New Santos vs Immaculata

Match report by Ryan Jennings of The Newsletter.

Holders Immaculata were nearly left having to rearrange their priorities as they held on for this win at Strangford Avenue. The result means the West Belfast side progress into the secound round of the Junior Cup and the dream of a hat-trick continues.

For most of the first half, home side New Santos were under pressure and it was Mac's set piece that was causing the most problems. Early chances from Christopher Lawlor and the elusive center forward Kevin Hughes meant Santos found it hard to get out of their 18 yard box let alone their half.

The Sky Blues' pressure eventually told when Calum O'Riordan rose above the rest from a corner to nod the ball past the goalkeeper. Santos didn't allow the visitors to settle and applied some pressure of their own. They had the most joy down the left hand side through Martin Magee but it was Mac's Kevin Hughes who was next to score as a long free kick fell kindly for the forward and he slotted the ball home to double his side's lead.

Mac should have pushed on from there but Santos would not let them get into their stride. In spite of looking tentative in the final third, it was the home side that finished the half on a high. After a mistake from Mac defender Gerard O'Raw, Santos' Paul Barr found himself with a bit of space on the edge of the area. He slipped the ball left to Martin Magee who finished neatly into the far corner.

The underdogs started the second half with their tails up and pressed hard in the early part but Mac's defence held up well. Santos' Kieran Seaward, who had spent much of the first period chasing blue and white stripes, settled in and began to dictate his sides play.

After a fruitless period of pressure the Lower Falls side were back on the offensive but that was halted when goalscorer Calum O'Riordan was sent off after 75 minutes for a foul on David Dougan.

Reduced to 10 men, Immaculata were able to hold on to the end, thanks in large part, to a last ditch tackle by Gerard Rowntree on his own penalty spot, which surely won the match for his side.

Full-time: New Santos 1-2 Immaculata

New Santos Team:

GK: JP Byrne
RB: Conor Chambers
CB: Joe Magee
CB: David Dougan
LB: Kevin Carson
RM: David Harrigan
CM: Kieran Seaward
CM: Paul Barr
LM: Paddy Moore
ST: Anthony McGreevy
ST: Martin Magee

Santos Goals : Martin Magee (Paul Barr assist)
MOTM: To be decided. E-mail me your votes.