Croskery hat-trick gave Castlewellan Town a victory over Saintfield Utd at Pigeon Hill.
The NAFL Division 1C,
League Match,
Venue: Pigeon Hill, Saintfield , 31st August 2024.
Saintfield United 2 Castlewellan Town 3.
In their fourth league game of the season, Saintfield hosted newly promoted Castlewellan Town.
In a fast paced match from the beginning, chances fell to both teams with McCloskey and Childs narrowly missing the target for the home side.
It was Castlewellan who broke the deadlock first with an emphatic finish from Croskery, after a mistake at the back from the Saint on 21 minutes in.
The first half continued in the fashion it began, end to end and overall an even half with not much between the two sides.
Following changes at half-time it wasn’t long before Saintfield equalised. A tantalising ball in from Barr was neatly volleyed home from 9 yards by Childs on 57 minutes.
The Saints rallied and managed to make the most from a miss-kick from the Castlewellan goalkeeper, which fell nicely to Childs, who calmly dribbled round the keeper and finished from 25 yards on 62 minutes.
However, the lead didn’t last long, with Croskery’s second and third of the afternoon coming in the 70th and 73rd minutes, with lapses in concentration across the pitch from Saintfield.
Saintfield pushed hard for an equaliser in the remainder of the game, but didn’t create any clear opportunities.
This was a sporting match with only a yellow card apiece to both teams.
The final score was 2-3. Saintfield’s next fixture sees them host Rosario YC in the Border Cup.
Saintfield United: H Kinnear, C McCloskey, A Milligan, A Kirkland, A Young, E Barr, R Sofley, C Taylor, A Childs, N Ouldhamlat, A McClenaghan. Subs: O Duff, G Gibson, C Thompson.
Castlewellan Town: M Croskery, P Kearney, C Stratton A Garland, C Corrigan, C Marron, S Kearney, D McCartan, K Jarosinski, R Croskery, M Stratton. Subs: R McArdle, D Allister, C McCabe.
