Match Report

Match : 2nd XI v Portadown 2nds
Date : 2003-10-18
Venue : H
Score : 1-3
Scorers : Young

By Stephen Swann

League leaders, Portadown 2nds, had won all their games this season and had not conceded a goal before they travelled to Ballysillan.

It was easy to see why...

A strong Portadown team (a 15 man squad) that included superstars like John Fleming, were purposeful in their approach play. Casual play in important areas of the pitch did not help East Antrim's cause (nor did the sending off of Soupy Campbell in the second half!).

A sloppy first goal for Portadown was cancelled out by their first concession of the campaign as Aaron Young got his 5th of the season for a penalty corner.

A 1-1 scoreline at half-time hardly told the story, though. The warning signs were there, yet the Green Machine slowed considerably in the last 10-15 minutes of the match. Two further goals granted Portadown a 3-1 win.

However, there were one or two bright sparks and a flurry of penalty corners late in the game could have netted more joy. Unfortunately, the Portadown goalkeeper was not found wanting on this occasion.

Some great umpiring from Ken Skelton and Billy Gilmore made for an enjoyable afternoon, despite the team's 4th defeat of the season.

Still... the team did score against Portadown and we are the top scorers in Junior League 5 (despite a meagre haul of just 1 point in 5 matches).

D Hutton
P Leitch
G Gillespie
A Murphy
A Bell
S Hamilton
S Swann (capt.)
A Blair
S Nicholl
A Young
S Campbell

P Leitch