‘Win was huge for us’ admits Bradley as Leckers defeat Gaels

Belnaleck deservedly secured the points on offer at Brewster Park last Saturday night as they got the Westville Hotel SFL Division One campaign under way with a 1-14 to 2-08 victory over Enniskillen.

The Art McMurroughs failed to bring any points forward from the Club Players’ Competition into the league proper, so this was a crucial win for Colm Bradley and his side, who probably should have won the game by more than the three-point margin that there was between the teams at the finish.

Enniskillen had started the game brightly in the opening ten minutes to lead 1-02 to 0-02, but from that through to half time it was Belnaleck who dominated all over the pitch as time and again they punched holes through the centre of the Gaels’ defence.

The away side hit 1-06 in a row as they swung the game in their favour, although a second Enniskillen goal by Conor Kelly did keep them in touch at the break with four points dividing the sides.

And Enniskillen did rally for a period in the second half as they trimmed the gap back to two, but Belnaleck regained the upper hand to push clear again, and with Enniskillen finishing the game with 14 men following the dismissal of Eoin Beacom, the visitors were able to see the remainder of the contest out to clinch the points.

Art McMurroughs boss Bradley made no bones about how important the win was for his side, especially as he is set to lose a number of players for a chunk of the league.

Lee Cullen is set to return to Australia in the near future, although Belnaleck do hope to have him back later in the year, while Che Cullen is also expected to miss some of the league.

‘It was huge for us’

“This may have been the first game of the league proper but it was huge for us as we carried no points into the league. Also, it’s no secret that we will be losing players from that team for various reasons over the coming weeks, with Lee heading back, so we wanted to hit the ground running.

“We played very well, particularly in the first half, but what’s important for us is to back that up.

“You need a squad to compete and we will need other players stepping up over the course of the league and making sure we maintain our Division One status.

“It was the first time we beat the Gaels since 2018, but they will know they have big players coming back, but for us it was good to beat one of the top teams in the county,” he said.

Enniskillen came into the game on the back of a good Club Players’ Competition that saw them pick up the maximum three points to bring into the league, but Manager Simon Bradley accepted that his side were second-best on the night.

“It is disappointing to lose any game,” he said. “We are trying out a few things in the league which didn’t help, but that is no excuse as we still felt that we had enough to be competitive. In truth, the three-point margin flattered us; Belnaleck were six or seven points better than us.

“A few players in our team need to take a look at themselves; they are not bringing enough to the table, and that is something that we will address.”

Enniskillen did land the first score of the game from the throw-in as Johnny Cassidy powered forward before slipping the ball to Beacom, who slotted over.

It was tit for tat after this as Darragh McGurn converted a free and knocked over a point from play for Belnaleck, while Conor Kelly was on target for Enniskillen to make it 0-02 apiece.

However, the home side were to get their noses ahead soon after when Paddy Reihill was pulled down as he burst through on goal, and from the resultant spot kick Beacom tucked to the net.

After this though, Belnaleck took a stranglehold on matters to take control of the game.

The lively Garvan Quigley blasted over before Bryan Owens clipped over a free and when Quigley then powered over a 45, it left the sides level with 17 minutes played.

Quigley pushed Belnaleck ahead with this third point of the half before Owens extended the advantage, and with 22 minutes gone Belnaleck were awarded a penalty as Conor McAuley was adjudged to have been fouled and McGurn thumped his spot kick high to the roof of the net.

A brilliant run

Another Owens point quickly followed as Belnaleck moved into a 1-08 to 1-02 lead with 24 minutes played, but the Gaels were brought back into contention as Kelly rolled home their second goal after a brilliant run by Johnny Cassidy.

Still Belnaleck dictated things though, and two more McGurn frees, including a superb effort from the left off the ground, put them five ahead, although a point from Aaron Nolan late in the half left four in it at the interval, 1-10 to 2-03.

Quigley made it a five-point game on the resumption, but Enniskillen then rallied and a Kelly mark followed by two John Reihill frees had it back to a two-point game.

A couple of other chances though were not taken by the home side and points from Che Cullen and Peter Monaghan put a cushion between the sides again with 12 minutes to go.

Beacom was then Red Carded after clashing with McAuley, and McGurn tagged on a free to put five between the sides.

Enniskillen did have points from Conor Love and Conor Watson to leave three in it, but they couldn’t find the goal they needed as Belnaleck sealed a 1-14 to 2-08 win.