Match Report

Match : 2nd XI v Lisnagarvey 6ths
Date : 2004-01-31
Venue : H
Score : 3-2
Scorers : Young, Blair, Murphy

By Stephen Swann

Sometimes, the result is more important than the performance!

Lisnagarvey sat indoors until just before the start of the match and managed to keep themselves warm. In contrast, East Antrim took a good 25 minutes to get warmed up - by which stage they were already 1-0 down.

The 'Garvey goal was quite comical as stand-in keeper, Stuart Campbell, will readily admit.

The skipper lofted a ball high above the 'Garvey back line from left to right for Nicholl to run onto. He took the ball to the goal line and pulled it back for Young to ge East back on terms.

Another comical goal early in the second half gave 'Garvey the lead again - the defence will have to take responsibility for this one! But Blair decided enough was enough by drilling the ball into the back of the net for another equaliser.

A succession of penalty corners resulted in Murphy finally getting one on target and getting his name on the score-sheet. Any hint that the push-outs were not to the standard that he required prior to the goal should be taken up with the skipper prior to selection for next week's cup match :-)

All in all... a gritty performance to grind out a win. 'Garvey thought they deserved more from the game, but in truth, they didn't offer enough bite when it mattered.

A big thank you should go to Soupy for stepping into the keeper's kit at the last minute. All the Club's regular keepers were unavailable!

S Campbell
D Menaul
A Bell
A Murphy
G Tumilson
P Irwin
S Swann (captain)
A Blair
S Nicholl
A Young
E Baird
B Watters
S Hamilton

A Blair