackling, support play allied to a good defensive performances gave Bryansford a great win and they now had to regroup for a tough final against Carryduff.
Again Bryansford had to draw on all their resources of energy, skill and no little determination. [caption id="attachment_26483" align="alignleft" width="400" caption="Edward Murray in action at St Galls Sevens."][/caption] The first half was a close affair and Carryduff with their constant running and movement were able to edge a point clear at the half time whistle. The Ford ladies knew they had to really up their efforts in the second half and to their credit they worked their socks off and eventually won by an eight point margin. 
Great defensive performances from Ciara O’Higgins, Kyra-Ann McClelland and Shona Mullholland gave the team the platform to produce a strong all round performance. Midfield worked tirelessly throughout and produced the necessary link between defense and attack and Sinead Murphy, Ciara Ward and Kathryn Boden were simply superb. However it was the attack that continually produced the scores in all the games and young Caitlin McCartan belied her youth with a classy performance. Amy O’Higgins was another young forward who was fantastic throughout and per usual Tash Ferris kept her high standards and was a constant thorn in the sides of every team they played but it was Kathryn Ward who led from the front and her shooting, tackling, passing and sheer will to win made her stand out among her peers and she was rightfully picked as the Senior Player of the Tournament much to the joy of her dad and manager Benji. The Ladies Senior Championship is on this Saturday 6th August at 7.30pm in Castlewellan and the Ford take on the county champions Bredagh in the Quarter Finals. The girls would love all the support we can get to try and help us take on the champions of the past two years so please come along and give your vocal support. RFC Newry Bosco II  0.07   Bryansford III 2.08 Two goals in less than a minute by Ford full forward Gareth Scannell sank the hopes of Bosco in this Championship tie. Both goals were fashioned in a similar manner but from opposite sides of the pitch. A quick free from their own half saw Ford’s James Mc Ferran race through the middle. His precision pass found Fergal Maguire, out on the left. Battling his way past two defenders he shipped the ball to Scannell. [caption id="attachment_26484" align="alignright" width="400" caption="Brian Ward in shooting mode."][/caption] Shrugging off full back Lee Quinn, Scannell drove the ball high to the roof of the net. Celebrations were muted because Bosco keeper, Gareth Mc Alinden hurried out to restart the game. His long kickout was won by Mc Ferran who, this time, popped up on the right wing. A spirited run ended with a pass to Scannell. Again Quinn, aided by Niall Rice , attempted to stop Scannell but the Ford forward’s physical strength brushed away the challenge and again the roof of the net blossomed. Goals aside, this was a fairly evenly balanced game. Bryansford looked the more dangerous in the first half despite falling three points behind inside the first three minutes. It was to take another twenty minutes before Bosco would score their only other point of the half. Bryansford for their part managed five points to add to their two first half goals.Only poor shooting failed to increase their lead of 2.05 to 0.04 at the interval. A more composed Bosco side commanded the first ten minutes of the second half. Three points to only one from the Ford gave the homeside expectations of a fight back. However the Ford defence settled through great work from Ciaran Fitzpatrick and Ciaran King. Their influence in disrupting the Bosco attack galvanised the defence resulting in Bosco failing to score again. Fitzpatrick even took the opportunity to start, support and then finish a pitch long run with an excellent point of his own. Bryan Ward claimed another for the Ford and the game ended 2.08 to 0.07 in favour of the visitors. Scorers Bosco: Brian Mc Ilroy 0.04, Niall Tumelty 0.01, Colm Gallagher 0.01, Ryan Downey 0.01 Bryansford: Gareth Scannell 2.00, Bryan Ward 0.05, Fergal Maguire 0.01, Matthew Toner 0.01, Ciaran Fitzpatrick 0.01 Congratulations go to the U-10 team who maintained their recent progress with a superb Cup win in the Glassdrumman tournament on Saturday 23rd July. This was all the more remarkable due to the fact that the squad was severely depleted with thirteen boys unavailable. Nevertheless, spirits were high as we travelled for Glassdrumman. The boys were drawn in group A which contained Loughinisland, Carryduff B and Longstone. The first match against Longstone was action-packed. Longstone edged the game by a point on a scoreline of 5-4. In the final two games the boys played superbly winning both with some margin to spare. This set up a semi-final game with Carryduff A. From the whistle the boys played their best football of the year beating Carryduff by nineteen points. The team defended resolutely and the forwards took any chance that came their way. The last two years the team have fallen at this hurdle. The final was a repeat on the opening game against pre-tournament favourites Longstone. After fourteen minutes the teams were locked a 2-6 apiece. A five minute period of sudden death ensued. The boys held their nerves and scored the only two points on this period to ensure cup success for the third time of asking. It was a real team effort throughout. Joint captains Dean Mc Crickard and Jack Harbinson collected the Glassdrumman Cup. The thanks of the players and management go to the Glassdrumman club for another fantastic tournament. The Seniors travelled to Burren and came away with a superb win. This Friday they play An Riocht in the Championship at Mayobridge at 7:30pm.. The Seconds overcame Castlewellan in the Premier Reserve Championship and An Riocht in the league. The Thirds dismissed Newry Bosco in the Reserve Championship. Next week’s Lotto draw will take place on Monday night and NOT Sunday due to the concert in St. Patrick’s Park. This week’s numbers are 2, 4, 18, 28 and the Bonus 22.]]>