Downpatrick RGU 1-12 Liatroim 1-11 The RGU U-16’s just about did enough to secure the “B” Championship at Ballykinlar on Sunday evening against a very determined Liatroim outfit. Whilst the final scoreline of 1-12 to 1-11 didn’t truly reflect the young Hoop’s domination of the game, a goal in the dying seconds almost undid all the hard work that the lads had put in throughout the game. The first half started off well for the RGU lads who took advantage of the wind and they sent a lot of high balls into the full forward line which the Liatroim defence couldn’t cope with. Full forward Frank Starkey caused most of the problems catching and distributing with good effect, and after 10 minutes the Hoops led by 1-3 to 0-2. The goal came as a result of a penalty after Conor Doherty was brought down in the box, and it was put away confidently by Jonny Bell. The Hoops continued to dominate, and some great fielding by Conor McGrady in midfield made it difficult for the opposition to get any good possession. Adam Prenter made two explosive runs from the half-back line, pointing on both occasions while Owen McEvoy made a nuisance of himself in the half-forward line and converted 2 first-half points in doing so. But the Liatroim lads fought hard to keep the RGU scoring to a minimum, and although the Hoops dominated the majority of the play, the half-time score read 1-7 to 0-4 in their favour- with the wind to play into in the second half. The second half started out well for the RGU and they soon extended their lead to 7 points. Liatroim slowly started to make a comeback but a missed penalty, which went over the bar, didn’t help their cause. The Hoops fought hard to match the opposition and with 50 minutes gone they were still 6 points up. In defence Dale Hutson, Ryan Fitzpatrick, Tim Collins, Chris McKenna and Jamal McQuoid all worked their socks off to contain their counterparts, whilst Keeper Jonathan Deeny made two brilliant saves to keep the pressure off. The RGU forwards were not as dangerous now as they were in the first half, and some poor decision making led to a lot of missed opportunities. Liatroim started to press much harder in the last 10 minutes scoring 3 points to the RGU’s 1 point, but looked out of it with 2 minutes to go when they trailed by 4 points. However, a treacherous high ball into the Hoops’ square managed to find the back of the net and almost spelt disaster for the Downpatrick lads, and led to a nail-biting final 2 minutes. The ball had time to make it up the field and back down again twice before the referee blew the final whistle, to both the relief and delight of the RGU players, mentors and supporters. This was a well deserved victory, although full credit goes to the Liatroim lads who played their part in a very entertaining and exciting game of football. On another day they could have easily won this game, and they took the defeat with great grace and dignity. RGU Scorers: O McEvoy 0-4, J Bell 1-0, C McGrady 0-3, A Prenter 0-2, F Starkey 0-2, C Doherty 0-1. The lads will contest the All County “B” Championship at Mayobridge on Saturday 15th when they take on South Down Champions Glenn.]]>
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