O’NEILL’S ACFL DIVISION 1
St Pauls 0-12 Rossa 0-07
Pairc Naomh Pól

ST PAULS defeated rivals Rossa at Shaws Road on Sunday in a battle at the bottom of Antrim Division One. 

It was the home-side St Paul’s who struck the opening blow with Niall McStravick pointing from close range after Rossa keeper Niall Crossan made a great stop to prevent what looked to be a certain goal in the opening minutes of the game. The St Paul’s forward was on-hand to pick-up the loose ends and get his side in front early on.

The derby tag-line was certainly not wasted on this occasion with most of the game's early action coming in the form of flashpoints between the sides. 

The game had a battling feel from the early stages when Rossa forward Gerard Walsh clashed with St Paul’s defender Micéal Duffy in an off-the-ball incident which could have easily spelled the end for the pair’s afternoon on the pitch.

St Paul’s would further extend their lead after a Conall Duffy evaded his man with a perfect dummy which allowed the forward to drill the ball between the posts.

Once again, the referee was called into action after a collision involving Walsh and Conall Duffy in the middle of the park. Despite the referee’s moving of the free closer to the goal, Patrick Crawford’s effort left a lot to be desired as it floated wide.

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The first period was very lacklustre with St Paul’s edging their rivals by a mere three scores. Mid-way through the half the game burst into life as star-man Conall Duffy drove at the Rossa defence and proved a handful lobbing a fantastic pass into the centre of the box for an oncoming Conor Hughes, who snatched at his effort placing it just over the bar and yet again increasing the home side’s lead to four-points.

Rossa did finally arrive in the game on the 18th minute after Niall Crossan dragged his side forward, the sweeper keeper rode a hefty challenge but found Thomas Morgan in space who was composed to flick the ball over the bar.

The deficit was halved with 10 minutes to play in the half as Eoghan McMenamin pointed and doubled Rossa’s tally, but shortly after it was Conall Duffy once again proving to be the difference for St Paul’s as he knocked another score over the bar.

The half-time score saw St Paul’s leading by three with the score-line reading 0-5 to 0-2, but the game was very much in the balance for both sides.

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Niall McStravick started the second half for St Paul’s with a fantastic score straight after the restart putting Rossa on the back-foot instantaneously, but it was more of the same as the first half with both sides fighting tooth and nail sometimes to their own detriment.

On the 48th minute Lorcan Phillips had the pick of the bunch after his 45-yard strike swerved over the bar and earned his side a fantastic two-pointer.

Rossa forward Gerard Walsh breathed some life into his side’s attack after his two-pointed effort from the deck reduced the score to five points as his side caught the momentum for the first time in the contest. The away side huffed and puffed and another two-pointer from Conall McDonald for Rossa saw St Paul’s retreat in the closing stages.

A Thomas Morgan free on the 68th minute had Ross within three points, and it looked to be a nervy close to the game for the home side.

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On the 71st St Paul’s all but sealed the victory, the two substitutes Bairre Burns clipped a pass through to Shea Burns who thundered his effort over the bar and restored his side's five-point lead.

The victory for St Paul’s could prove massive as the season draws to a close sitting just above the relegation play-off. As for Rossa, they sit rooted to the bottom of Division One with just the two victories all season with only three fixtures remaining.

St Paul’s: J McCaulfield, C McAlea, D O Sullivan, E McGreevy, M Munce, M Duffy, J Farrell, L Phillips (0-2, 2P), C Hughes, N McStravick (0-2), C Duffy (0-2), N Ward, C Duffy, P Crawford, C Rogers-Duffy (0-3 3F).

Subs: L Murphy, R Morgan, P Magee (0-1), B Burns, S Burns (0-1), N Crawford, S Munce

Rossa: N Crossan, S McDonald, F McDonald, R Grant, O McVicker, D Cunningham, T Murphy, C O’Neill, G Walsh (0-2, 2P), T Morgan (0-2 1F), C McDonald (0-2, 2P), E Fleming, R Gowdy, S McEnhill, M McEnhill, E McMenamin (0-1 1F)

Subs: M McKenna, M McKenna, R McDonagh, C Flavin, R Currie, D Grego, D Morgan