A first league defeat of the season for Lurgan

LURGAN 0 RANDALSTOWN 1

ON a bitterly cold Thursday night at Brownlow there were more than a few disappointed faces at the end of this encounter as Lurgan experienced their first league defeat of the season.

On the back of such an encouraging and morale boosting victory away to the Ulster Elks the previous Saturday this midweek fixture never really lived up to expectations and it was a very happy Randalstown team who headed home with all three points in the bag.

It was Randalstown who started the better of the two teams, their passing was sharper and more accurate and their attacks were more direct and purposeful.

On twelve minutes a well worked Randalstown penalty corner move produced the only score of the match.

Lurgan tried to respond and pushed forward themselves but their passes were too often misplaced or the ball was given away far too easily in challenges.

Lurgan's best chance of the first half came when a Charlene Hull reverse stick strike from a penalty corner went just wide of the post.

Lurgan came out with more purpose in the second half and began to exert some pressure on the Randalstown defence. Ten minutes into the half Sarah McClure created a little space for herself just inside the Randalstown circle and on the reverse stick fired in a beautiful shot which unfortunately smashed off the left-hand post and bounced to safety.

Five minutes later and Chloe McIlwaine watched in dismay as her penalty corner strike glanced off the same post to the relief of the Randalstown defence.

Randalstown seemed content to sit on their one goal advantage but they were always prepared to strike quickly on the counter-attack keeping at least one and sometimes two players high up on the edge of the Lurgan circle. In contrast Lurgan ,when they did break, were doing so from deep with players running from their own half towards an already organised defence.

Only in the last ten minutes did Lurgan appear to switch tactics and place forwards right up on the Randalstown defence giving them no time to control and pick their passes. Alas it was all too little too late .

The final whistle went to the delight of the Randalstown players and the disappointment of the Lurgan team. To suffer their first defeat in the middle of February is a measure of just how far this young team have come and they can only learn and improve from nights such as this.