St Mary’s racked up another valuable three league points with a much improved second half display against Newtownards side Eddie Irvine FC at Ashfield on Saturday.
St Mary’s got off to a dream start and were ahead within the opening minute with their first attack when skipper Jack Parke slipped a ball through to Eoin McNicholl on the right and his pin-point cross was nudged home by Eoin O’Reilly for the opener.
Eoin McNicholl narrowly cleared the crossbar with a rasping effort but the second St Mary’s goal arrived after ten minutes route one. Goalie Patrick Ross cleared the ball upfield and O’Reilly showed the Eddie Irvine defence a clean pair of heels before placing the ball beyond the advancing goalkeeper.
Oisin Donaghy was having a superb game at the heart of the St Mary’s defence but was powerless to prevent Eddie Irvine drawing level first with a goal from a corner kick and then with a back post finish after keeper Ross misjudged a cross.
Aidan Quinn and Cormac Morgan were getting plenty of space to launch attacks from their full back positions for St Mary’s but only some good goal keeping from the Eddie Irvine net-minder prevented McNicholl and Matthew Shannon from adding to the St Mary’s tally.
St Mary’s resumed the second period determined to get their noses in front again especially as this was the second time that the Glengormley lads had let a two goal lead disappear against the same opposition.
Mark Davey twice came close in the opening second half minutes, grazing the upright with a free kick and trickling an effort beyond the keeper but also agonisingly the wrong side of the post.
But Connor Bannon restored St Mary’s lead on fifty minutes with a great finish having skipped past several challenges and two minutes later O’Reilly bagged his hat-trick with a scrappy goal.
Matthew Shannon put the gloss on a fine team performance with the final score of the day having collected an O’Reilly pass before nudging the ball home.
Manager Donna McNulty was delighted with the full three points at the final whistle and commented that ‘the team has probably played their best football of the season over the last few weeks and looked like scoring with virtually every attack. Once we get the ball out wide to our runners Eoin McNicholl, Mark Davey and Matty Shannon there is not too many teams that can stay the pace with us and long may it continue!’.
Man of the Match - Oisin Donaghy
