Burns nets winner in Welly Rec’s second league win

The Millbrook outfit are now five points behind third-bottom Barn United, who have three games in hand. Graham McConnell’s side could really have been mounting the pressure on the Carrick boys, had they not dropped five points from their previous two games at home base against Orangefield Old Boys and bottom club East Belfast.

Rec were given a boost on 17 minutes when Rosario had a player red-carded – possibly for something he may have said to the referee, as the foul he committed was hardly the most malicious of the afternoon.

Wellington, of course, have struggled to find the net this season though there were chances with Gerard Burns and Paul McCann both thwarted by the keeper.

At the other end, Brendan Quinn had to be alert in tipping a rising drive onto the crossbar.

Scoreless then at the half-way mark and with the 10 men content to hold what they had, it looked like another afternoon of frustration for the Brookvale Park outfit, especially with McCann and Burns both testing the quality of the woodwork.

It’s not yet ‘Burns Night’, though this was perhaps was ‘Burns Day’, as the Wellington striker notched his first of the season, with a neat chip over the keeper.

The Ormeau Road side, however, thought they had rescued a point right at the death with a shot that careered down off the underside of the bar but the referee deemed it not to have crossed the line.

On Saturday it’s back to Brookvale for the fourth week in a row, with promotion hopefuls Downpatrick the visitors.

Wellington Rec: Quinn - G Nelson, Dunkley, Magee, Mundell - Monaghan,

McConnell, Mulvenna, Z McAllister - Burns (Houston), McCann (McDonald).