The South Antrim footballers claimed the McDermott Cup at the Dub playing fields on Sunday. The pitch was in good order for the time of year and an enthralling game ensued. An early brace of goals from Daniel Largey  gave us the perfect start. The first goal came from a fast passing move down the right hand side of the pitch and when Daniel took possession he cut in towards goal and blasted to the net from an acute angle. His second was a much simpler finish, the ball was crossed into the square from Ryan Rooney and Daniel fisted to the net.
St Pauls rallied and halved the deficit when finishing to the net. Three  further points meant St Pauls had scored 1-3 without reply to level the game. However, we regrouped and  points from  Anthony Rowntree and Liam McGivern saw us go in at half time with a two point advantage.
We picked up from where we left off at the end of the first half when Pearse
McAuley sent an effort towards goal. The ball  must have been 8 feet outside the left hand post before curling back over the bar for an excellent point. This was followed by Liam McGivern’s second point before St Pauls registered their first point of the half from a free to leave three between the sides. Further points were exchanged, with pointed frees from Gerard Burns and Liam McGivern maintaining our three point lead.
A St Paul’s point left two in it with time ticking away, but a Daniel Largey point gave us the goal cushion. The last few minutes saw St Pauls giving it one final push and another point left it a nail biting finish. We remained solid in defense but a free in front of the goals gave St Pauls one last chance to win the game. We packed the defense and dealt with the looping, deflected goalward attempt which was followed by the final whistle.
There were many good performances on the day, obviously Daniel Largey’s 2-1 and Liam McGivern’s 0-3 greatly contributed to the win but special mention is due to young Anthony Rowntree for his skill, work rate and determination throughout the game.
Well done to Didler, Fabio and all the boys.
