Bryansburn travelled to Seycon Park on Saturday to play Derriaghy CC in the 2nd round of the Border Cup and came away with a very disappointing 3-0 defeat.
Before the game had even started the ‘Burn management had to change the starting line up as Murray had been involved in a car accident on his way to the ground.
This did not upset the away side and they quickly settled into the game and in the 4th minute Malomo-Paris was upended in the box and the referee had no hesitation to point to the spot. However, the usually reliable Culbert tried to place his spot kick but the home sides goalkeeper made a great save to keep the scores level.
Derriaghy were pushing forward at every opportunity but the alertness of debutant goalkeeper Doran thwarted any serious attack on his goal.
‘Burn themselves were starting to play some good football and were having a lot of joy down the right hand side from McConkey but too often the final ball did not cause any problems to the home side.
Bryansburn made a change at halftime losing Chambers due to an injury with McMullan coming into centre half and Magee moving to the left back position.
In the opening minutes of the 2nd half substitute McMullan went in for a challenge and to the amazement of both sides the referee brandished a red card when the challenge did not even merit a yellow. The referee totally lost control and five minutes later the home side scored when their centre forward looked at least five yards off side.
The heat was starting to get to the players and with ‘Burn pushing to try and get the equaliser Derriaghy broke and would have doubled their lead only for great goalkeeping by Doran as he pushed the shot away for a corner kick. From the resultant kick their centre forward rose above the away side defence to put the home side two up.
Bryansburn kept pushing and forced a few corners but could not capitalise on them and in the closing few minutes Derriaghy broke clear and with four against two wrapped the game up to leave the final score 3-0 to the home side.
Although the management team were very disappointed with the referee’s display they could not take anything away from a Derriaghy who should do well in their Division this year.
This Saturday league action takes a back seat for Bryansburn’s 1st round Irish Cup game against NFC Kesh. Kick-off at Ballywooley is at 2.30pm.
The 2nds played their second league game of the season, looking to bounce back from an opening day defeat, and recorded an impressive 5-0 victory over Bangor Rangers ll.
Bryansburn were missing no fewer than seven regulars and had to make a number of enforced changes with the result that it took them fifteen minutes to settle. The visitors pressed hard for an early goal, but the home back line defended well to restrict chances to a minimum. ‘Burn began to get into the game and created a number of chances, with Corr and Edwards having chances to give them the lead. The half ended with honours even. HT 0-0.
Bryansburn stepped up a gear in the second period and were rewarded with two quick-fire goals early in the half. A great ball by Corr saw Morrison fire in a low cross that the keeper could only parry and Edwards was on hand to tuck the ball into the net. Then Morrison scored an early contender for goal of the season, hitting a ferocious drive from wide left into the top corner of the net from 25 yards. After this, Bryansburn gained in confidence. In the 65th minute Edwards got his second with a good finish when one-on-one with the Bangor Rangers keeper. Thompson, who had an excellent game in the centre of the park, got Bryansburn’s fourth with a well- placed shot into the bottom corner of the net. Edwards completed his hat-trick when he broke through the visiting defence and slotted home.
An excellent response to last week’s defeat from the whole team, who will be pleased with a clean sheet as well as five well taken goals and other chances created. FT 5-0.
The 3rd XI continued their impressive start to their debut season in the Down Area Premier League with a thrilling 4-3 win over 3rd Bangor OB at Ballywooley.
‘Burn lost two players to the 2nd XI and with leading scorer Cardwell and Beckett both unavailable it was a much-changed Bryansburn side that took to the field. Certainly the changes had an unsettling effect as the home side were all over the place in the early stages while 3rd looked threatening with every attack. Keeper Brady made one great save but was powerless to stop the visitors racing to a two goal lead within the first twenty minutes.
Things looked bleak at this stage but Bryansburn finally got to grips with the game and turned it around with three goals in fifteen minutes to lead at the break. Firstly Cairnduff latched on to a through ball and raced on to beat the keeper. Minutes later Gallagher was brought down in the box and Dempster stepped up to slot home the resultant spot-kick. Then five minutes after that Gallagher was shoved in the box and the referee had no hesitation pointing again to the spot. This time Dempster sent the keeper the wrong way and ‘Burn were now 3-2 in the lead.
Early in the second half 3rd Bangor equalised with a drive from an acute angle. After that both sides had loads of chances to score in a very open and entertaining half. For Bryansburn Cairnduff fired just wide twice, Storey ran the length of the pitch beating a number of men before being foiled by the keeper while Beattie homed in on goal and was also denied by the keeper. Cole went close twice as well as did substitute Rea. At the other end 3rd missed two great chances and in the final fifteen minutes Brady pulled off three astonishing saves, two of which were from point blank range. A draw was probably a fair result but as the game moved into injury time it was ‘Burn who snatched the extra two points. Cole jinked through and slipped the ball to Cairnduff and he rounded the keeper to put ‘Burn 4-3 up. Even then the visitors nearly hit back in a dramatic finish but Murphy was on the line to block what looked like being a certain equaliser.
The 4th XI suffered due to unavailability in the top three teams and were vastly under-strength for the trip to Vision Athletic ll. As it was the home side proved too strong and recorded a 5-0 victory. “Man of the Match” was keeper Steventon who pulled off a number of saves to help keep the score down ably assisted by MacDonald.
This Saturday: 1st XI V NFC Kesh (h), 2nd XI V Drumaness Mills ll (a), 3rd XI V Bangor Rangers lll (a) and 4th XI V Comber YM ll (a).
The Club are having a sponsored cycle event this Sunday followed by a Barbeque and fun-day at Ballywooley. All members should have a sponsorship form and if not they can still get one at the Club this Saturday. All cyclists should meet at Ballywooley at mid-day while the event at Ballywooley will be from 2pm onwards. Everyone is encouraged to come along and bring family and friends with you for what should be an enjoyable day.
