Tough defeat to Lowell United

Lowell United 4:2 Green Briar FC

The Briar's title challenge had stuttered in recent weeks and suffered another blow at Cawley Stadium after a tough defeat to Lowell United. The run of four games undefeated was lost in a poor opening 15 minutes.

Lowell raced into a comfortable 3-0 lead following a nice direct free kick from the edge of the box, a break down the left that sprung the offside trap and finally from a sloppy back pass that was gleefully collected and converted.

Following that woeful start the players did very well in steadying the ship and playing the football they know they are capable of. Reaching half time at the same score was enough to spark somewhat of a comeback in the second half.

The Briar had much more endeavour and serious attacking threats early in the second half. The reward came in the form of a penalty kick. Brian McGuinness got the Briar on the board at the second attempt following an initial save.

The Briar pressure was beginning to tell as the Lowell players were picking up some silly bookings for dissent and delays of game. The cards eventually mounted and resulted in Lowell being reduced to 9 men.

At that stage, with a two man advantage on the field and a two goal deficit on the score board the Briar felt if was only right to push men forward to make a decent attempt at a comeback. Moving to a 3-5-2 the Briar pushed on.

Chance after chance was created, but ultimately wasted as a number of players were off the mark with their shots, or at the more basic level, their first touch under pressure. A little improvement in the clinical nature of our play in the final third and we'll add to the excellent build up and midfield play the club already has in abundance.

Lowell scored a break away goal which is always a bitter disappointment while holding the numerical advantage, but they are a very good side and punish mistakes with goals, not near misses.

Two weeks left in the season and an improvement on the 5th place finish from the 2011 campaign should be the goal, as the Briar look to build the strength and depth of the club after its second season in existance.

Line Up: Mullane, Roux, Hennessy, Altidore, Clarke, Samati, Caldwell, Treacy, McGuinness, Coen, Sexton, McLoughlin, Claus