Naomh Pádraig G.L.C Lios na gCearrbhach

St Paticks minors continued their league campaign with a keenly contested match away to much-fancied Dunloy on Tuesday night. The Lisburn side welcomed back Kevin Parker and Michael Johnston after injury lay-offs and introduced debut boy Liam Falloon to the full forward line.The opening twenty minutes were evenly contested with both sides scoring three points apiece, the locals scored by Paul Anderson (free) Michael Mulligan and Josh McMullan. Michael Johnston then gave a glimpse of his undoubted talent; catching a high ball on the twenty one yard line , bursting through three tackles and planting the ball into the roof of the net to give the young  locals a well deserved lead. Keith Blake pointed soon after for Lisburn. At this stage Lisburn Looked well in control but some excellent play from the Dunloy forward line yielded 2 goals and a well taken free to leave the half time score 2-5 to 1-4. Dunloy continued their good form with two more unanswered points and a goal to give them a commanding lead. Rather than deflating the local lads this spurred them on to greater heights and for the next 20 minutes St Patricks were camped in the Dunloy half creating numerous chances. A Kevin Parker free was quickly followed by Keifer Blake’s second and third points and when Michael Johnston thundered in his second goal there were just three points between the teams and the game was set for a grandstand finish. Dunloy were now very much on the back foot and struggling to cope with the pace and movement of Paul Anderson,Josh McMullan and Peter Casey. One mesmerising run by the free roaming Anderson left five defenders in his wake before he was fouled on the edge of the square.The resulting point was followed by a opportunistic strike by Peter Casey. The game was all square as it entered the last five minutes and the Dunloy support feared the worst as they battled to hold the Lisburn side at bay. An unfortunate tangle of legs left the Dunloy full back with a serious injury to his leg and the game was rightly stopped for 15 minutes to allow the player to be treated and stretchered off to hospital. At the restart Lisburn continued to create chances but failed to convert what would surely have been the winning score. Right at the death a long clearance was well fielded by Dunloy  midfield and an ambitious long punt into the Lisburn square somehow ended up in the net. The match ended in a 3 point victory for Dunloy. The minor team can take a lot of heart from this performance as they outplayed the league favourites for much of this game. Best wishes go from the players and management of St Patricl’s Minor squad to the Dunloy player who was taken to hospital and we hope for a speedy recovery to what looked a very serious injury. Minors look forward to away match V Antrim 5th May. Best of luck to all involved.