Slow Start Costs North Down Men’s 3s in 5–1 Defeat to Armagh

North Down Men’s 3s travelled to face a youthful Armagh 1st XI in the final group game of the league cup knowing that a win gave them a chance of progressing to the Semi Finals.

It’s fair to side that North Down got off to a slow start being two goals down within the first five minutes after some good play from the Armagh forwards and a few defensive errors. North Down regrouped later in the quarter and ended the quarter 2-0 down.

The second quarter started just like the 1st quarter with two quick Armagh goals putting North Down 4-0 down. The fourth goal came from a penalty stroke after a robust tackle from Robin McMullan.

After a tough opening two quarters the third quarter was the best of the match and North Down were rewarded with Nik Mckimm scoring from a short corner to reduce the deficit and give the team a glimmer of hope going into the final quarter.

The final quarter started as the 3rd quarter ended with North Down creating many opportunities and winning many short corners. Unfortunately North Down were unable to convert and whilst pushing forward were caught on the counter attack for the 5th Armagh goal with a couple of minutes left. The final score ended up 5-1 to Armagh with North Down having to reflect on a slow start that ended up costing us the game.