Work ethic is the key for Bryansford kings

20 August 2014

BRYANSFORD have one foot in the quarter-finals of the Morgan Fuels Down SFC following this impressive win over Downpatrick in Ballykinlar on Sunday.

A win over Glenn tomorrow night in Pairc Esler would see Bryansford qualify for the last eight as group winners leaving Downpatrick to beat Saval by a cricket score for them to progress.

Bryansford opened with a strong wind in their backs and boy did they make hay. The axis of Conor Maginn, Danny Savage, and Joseph Ireland had Downpatrick all over the place.

This trio operated all over the pitch. One minute they were linking up in attack to create scoring chances the next they were the last line of defence, blocking shots on the edge of the square.

Their insatiable appetite gave Bryansford a decided edge and Chris Brannigan pointed the ‘Ford ahead in the second minute with a point from play.

Maginn followed this up with another super point from play in the fifth minute before a brace from Conor Gribben eased Bryansford into a 0-4 to 0-0 lead.

If that wasn’t bad enough for Downpatrick, poor pass selection, handling errors and naive marking left them with a mountain to climb.

Maginn tagged one another point to stretch Bryansford’s lead before Conor McGrady got Downpatrick on the scoreboard with a point from play.

Bryansford responded with a goal from Maginn after Davy McKibben had laid on the killer pass.

Ireland lofted over a score from wide out on the left to make it 1-6 to 0-1 with 16 minutes gone and Savage extended that lead even further with a super point.

Downpatrick were having a fair share of the ball at this stage of the contest, but they did little with it and had to wait until the 18th minute for their second score from play when Joe Fegan pointed.

Brannigan quickly restored Bryansford’s nine-point lead before Downpatrick were dealt a body blow when Sean Bell, who had been marking Maginn, was handed a black card for hauling down the Bryansford danger man in the 24th minute.

Bryansford continued to stalk Downpatrick all over the park and points from Brannigan and Timmy Hanna gave them a 1-10 to 0-2 lead by the break.

Downpatrick now had the wind in their backs in the second half and gave Bryansford a run for their money, outscoring them 0-11 to 0-4, but all the damage was done in the first half with that all important goal from Maginn.

Savage opened the scoring in the second half before Downpatrick got a bit of a run going with scores from Peter Turley and John Shields.

Gribben and McGrady swapped scores before Damian Turley left nine points between the sides with a point from play in the 47th minute.

Downpatrick kept plugging away and Michael Magee, who was starved of possession throughout the clash, converted a 40m free to leave his side trailing 1-12 to 0-7.

A point from McKibben left nine it again, but Downpatrick refused to throw in the towel and unanswered points from Damian Turley, Magee and McGrady brought the arrears down to six points with five minutes remaining.

Savage calmly lofted over a point for Bryansford as the clock started ticking down, but points from McGrady and Conal MacNabb had Downpatrick only five points in arrears.

Bryansford seemed to be able to pick off scores when they wanted and Chris Brannigan gave them a 1-15 to 0-13 lead as the game entered added time.

Magee had the last score of the day when he converted a 21m free, but there was only ever going to be one winner after Bryansford had made such a telling start.

Bryansford: M. Reid, A. McDonald, L. Howard, J. Magorrian, S. Toner, A. Somers, R. Wells, K. King, C. Gribben (0-3), T. Hanna (0-1), D. McKibben (0-1), D. Savage (0-3), Chris Brannigan (0-4), J. Ireland (0-1), C. Maginn (1-2). Subs: Ciaran Brannigan for Gribben, C. Devlin for McKibben.

Downpatrick: I. Kearney, P. Smyth, D. Turley (0-2), C. MacNabb (0-1), N. Cunningham, J. Bell, S. Bell, P. Turley (0-1), K. Gracey, D. Braniff, M. Magee (0-3), C. McGrady (0-4), J. Fegan (0-1), C. Boyd, J. Shields (0-1). Subs: P. Telford for Boyd.

Bryansford 1-13

Downpatrick 0-13

SFC 2ND ROUND

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