League Table

1	Bangor Rangers	0	0
2	Annalong Swifts	0	0
3	Kirkcubbin	0	0
4	Queens II	0	0
5	Temple Rangers	0	0
6	Rooftop	0	0
7	Queens Grads	0	0
8	Grange Rangers	0	0
9	Newtownbreda	0	0
10	18th Newtownabbey	0	0
11	McQuiston Rec	0	0
12	Santos	0	0
13	Bangor Swifts	0	0
14	Kilroot Rec	0	0

Vintage Santos defeat determined Wesley

Cochrane/Corry Cup Rd 2

Santos progressed to Roundd 3 of The Cochrane & Corry Cup competition with a sparkling win over a very sound Wesley outfit who are trailblazing in their own league (Division 2c). As in the previous victory over holders Ford, Santos spent a lot of time on the training pitch on "pass and move" and it was this type of football which saw them set off at a blistering pace. Full back O'Gorman in particular was behind most of what was good, plying his front men McCarthy and Brady with a succession of great passes. The front pair revelled in the service and were causing all sorts of problems with their skill and pace. Behind them the midfield pairing of the classy Parker and the tireless McCullough were winning almost all possession keeping Santos dominant. McCullough was delivering an exquisite array of long and short passes and Parker, as usual, was in support of every ball. McCullough showed what lay ahead when he dispatched a 70 yard pass to the fleeting Brady who took it chest high and volleyed just wide. But 5 mins later O'Gorman, McCarthy and Brady exchanged passes and Brady skipped through to slot home a beauty for the first goal. Now on a high Walker split the Wesley defence again for Brady and when he set McCormack up, a goal was inevitable. Although the shot was parried by the Wesley keeper, Parker was on the spot to stab it home for a well deserved goal. Strangely a little sloppiness entered the Santos front men as they spurned 3 easy chances by over elaboration before Conor "Lazio" McCarthy got back to simple basics, exchanged passes with Parker then outpaced his marker before drilling home his debut league goal.

So half time saw Santos lead 3-0.

Wesley had to respond and they did. Keeping to neat attractive football and with Gary Spencer in goals sweeping up effectively now, Wesley took control. Charlie Lewsley was providing great service to his front men but in sharp contrast to the Santos pairing the Wesley strikers were wasteful of the good possession they had. With the high octane performance of the first 60 mins and carrying knocks from a previous bruising encounter the Santos midfield engine stalled. With no midfield substitutions available due to injury Wesley were now in command. But a successful team is also based on sound defence. Here stand in skipper Stevie Walker rallied his troops with a sterling performance aided by the stylish, tigerish "Squire" Maguire and a very cool competent keeping performance again by Moore. Santos withstood all Wesley pressure until 18 minutes from time when a howler of a mix up between Walker and Parker allowed Victor Nichol of Wesley to scorch in a 20 yarder to lift Wesley's hopes. With Gerard Brady now partnering his brother Paul up front and man of the Match O'Gorman getting a second lease of life Santos hit Wesley as they over pressed to get a second score. Spencer saved magnificently from Brady twice before the young striker raced away from the half way line to drill a corker to the net and lift the siege on the Santos goal.

So manager McGeehan was a very delighted man at the end. The first 45 mins were scintillating, the goals of the highest quality and while nowhere near as dominant in the second half the defence kicked in with their contribution backed by a sound keeper. Manager McGeehan commented, "If I can get my missing midfielders fit soon then we will be stronger than at any time this season." So all in all against an excellent Wesley side it was a great performance mapped out on the training ground.


Player	Position	Rating	Info
Seamus Moore	Goalkeeper
Manus O'Gorman	Right Back		mom
Michael Burns	Attacking Midfielder
Stephen Walker	Centreback
Liam Maguire	Sweeper
Patrick Parker	Defensive Midfielder
Conor McCormack	Left Winger
Paul Brady	Striker
Conor McCarthy	Forward
John Ossawy	Left Back