South Antrim pay for their mistakes in Irish Trophy

South Antrim 1

Saturday saw round two of the Irish Trophy kick off and South Antrim travelled to Comber to face League leaders North Down.

South Antrim fielded a young experimental defence, with schoolboy Paddy Cochrane drafted into the sweeper role and Timmy Crean playing an unfamiliar centre back role.

They were immediately under pressure straight from the hit off, as a North Down forward bamboozled Crean before finding a foot just inside the 25, the umpire deemed it deliberate and awarded a short.

North Down sent the resulting drag flick just over the goal and South escaped. Cochrane and Crean settled and formed a good partnership playing the ball calmly between themselves, growing into the game.

However, it was short lived, a mistake in midfield saw North Down break in numbers and win another short from a panicked stick tackle. The Down team made no mistake this time, dispatching the drag flick into the bottom corner.

South found their feet and a ball played up the line from new boy Mark Gray at left back found Paul Maguire whose selfless pass to the top of the D reached an unmarked Adam Marshall who almost had too much time and his miscued effort was cleaned up by an opposition defender.

More chances came and went for South and the half ended 1-0.

North Down came out firing in the second half, another quick start to the half saw a player in space drive a ball into a packed D, where an awkward deflection off Gray fell kindly to a forward who found goal, 2-0.

Shortly after, Adam Marshall was given a Green for dissent as frustration set in. North Down failed to take advantage with superb tackles from Gardner, Cochrane and Crean keeping South in the game.

South took the game to the hosts and were the better team for long spells, duly rewarded with a short corner won by John Semple’s trickery. A classic straight hit unbalanced the North Down keeper and glided in.

South were the instrument of their own failings as another mistake from experienced Phillips saw the team in white steam into the D and win another short with mere minutes left in the game, the drag flicker again made no mistake, scoring his second and round off the cup tie, 3-1 to the hosts.