Greencastle Rovers vs New Santos
New Santos V Tullymore Swifts - Sat 13th September
New Santos opened their Premier League campaign against a Tulymore side who had finished 5 th in the Premier League last year. The step up in intensity from pre season games seemed to catch a lot of the Santos squad unawares and in the early stages they struggled to cope with the pace and physicality of the game. Going 1 - 0 down seemed to spur Santos into action and they began to forge several half chances. Gareth McKinstry's long throws towards Pol Douglas in the Tullymore box were causing the away team problems and Santos were unlucky not to capitalise on the second ball on several occasions. However, Santos got a deserved equaliser when Simon Magee was brought down in the box and Martin Magee slotted home the penalty.
Half Time 1 - 1
In the second half Santos competed on much more equal terms with their opponents although Tullymore had a goal disallowed for offside, before going 2 - 1 up. Both teams were tiring on a hot day and chances were appearing at both ends. However, what would prove to be a decisive passage of play saw the Tullymore keeper make 2 very good stops in a 1 on 1 situation and from his resulting clearance Tullymore extended their lead to 3 - 1 with an excellent volley from around 20 yards that would have graced any game. Santos continued to press forward and gained a consolation goal with 2 minutes left when Douglas' flick on found Simon Magee and his cross ended up in the Tullymore net.
Full time New Santos 2 - 3 Tullymore
Despite the opening loss, Manager, Ronan Doherty was pleased with his sides performance and effort. The Santos players now know
Team
GK - J.P. Byrne
LB - Chris Monan
CB - Gareth McKinstry
CB - Richard Scullion
RB - Sean Carson ( Martin Cunningham )
LM - Patty McLean
CM - Martin Magee (c)
CM - Kieran Seaward
RM - Paddy O'Reilly ( Connor Chambers )
ST - Simon Magee
ST - Pol Douglas
Goals - Martin Magee ( Simon Magee assist ), Simon Magee ( Pol Douglas assist )
MOTM - Richard Scullion
