St Mary’s U13’s won a bruising encounter 1-0 with a very physical Ballywalter side at a very damp Cherryvale on Saturday. They did it without three regulars who were missing due to illness, and finished the game with several players carrying injuries, which hopefully won’t keep them out of next week.The result moves them to within one point of leaders Abbeyvilla, with both teams having four games remaining to play.
With the first attack of the game, Ross charged down the left flank, but his cross was eventually cleared by the Ballywalter defence. The very next attack was a great passing move involving O’ Reilly, McGarritty and Ross, with McNaughton receiving a great pass, and he calmly stroked the ball past the keeper from 15 yards to give the Saints an early lead. St Mary’s were in control of the match and forced a couple of quickfire corners which Ballywalter just managed to clear the first. The second was a Breen header which narrowly went over the bar.
On twenty minutes, O’Reilly went charging down the left flank and was chopped down in very cynical fashion on the edge of the box. The referee gave a free kick, and a yellow card, which could just as easily have been a red card. Ross fired over the resultant free, and Ballywalter were lucky to clear in a goalmouth scramble. St Mary’s were awarded another free kick all of 35 yards out, which Breen took, and was unlucky to see his shot go over by a few inches, with keeper rooted to his line.
With the first half coming to a close, a loose ball fell to Donaghy, who thundered a shot goalwards, and a despairing block from a Ballywalter defender turned the ball wide. Strangely, the referee gave a goalkick and not a corner ! It was a credit to Begley, Breen and Donaghy in defence that Quinn in nets had nothing to do the whole half. Half-time 1-0 St Mary’s.
The second half started in the same vein as the first, with St Mary’s on the attack, and the keeper saved well from Park and McGarritty in the opening minutes. Then a great through ball from the impressive Bannon put O’ Reilly in the clear, but his shot was well blocked by the Ballywalter keeper , twice, who was having a great day in nets.
At the other end, Quinn was quick off his line to tackle the striker , defender style, to thwart their first serious attack. Minutes later he got down well to save another shot and maintain the team’s clean sheet. St Mary’s had other chances to increase their lead, most notably when Park weaved his through the box, but his shot was well saved by the keeper.
Despite their overall dominance of the game, St Mary’s had a nervous end to the game and were grateful for another Quinn save at the end, and the final whistle when it came. In the end , a 1-0 win meant another 3 crucial points in their quest for the title. In the changing room after the game, the coaches awarded the February player of the month to a deserving Oliver Breen. Star men were Oran McNaughton in the midfield, and Trevor McCormick for keeping the skilful Ballywalter No7 quiet on the day. Next week the guys play Red Star in another must win game.
