Peter"s finally secure the points

ST Peter"s bid to stay in touch with pace setters Willow Park at the summit of the Combined Counties League remained intact despite a largely frustrating day against Clonaslee Utd at McCarthy Park on Sunday. The home side went into this match five points behind Willow Park but with a game less played. This was an ideal opportunity to reduce the points deficit at the season"s midway point and although St Peter"s were forced to endure a 70 minutes of scoreless football, they were full value for the three points at the end of a very one-sided contest. In the end though, St Peter"s needed a controversial penalty to break the deadlock in the 70th minute before substitute Mark Sherlock made sure of the points. Sixth-placed Clonaslee arrived at McCarthy Park looking to frustrate their opponents and the plan seemed to be working as they maintained parity until half-time. This was largely due to the heroics of goalkeeper Conor Gorman who made save after save to keep St Peter"s at bay for the large bulk of the tie. St Peter"s persisted throughout though, and continued to create many superb goalscoring opportunities, and even though it required a debatable penalty to eventually break Clonaslee"s resistance, it was only a matter of time before they broke through and got the vital opening goal. Once St Peter"s got their noses in front thanks to Adrian Carberry"s penalty, there was not even the slightest doubt about the game"s outcome, with Clonaslee operating for much of the game with just one man up front and relying on defensive resilience and excellent goalkeeping to stay in touch with St Peter"s. The home side were without Rory McGowan but his central defensive role was filled by Brian Carr. The St Peter"s starting team also boasted much experience in the shape of Adrian Carberry, Michael Collins and Tom Silke, while Stephen Mullan and Mark Sherlock gave them superb options off the substitute"s bench. Clear-cut chances were at a premium in the opening half as Clonaslee did well to resist much of St Peter"s attacking play. On 15 minutes, Tom Silke"s long ball over the top put Brian Caldwell through on goal but great last gasp defending by Clonaslee"s Gerard Dunne denied him a certain goal. Silke soon flicked a header past the post following Michael Collins" free kick, before Conor Gorman made the first of many fine saves to deny Adrian Carberry. On 33 minutes, Brian Carr was hugely unfortunate to see his header smash off the post as Clonaslee rode their luck from time to time. The half finished with Carberry shooting well wide when well positioned but Clonaslee suffered a major setback before the interval when key player Gerard Dunne was forced off the field through injury. This forced Clonaslee into a couple of positional changes and had a big impact on how they approached the rest of the game. St Peter"s didn"t wait too long into the second half before sending on Stephen Mullan and Mark Sherlock, two players who have been regular starters for the entire campaign to date. Sherlock was only on the field a matter of minutes when he thought he had a tap-in from Collins" cross but Sherlock was ruled offside. Paul Murphy then did well to set up Sherlock but his attempt was thwarted at the last second by Mark McEvoy"s late challenge. Murphy followed up though, and was extremely unlucky to see his piledriver palmed away by Gorman. Silke and Sherlock then got in each other"s way in an attempt to convert another good cross by Collins. But St Peter"s were turning the screw and it seemed only a matter of time before Clonaslee"s luck ran out. Carberry had an ambitious overhead kick easily gathered by Gorman, before Caldwell sliced well wide after Gorman again produced a wonder save to deny Sherlock. Gorman was having a day to remember and held a deep cross by Patrick Craughwell when put under major pressure by a couple of St Peter"s attackers. Gareth Gaffey was next to try his luck for St Peter"s but his 25-yard drive was wide of goal. Finally, St Peter"s broke the deadlock in the 70th minute. A loose ball bounced around the penalty area following a St Peter"s corner kick and the home side appealed vehemently for a spot kick after they claimed the ball struck David Smith"s hand. The referee initially waved play on but linesman Paul Tone waved his flag for a penalty. Clonaslee were furious with the decision and it was very difficult to tell from the sideline whether or not Smith handled the ball. Adrian Carberry didn"t care too much though, and comfortably slotted the ball into the bottom corner of the net as Gorman dived the wrong way. In the 78th minute, Brian Caldwell created an opening for Craughwell but his shot from a narrow angle was diverted wide by the in-form Gorman. However, from the resulting corner kick by Collins, Sherlock rose well above everyone inside Clonaslee"s penalty area and headed a firm effort into the roof of the net. The points were fully secured. Clonaslee almost got a surprising goal back in the dying stages when James Mahon"s header had to be cleared off the goal line. ST PETER"S: Keith Hynes; Gareth Gaffey; Paul Murphy; Tom Silke; Brian Carr; Patrick Craughwell; Michael Collins; Dave Donohoe; Adrian Carberry; Brian Caldwell; Aidan Warde. Subs: Stephen Mullan and Mark Sherlock for Donohoe and Warde (48 mins); Pascal Dillon and Eoin Fox for Collins and Gaffey (87). CLONASLEE UTD: Conor Gorman; Conor Hogan; David Smith; James Mahon; Paddy Dunne; Gerard Dunne; John Rigney; Thomas Tynan; Daniel Larkin; Mark McEvoy; Sean Larkin. Subs: John O"Shea for G Dunne (39 mins); Brendan Dunne for Larkin (75). REFEREE: Tom Cunningham.