Kappa Menswear Clare Cup Semi Final

Bridge United B – 1

Avenue United A - 2

Bridge will rue their poor start which saw them two behind after 20 minutes and denied them the opportunity of causing an upset on Sunday afternoon in Frank Healy Park.

David Smythe opened the scoring on 10 minutes when he converted from close range. Eamon O’Reilly doubled the lead on 20 minutes heading home from a corner.

At this stage it looked like the flood gates could open but credit to the Division 2 side who really dug in defended admirably through to half time.

The second half was a much more even affair. Avenue continued to dominate possession without creating any clear cut opportunities. Bridge were rewarded for their resilience when Christy Carey headed home from a superb Jason Loughnane cross. The Bridge were entirely focused on not conceding at this stage in the hope that they could create one more chance of their own to take the game to extra time.

As the game crept towards the 90 minute mark Barry Deasy made an incredible safe when Pa Sherlocks effort from the edge of the box deflected off Whyte but Deasy got a strong hand on it to put it over the bar.

The Bridge chance failed to materialise and the B team cup adventure came to an end. The team can however bow out with their heads held high after a solid campaign.

Team: Barry Deasy, Dan Larkin, Mark Culbert, Damien Murray, Johnny Hayes, Barry Downes, Christy Carey, Brandon O’Halloran, Jordan Downes, Jason Loughnane, Gavin Downes

Subs: Adrian Whyte for O’Halloran, Trevor Purcell for J Downes, Anton Mannering for G Downes, JP Griffen, Billy Maxwell, Donald Devanney, Mark O’Neill, Eric Purcell, Alan McAuley