Mens thirds rescue mission underway
Last Saturday the men’s thirds hosted the real Kilkeel second eleven at Comber leisure Centre. Sitting second bottom in a relegation battle that includes at least the lower six teams, it was vital that the Comber side started picking up points with potentially 5 wins required from their last 7 games.
A Braveheart esque rally of the troops prior to the start seemed to do the trick and it was the hosts who started fastest, hunting in packs and pressing the opposition. They dominated much of the first quarter but strangely found themselves behind when a defensive mix up let the Kilkeel striker finish from close range. North Down reacted well and a great overlapping run from Scott Graham down the left let him crash a cross into the circle where Sam Pyper with a deft deflection give the keeper no chance. One right from the training ground! This lifted the hosts and into the second quarter more pressure resulted in a series of short corners and once they managed their routine, special teams Ben Palmer made no mistake with a roofed drag flick putting the thirds ahead 2-1 at halftime.
The second half started in much the same vein with possession hockey and the rotating midfield of McKee, Palmer, Bond, Myles and Scott setting the pace. At the back a solid performance from Rhys Barrett and a timely save from Peter Gray kept the visitors at bay. At the other end as Kilkeel pushed higher up to get back in the game, space was opening up and a quick counter left Mark Shannon one on one with the goal keeper on 48 minutes. The in form striker looked to have pulled the ball too wide but managed to slot home from a tight angle to make it 3-1. Shannon then made it a brace 10 minutes later converting a penalty stroke before Ben Bond crashed home from close range on 62 minutes to make it a convincing 5-1 victory.
Hopefully this performance reignites a bit of form at the business end of the league as the thirds continue to fight for their survival in Junior Two with a great collective performance from the team and special mentions to Jack Myles and Rhys Barrett.
Burch Autos Man of the Match was Scott Graham.