Naomh Pádraig G.L.C Lios na gCearrbhach

St Patricks Minors hosted unbeaten league leaders St Endas at Kirkwoods Park on Tuesday evening. Following their good recent form the Lisburn lads went into the game in confident mood. St Endas however stamped their undoubted class on the game early on and St Pats found themselves 0-2 to 1-3 behind very quickly thanks to some strong running from the visitors midfield. An astute tactical switch saw Josh McMullan given the task of a man-marking job on St Endas influential number 10. McMullan shadowed his man for the rest of the half with his aggressive tackling upsetting the visitors rhythm and his accurate forward passing leading to timely scores. A goal and a point from Peter Casey right at the end of the first half brought the half time scores to 1-4 to 1-6. The young locals suffered 3 major setbacks early in the second half. Paul Anderson and Patrick Agnew both suffered rib injuries restricting them greatly for the remainder of the game and against the run of play St Endas scored another goal.Two unanswered points in quick succession gave the visitors a 7 point lead with just 5 minutes gone. At this stage the game was slipping away from the Lisburn side but cometh the hour cometh the man. So often the unsung heroes of recent matches the midfield duo of Michael Johnstone and Josh McMullan took a stranglehold on the game and dominated to the extent that St Endas only managed two further points for the rest of the match. A point apiece from Johnnie French and Anderson was quickly followed by two from Agnew and suddenly the Lisburn side were back in the game.An opportunistic Conor Mulholland goal followed by Casey’s second point levelled the scores with 10 minutes remaining and confidence coursing through the Lisburn sides veins. The rest of the game was dominated by the Lisburn sides running game with St Endas unable to match their opponents fitness as St Patricks ran out 3-12 to 2-9 winners. A good result and performance which reflects the efforts being put in on the training pitch by the Minor squad. Special mentions must also go to Under-16 players Mark Torbitt , Liam Mulholland and Declan Doran who performed well for the Minors as well as Peter Casey who scored 1-2 on his return to competitive action from injury. On a night when the entire forward line registered on the scoring chart this game was undoubtedly won by a solid defensive display from goalkeeper through to midfield. On any other night Michael Johnstone would have been declared Man of the Match however his midfield partner Josh McMullan lifted the award for a herculean exhibition of midfield play.   The minor squad now look forward to taken on Ballymena at home this Saturday (20th June) all welcome to come along and watch this exciting team in action.