Back to back wins for mens seconds at last!
North Down seconds hosted Lisnagarvey thirds last Saturday at Enler Park after recording an impressive win at Banbridge seconds the week before. There was much positivity going into this one even though Garvey had turned the seconds over 4-1 in the away fixture earlier in the season.
The seconds had a strong look to their squad with the addition of Steven McGimpsey and Stephen Dalzell making up the squad of thirteen and they knew that a victory here would put them in a strong mid-table position going into the Christmas break.
From the off, the seconds played with confidence and accuracy and the signs were good for another three points. A solid defence of Willis, Mark and Jordan Linter and Mockford easily thwarted any Garvey attacks in the early stages. This provided the platform for Stevie Magee to score the opener and put his side 1-0 up. North Down were able to get a grip on the game at this stage and although Garvey threatened on the counter attack, the game was only going one way. The important second goal came just before half time when the Irish Vets international scored his second and the goal of the game when he skilfully beat two defenders on the edge of the circle to fire in past the keeper. Half time saw the seconds leading 2-0.
For the second week running, the seconds started the second half slowly and let the opposition back into the game straight away when they scored a scrappy goal. Garvey were now in the ascendancy and heaping pressure on the North Down goal and the situation was made more difficult when Ryan Galway got a yellow card for a late tackle on a Garvey forward. No one could argue with the decision, even the player himself. However, North Down composed themselves and scored a third goal when Rich Willis deflected the ball in from a pinpoint crash ball by the instrumental Magee. This was the goal which confirmed the three points and the seconds comfortably saw out the remaining 10 minutes to win 3-1. This was an important win for the team and with Banbridge, Newry and Harlequins all losing it makes the league table good reading.