NADAFL Premier Division
Saturday 5th November 2016
Mourne Rovers 2 Downpatrick Athletic 5
Downpatrick travelled to Mourne Rovers on Saturday having only played one match in the previous five weeks and could have been forgiven for not being match fit. Credit to the boys though they produced some superb football which Mourne Rovers couldn’t handle.
In the opening twenty minutes Downpatrick had a number of opportunities which they wasted, and then up stepped striker Sean McMahon to score a superb solo goal. He got the ball out on the wing before beating three or four defenders and side footing the ball past the Rovers keeper. A
gainst the run of play, the home side got back on level terms from the penalty spot after left back Connail Kerr was harshly judged to have brought down the Rover winger.
With the game approaching half-time Downpatrick went back in front, winger Ryan Fitzpatrick took the ball down the right wing before crossing into the box, Peter Telford controlled the ball and laid it back to striker Conor McCarron. McCarron beat a couple of players before hitting a shot which the Rovers keeper fumbled into the back of the net.
Half Time: Mourne Rovers 1 Downpatrick Athletic 2
On the hour mark, Downpatrick doubled their advantage with the goal of the game, Fitzpatrick played a one two with Telford on the edge of the box before hitting the perfect shot with the outside of his right foot into the top left hand corner of the net. Five minutes later Downpatrick secured all three points when Shane Matheson scored straight from a corner.
With the game entering the final ten minutes the home side pulled a goal back when their striker was allowed to hit a shot which squeezed past Ronan Holland in the Downpatrick nets. Sean McMahon scored his second goal of the game in the final two minutes, Rovers were trying to push out for offside but McMahon timed his run perfectly and just as the ball appeared to be getting to the Rovers keeper he done the most outrageous turn which bamboozled the keeper and left him the simplest of tasks tapping the ball into the net.
Downpatrick: 1) R Holland 2) C Logue 3) C Kerr 4) M Carson 5) G Trueman 6) T Bell 7) R Fitzpatrick 8) P Telford 9) S McMahon 10) C McCarron 11) S Matheson 12) M Murphy 14) J Healy 15) A McCoubrey
