Portlaw provided opposition for the first home game of the season in glorious sunshine.
The first half was bit of a slow burner as both sides struggled to find any rhythm to their play .
With few chances being created from open play set pieces turned out to be the avenue for all five goals on the night.
Portlaw opened the scoring when a free kick into box failed to be cleared and when it was flicked on an opposition player found the touch to get it over the line.
We responded well and forced several corners and frees and the equaliser arrived after the half hour mark when Seanie Blanchfield whipped a great ball in and the ball fell to Daniel Synnott who tapped home .
On the stroke of half time a long throw into the box was misjudged and resulted in an og off the head of someone who should’ve dealt with it better 🙈.
The tempo of the game improved in the second half and we pressed the visitors deep in their own half but they looked dangerous when they broke quickly upfield.
We conceded the third goal from another set piece when a corner dropped in the middle of the box and was headed home by the Portlaw striker.
Three substitutions followed over the next few minutes and this had a positive effect on the whole team as the pace of the game was played on our terms.
We got back in the game when Jason Sauvage whipped a super ball towards the back post and Kevin Dowley was in the right place to nod home.
The remainder of the game was played out with us pressing hard for the equaliser but a few unlucky bounces and good defending kept us from grabbing a point from the game .
Decent second half performance from this young side and they can see for themselves that when the game is played with pace and determination results will go their way .
Final score 2.3