Bryansford falter at home to Kilcoo

Bryansford falter at home to Kilcoo

30 July 2014

BRYANSFORD lost top spot in Division 1 to South Down rivals Mayobridge, after a faltering display against neighbours Kilcoo.

The ‘Ford seemed to have no answer to the sweeper’ system employed by the visitors. This was very evident in the second half when Conor Gribben was the only Ford target man and he was covered by two defenders.

Additionally, the eagerness to defend every point the Magpies gained was highlighted late in the game. Half-forwards raced back to help, ensuring 12 defenders were behind the ball against only seven ‘Ford players, who had ventured forward.

Psychologically, the game was lost long before the final whistle. The catalyst was a silly penalty given for an off the ball incident involving Luke Howard and Conor Laverty in the 17th minute.

Referee Damian Rice had awarded a free to the Magpies at midfield. As Laverty began a run he was pulled back by Howard and Paul Devlin gladly accepted the challenge and beat keeper Mark Reid from the spot. A further five points came in quick succession with only a solitary free from the ‘Ford.

Yet up until the penalty the game was a hard fought, evenly balanced affair, with the backs on both sides having the upper hand. Attackers were quickly closed down, forced to shoot under severe pressure or the ball was turned over. Two minutes earlier, Kilcoo keeper Stephen Kane pulled off a point blank save.

But the goal killed some of the ‘Ford’s sparkle. Forwards ped deeper which gave no outlet when they were in possession. Their early running game deteriorated, passes went astray and were quickly snaffled by a Kilcoo side who were now pressing their advantage. At half-time the scoreboard read 1-7 to 0-4 in favour of Kilcoo.

It took seven minutes before a score was registered in the second half and Devlin put the visitors seven points clear before Bryansford managed to stage a fightback with some of the flare they had shown in the early stages of the game.

Two frees and a goal by Gribben in the 46th minute raised the spirits of the home fans and just three points between the teams. The immediate response from Kilcoo was five unanswered points which dispelled any thoughts of salvaging this game.

As the minutes ticked by the likelihood of further ‘Ford scores diminished as heads dropped. When Kilcoo substitute Aaron Brannigan drove to the net to finish a sublime sequences of passing two minutes into added time the Ford did manage to respond with a free with the final kick of the game.

Bryansford need to overcome this setback quickly. They have three games remaining, but two are against teams looking to be sitting in top spot come the end of the season.

Next on their horizon is a trip to Mayobridge.

Bryansford scorers: C. Gribben (1-0), Chris Brannigan (0-3), D. Savage (0-2), Ciaran Brannigan (0-2).

Kilcoo: P. Devlin (1-4), A. Brannigan (1-0), D. O’Hanlon (0-4), J. McClean (0-2), J. Johnston (0-2), C. Laverty (0-1), G. McEvoy (0-1).

Bryansford 1-7

Kilcoo 2-14

ACFL DIVISION 1