John Woods can barely keep the ball in his hands on a wet and windy day
MANOR HOUSE HOTEL SFL ONE
Lisnaskea 0-12
Belcoo 1-6
Troubled Belcoo failed to stem the sequence of defeats which has left them stranded at the foot of the league ladder but they did show signs of improvement in this clash with Lisnaskea.
At the interval they were to hold a slender lead and though they did endure a rocky spell on the restart which had Lisnaskea break through for a number of scores, the visitors were to produce a spirited rally with a goal and a point around the 50th minute mark.
That rally raised the possibility of a full recovery but ‘Skea were able to fend this off with another flurry of scores and the Emmetts held on for the win.
Overall a tight contest with Lisnaskea’s two sharp bursts of scoring proving to be the deciding factors in the end.
A day which was difficult for football and the standard of play over the opening half reflected this with scoring at a premium. Just five points in total being scored, a mixture of sound defensive play and those testing conditions for forwards accounting for that.
There was to be a point for each side early on, Sean Keenan for the Emmetts, Stephen Maguire for Belcoo before the visitors edged in front with a couple of scores from Jonathan Feely and Patrick Burns but it was hard going as the teams cancelled each other out in the middle third.
Close to the break, Lisnaskea who had been having no joy up front finally ended their long barren spell with a score from John Woods and that appeared to ignite them for a much more productive surge on the resumption.
For the first time in the contest there was to be regular success for an attack, Lisnaskea gaining an impetus that yielded points from Sean Keenan, Stephen Carters plus two from Mark Little, the latter picking off a free and a score from play.
Belcoo were slipping out of the game and though they stopped the ‘Skea charge with a much needed score from Jonathan Feely they again coughed up a number of scores as the home side pressed on.
Points from Mark Little, Niall McElroy and Sean Keenan had the gap between the teams extended to five points and the game looked to be secure for the leaders but Belcoo were to make a fight of it.
They were given a tonic with a goal, a quickly taken free catching the ‘Skea defence off guard and Shane McCabe was nimble enough to get the space to smash in his shot. A point from Jonathan Feely and suddenly the game was wide open again.
However the final minutes were to see Lisnaskea re assert themselves and they restored their confidence with points from substitute Ryan O’Keefe and Mark Little which effectively killed the Belcoo challenge and the teams rounded off the hour with a further point each.
For Lisnaskea, Mark McKenna was sound in defence and Adrian Little operating at half back ventured forward with Mark Little steady up front.
For Belcoo, Paul McGrath also at half back featured steadily and Seamus Conlon had his good spells in the centre of the park while Shane McCabe was a presence in the attack.