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- Match Report: Portmarnock Afc vs Seaford Rock -
The Saturday team were made work extremely hard for their 3 points in treacherous conditions up on the hill this past weekend.
With the wind at their back in the first half, the Ports started on the front foot, keeping Seaford pinned back for large spells of the opening exchanges. The away side could barely get out of their half as the weather was proving increasingly turbulent. Porto, however, failed to take advantage of the conditions. Instead, the game grew scrappy, void of any real rhythm.
On the half hour mark, after some excellent hold up play from Matthew O’Brien – the ball broke to Cian McGreggor, who caught a half volley from all of 35 yards that smashed the crossbar. A rare piece of brilliance in what was proving to be poor first half, his effort deserved better.
As the half drew to a close, the home side began to apply some real pressure. A flurry of corners delivered were begging someone to finish them, but the ports again couldn’t break the deadlock, going in scoreless at the break.
In what seemed like a mountainous task against the wind, The Ports started the second half with a sense of composure and bravery on the ball that had been missing to that point. The home side were content to play the way out from the back, Hendricken and Walsh always happy to take the ball from Goalkeeper and captain, Dylan Fitzpatrick.
Their bravery began to pay off as the midfield pairing of Conor Walsh & Noel McGinnity began to grab a hold of the game. Dictating the play, the midfield duo was absolutely everywhere as Portmarnock took the initiative. Several half chances came and went with McGinnity’s low drive well saved and McGreggor again hitting the woodwork as the home sides possession took its toll on Seaford.
The deadlock was broken on 75 minutes. After some excellent build up play, Darragh Brennan broke down the right-hand side, his excellent first-time cross was inches from McGreggors head. However, Adam Green recovered the ball before crossing to the onrushing Ciaran Lyons who dispatched his diving header into the bottom corner. Two young men that were in the club’s youth set-up last year combining to score such an important goal.
As the game wore on, Seaford rock pushed for an equalizer. However, suffering from a similar lack of composure with the wind and met with a resolute back 5, they struggled to create any real chances of note. In the end, the home side were assured and held tight to bag the 3 points.
The management team were delighted at the final whistle. ‘You can’t really ask more from the lads. We didn’t start great, but that second half was one of the best performances we have seen from them all season. We are always looking to bring the younger lads through into senior football with caution, but we have had to rely heavily on all of them at times this season. So, to see two of them link up for the winner was excellent.’
Man of the Match was Noel McGinnity. He was box to box for the whole 2nd half and his energy helped drive the home side to 3 points. With 8 games to go, The Ports will be looking to put a run together in the coming weeks.
STARTING XI: Dylan FitzPatrick, Darragh Brennan, James Hendricken, Rory Walsh, Tom Sullivan, Noel McGinnity, Conor ‘3 piece’ Walsh, Darren Daly, Cian McGreggor, Ian Bailey, Matthew O’Brien.