It had to happen eventually. Over two seasons unbeaten in a competitive match at home finally came to an end on Saturday as Enniscorthy's first-choice eleven were felled by visitors St. Brendan's Phoenix Park on a 0-1 scoreline.
It was an unhappy outing for the team's new set of jersies, sponsored by local firm Pure Oil and Lohan and Donnelly Consulting Engineers.
From the start the Enniscorthy men were put under pressure as they struggled to find a footing in the game. Inside the first two minutes the Dublin side found themselves in their opponents 23, but to the delight- and relief- of the home support the defence of Andrew Rothwell, Keith Ogilvie, Clive Rothwell and Martyn Vietch were able to deal with the attacks. Goalkeeper Graham Hill was also called upon early on as he cleared a dangerous Brendan's ball right up the pitch making sure the pressure was firmly taken off his goal. An early short corner for the Dublin side saw the ball find the back of the net but the "goal" was disallowed as the ball narrowly missed the back board of the ne. With that, Enniscorthy were kicked into action and nearly found the back of the net themselves as a ball up the right wing found Niall Maguire who chipped the ball past the ‘keeper but the ball bounced narrowly wide.
Following a poor first half performance Enniscorthy came out strong for the second period, beginning by attacking the flanks of the Phoenix Park side. Clive Rothwell was to the forefront of these efforts, distributing well with a succession of aerials and wide passes to Veitch and Andrew Rothwell, who then pushed ahead in search of forwards Liam Jowett and Daithi Medcalf. The Dublin side found themselves temporarily down to ten men when Jowett was tripped on a foray into the opposition half, but Enniscorthy were unable to take advantage of their numerical superiority. Shortly after Enniscorthy were awarded a short corner but were unable to beat the onrushing defence. Enniscorthy weren’t the only team winning short corners, as St. Brendan’s were awarded two short corners in quick succession, the first of which saw Hill called upon to keep the visitors at bay with a spectacular save. With their second, though, the travelling team managed to squeeze the ball under the diving Hill, and the deadlock was broken.
Enniscorthy had time to find an equaliser and continued to attack with the Chapman brothers, Glenn and Roy leading by example. The home side battled hard as they went in search of a goal to save their home record. Ó Suilleabháin came close in the dying minutes but the visiting ‘keeper was able to cope with the shot and cleared his lines. The match finished with all three points heading back up the M11, leaving the Enniscorthy side still in search of their first win of the season.
There now follows a welcome break next weekend for Enniscorthy 1sts; they take on Suttonians in Dublin on October 31st.
Enniscorthy Squad: Graham Hill; Andrew Rothwell; Keith Ogilvie; Clive Rothwell; Martyn Veitch; David Simmons; Cathal Ó Suilleabháin; Roy Chapman; Glenn Chapman; Liam Jowett; Daithi Medcalf; Edmundas Liuikimas; Niall Maguire; Jacob English. Coach: Donal Doyle; Manager: Fraser Rothwell.
It was an unhappy outing for the team's new set of jersies, sponsored by local firm Pure Oil and Lohan and Donnelly Consulting Engineers.
From the start the Enniscorthy men were put under pressure as they struggled to find a footing in the game. Inside the first two minutes the Dublin side found themselves in their opponents 23, but to the delight- and relief- of the home support the defence of Andrew Rothwell, Keith Ogilvie, Clive Rothwell and Martyn Vietch were able to deal with the attacks. Goalkeeper Graham Hill was also called upon early on as he cleared a dangerous Brendan's ball right up the pitch making sure the pressure was firmly taken off his goal. An early short corner for the Dublin side saw the ball find the back of the net but the "goal" was disallowed as the ball narrowly missed the back board of the ne. With that, Enniscorthy were kicked into action and nearly found the back of the net themselves as a ball up the right wing found Niall Maguire who chipped the ball past the ‘keeper but the ball bounced narrowly wide.
Following a poor first half performance Enniscorthy came out strong for the second period, beginning by attacking the flanks of the Phoenix Park side. Clive Rothwell was to the forefront of these efforts, distributing well with a succession of aerials and wide passes to Veitch and Andrew Rothwell, who then pushed ahead in search of forwards Liam Jowett and Daithi Medcalf. The Dublin side found themselves temporarily down to ten men when Jowett was tripped on a foray into the opposition half, but Enniscorthy were unable to take advantage of their numerical superiority. Shortly after Enniscorthy were awarded a short corner but were unable to beat the onrushing defence. Enniscorthy weren’t the only team winning short corners, as St. Brendan’s were awarded two short corners in quick succession, the first of which saw Hill called upon to keep the visitors at bay with a spectacular save. With their second, though, the travelling team managed to squeeze the ball under the diving Hill, and the deadlock was broken.
Enniscorthy had time to find an equaliser and continued to attack with the Chapman brothers, Glenn and Roy leading by example. The home side battled hard as they went in search of a goal to save their home record. Ó Suilleabháin came close in the dying minutes but the visiting ‘keeper was able to cope with the shot and cleared his lines. The match finished with all three points heading back up the M11, leaving the Enniscorthy side still in search of their first win of the season.
There now follows a welcome break next weekend for Enniscorthy 1sts; they take on Suttonians in Dublin on October 31st.
Enniscorthy Squad: Graham Hill; Andrew Rothwell; Keith Ogilvie; Clive Rothwell; Martyn Veitch; David Simmons; Cathal Ó Suilleabháin; Roy Chapman; Glenn Chapman; Liam Jowett; Daithi Medcalf; Edmundas Liuikimas; Niall Maguire; Jacob English. Coach: Donal Doyle; Manager: Fraser Rothwell.
