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League leaders Antrim are in seventh heaven!

Thursday, 12 January 2012

Neil McCullough on the attack for Antrim on Saturday.

Antrim...........7 Campbellians..0
FOLLOWING the New Year's Eve victory over Bangor in the final of the Linden Cup a confident Antrim squad turned out against Campbellians at the Paddy Marks Arena on Saturday seeking to consolidate their lead at the top of Senior League 1.
They attacked from the start and in the second minute Ian Brownlees was fouled as he worked the ball into the circle from the left to win Antrim their first penalty corner of the game.
The well worked routine of a Stuart McIlroy push out, stopped by Alan Mullan and drag flicked by Johnny McMeekin in various directions was brilliantly executed.
The ball was switched by McMeekin into the path of McIlroy who slammed it across the surprised Campbellians keeper to give Antrim the 1-0 lead.
Antrim kept up the pressure and following the clearance of the next penalty corner the ball was intercepted by Mark Smyth and quickly played down the right wing to Brownlees who worked the ball along the bye line before making room to fire a tremendous reverse stick shot into the roof of the net to score what must be the goal of the season so far and give his team the 2-0 lead.
Campbellians did mount a few attacks but they were either competently dealt with by the back four of Alan Mullan, Neill McCullough, Mark Smyth and David Mailey - or their final pass always seemed to go astray.
The nippy Antrim forwards Lloyd Kane, Rory Brown, David and Rick McClintock ably prompted and fed by Brownlees were creating havoc in the visiting defence as the game progressed.
However, helped by sloppy Antrim play including a few more misdirected penalty corner shots they held out until the 31st minute. Then a quick free from McMeekin saw McCullough fouled in the circle as he was about to shoot.
McMeekin switched the ball to McCullough and his strong shot rebounded off the keeper's pads for the predator McIlroy to pounce first and force the ball back into the net for the 3-0 lead.
A rare Campbellians attack early in the second half caught the Antrim defence sleeping. A long ball into the circle saw keeper Andy Heatley hesitate but, lucky for him, the Campbellians forward completely missed his shot when really he should have scored.
A long ball from McCullough found Brown in the circle and after his initial shot was saved by the keeper his second effort, off the rebound, was somehow scrambled away by the goal minder.
In the 41st minute Adrian Murtland intercepted a hit out and switched the ball to the unmarked Brownlees who skillfully worked his way into the circle to see his shot rebound back off the keeper's pads and allow the alert Brown to score the fourth goal from close in.
Six minutes later a pass from McMeekin saw the skilful Brownlees fouled in the circle and from the resultant penalty corner McIlroy swept McMeekin's pass through the goal line defenders into the net for the fifth goal and his hat trick.
The visitor's heads were down and with his team now in almost complete control, Manager Marty Orr took the opportunity to give his substitutes some important pitch time.
The Campbellians left winger broke through three Antrim defenders into the left hand corner but his hesitation allowed them to regroup and a McMeekin combination clearance through Mullan found Brownlees and he bamboozled several defenders at the edge of the circle to crash the ball off the inside of the right hand post for his team's 6-0 lead in the 54th minute. Good work by Alastair Reilly won his team a long corner in the 56th minute.
Then Kane found McIlroy with the ball and a rat tat tat of passes with Brownlees through the bemused defenders saw him sling it into the net for the 7-0 lead.
The next Antrim attack saw the ball from Kane's strong shot saved by the keeper and fall to Murtland but he was very unlucky when his snap shot rebounded off the post and deflect safely away.
A Campbellians breakaway and cross from the left wing saw goalkeeper Heatley, who had been a spectator for most of the game, make a fine save from the centre forward's shot. Another fine save from an added time penalty corner made sure that he had kept a clean sheet in yet another league game.
Man of the Match must go this week to Stuart McIlroy for adding four more goals to take his season's tally to 19.
This week the team travel to Newry to take on the only team who has beaten them in the League so far this season.
Antrim: A Heatley, A Mullan, N McCullough, D Mailey, M Smyth, A Murtland, J McMeekin, S McIlroy, L Kane, I Brownlees, R McClintock, R Brown, D McClintock, A Reilly.

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