North Dublin SL beat OC Blues 3-1 at Parker Avenue in Portrush to bounce back in style after their opening day defeat to Antrim.
The Irishmen produced a great first half performance in which they scored all three of their goals. Playmaker Yassine-En-Neyah and captain Jordan Maguire were at the forefront of Dublin’s attacking play. It was Maguire who opened the scoring, with a powerful strike into the top corner from the edge of the box. North Dublin continued to impress and came close to a second as Peter Adiqun had his shot deflected wide.
But they didn’t have to wait long before winger Sam Nugent was slipped in on goal and he smashed a rocket of a shot past the goalkeeper to double their advantage. And the Dubliners added a third when a corner from the left was touched in at the near post by striker Matthew Downey. OC Blues looked down and out at this point so it came as a surprise when Will Richmond tapped the ball in from a few yards out to give them a glimmer of hope. And Richmond would have got his second if Adiqun hadn’t made a last ditch clearance off the line.
The second half was a relatively low-key affair by comparison, with both sides going close on a number of occasions. OC Blues goalkeeper Gareth White prevented the gap between the two sides growing wider, with a couple of acrobatic saves. He tipped a shot from En-Neyah over the bar, and, from the resulting corner, stopped a header from Cameron Cielly. The Americans were restricted to long range efforts as Dublin’s defensive solidity payed off and they nearly scored a fourth in the last few minutes but Katlego Mashigo wasted the chance.
But North Dublin had the three points well and truly wrapped up by then, and they go on to face Zacatepec in Castlerockon Wednesday, while OC Blues will have to regroup before their daunting trip to face Southampton in Portestewart.
Craig Latimer