Mayobridge win the Carnbane League Division 1 title in style

A draw would have sufficed, but Mayobridge won the Carnbane League Division 1 title in style in front of a huge crowd in Derryleckagh, defeating runners-up Greenfield Park 2-1.

With both teams already promoted, the game served as a de-facto league final with the title going the way of the victors. However, in the event of a draw the crown would have gone to Mayobridge as they led by two points on the table.

But the south Down men made sure that they would be taking home the title in just their second season, as they won the game on the day.

The sides couldn’t be split in the first half and were locked at 0-0 at the break. The best chance of the opening period came for Mayobridge when Thomas Hardy put Kevin O’Rourke in on goal, but he was denied by a superb saved by Conor Fox.

Greenfield’s best opportunity came when a long Aaron Byrne throw-in found James McParland in the middle of the box and he volleyed his shot into the ground, but CJ Barr was on hand to keep the ball out of his net.

Mayorbridge started the second half brightly and had a penalty appeal when O’Rourke went down from a Jonathon Brown tackle, but the referee kept his whistle in his pocket.

Then, they came inches away from scoring when Paudie Smith met Connal Poland’s corner with a bullet header, but Greenfield’s Conor Magee showed the benefit of keeping players on the line, as he was able to keep the ball out of the net.

However, Mayobridge wouldn’t have to wait too much longer to find the opener, which came on the hour mark. From 25 yards out, Poland cut inside onto his right foot and bent a superb drive into the far top corner to give his side the lead.

From that point on, the Bridge looked the more likely to grab the next goal in the game, but instead Greenfield were given a lifeline when Byrne was fouled off the ball inside the penalty area and they were awarded a spot kick on 82 minutes.

Up stepped McParland from 12 yards out, and he made no mistake a low driven effort finding the bottom corner.

That goal gave Greenfield a fighting chance to pull off a remarkable comeback, but Mayobridge had other ideas.

With two minutes to go, O’Rourke whipped a dangerous free kick into the box from the left wing. Nobody got on the end of the ball, but it travelled all the way through and found its way into the far corner of the net, to put the game beyond doubt and seal a memorable title win for the Bridge.