Reserve Football Shield (round one)
St Mary’s Ahoghill 4-17 Con Magee’s Glenravel 2-09
Little separated St Mary’s Ahoghill and their visitors from Con Magee’s Glenravel in the opening period of the reserve Shield competition, and with the lead having changed hands on a couple of occasions throughout more of the same in the concluding thirty minutes was anticipated.
The Glensmen had nicked an early lead when centre back Ciaran O’ Connor bagged a goal shortly into the game and the major score proved the difference after 20 minutes as the visitors held a 1-04 to 0-04 lead.
The home side’s Aodhan Graham had raised three white flags at such juncture but with Michael Mc Quillan bagging a couple of points for the visitors and both mid-fielders, Ronan Higgins and Declan Diamond splitting the posts in turn, the visitors looked in control.
Glenravel certainly held the upper hand in the opening phase with centre back Ciaran O’ Connor dominant at the heart of the Con Magee’s defence and indeed when his intervention and clearance sent Michael Mc Quillan in to add a second goal they had moved five points ahead.
The Clooney men were not to linger for long in such arrears and a couple of point from the accurate boot of Pearce Downey kick started revival before Gerard Graham stepped forward to send a 25th minute penalty to the back of the net after the former had been fouled inside the area.
The St Mary’s men had really seized hold of the bit as the short blast drew near and a 29th minute Conor Scullion goal ensured they had turned the corner and ascended to the front as they had come from five points in arrears a short time previously to lead, 2-08 to 2-06 at the break.
Having concluded the first period on the positive the home side were set to continue in the same mode as the second thirty minutes got under way and with a vengeance as the opening five minutes saw the Clooney men strike out for home.
The Glensmen were under pressure from the outset as the home side blasted out of the start blocks to add an impressive 1-04 in the first five minutes.
Gerard Graham split the posts just seconds in and Ronan Graham quickly added another.
The beleaguered Glenravel struggled to clear their lines as the home side continued to drive forward as the ever accurate Aodhan Graham added a further couple of points, and when Conor Scullion found the net again in the 35th minute the die was well cast.
The Ahoghill men had taken a 3-12 to 2-06 lead and they looked on the way to the next round barring major accident.
The introduction of replacements Jonathan Fyffe and Conor Carey did add impetus to the Glenravel cause, but the Clooney men had a firm grip on proceedings, and when replacement Conor Murray swept in from the left wing to send into the corner of the net the score was to provide the ‘coup de gras’ to take his side into a 4-14 to 2-07 lead with the game clock moving onward ever nearer completion.
The Glenravel men battled right to conclusion in search of scores and indeed the visitors raised the last couple of flags as the hard grafting Chris Henry and Michael Mc Quillan added late points but such were to arrive as consolation with Ahoghill crossing the line and into the next round with a 4-17 to 2-07 winning scoreline.
Ahoghill: Callum Reynolds, Bernard Graham, Sean Mc Keever, Niall Magee, Gerard Graham (1-02), Chris Mc Glone, Conor Neeson, Jerry Keenan TJ Hamill, Aodhan Graham (0-08), Pearce Downey (0-04), Ronan Graham (0-02), Conor Scullion (2-00), Michael O’ Connell, Fergal Doherty
Subs
Conor Murray (1-00) for F Doherty
Michael Logan for C Neeson
Glenravel: Ronan Donnelly, Daniel O’ Hagan, Neil Mc Laverty, James Brown, Chris Henry (0-02), Ciaran O’ Connor (1-00), Paul Mulholland (0-01), Ronan Higgins, Declan Diamond (0-01), Ruairi Lennon (0-01), Michael Mc Quillan (1-03), Aidan Mc Kenna, Oran Mc Aleenan, David Birt, Caolan Mullan
Subs
Jonathan Fyffe for C O’ Connor
Conor Carey for J Brown
Referee Sean Laverty (St Ergnat’s)