ACHL Division 2
DUNGANNON 0-12. KICKHAM’S 0-12
Photographs & Report: Joe Rice
KICKHAMS GOT THEIR DIVISION 2 HURLING LEAGUE CAMPAIGN UNDER WAY WITH AN AWAY TRIP TO DUNGANNON ON SUNDAY.
AS THE SOUTH WEST TEAM ARRIVED THE WEATHER CONDITIONS TOOK A TURN FOR THE WORSE,WITH A STRONG BREEZE AND HEAVEY RAIN SWEEPING ACROSS THE PITCH.
BOTH TEAMS STRUGGLED WITH THE DIFFICULT WEATHER CONDITIONS,CREGGAN HITTING THEIR FIRST THREE EFFORTS WIDE IN AS MANY MINUTES, BEFORE ORAN MCCANN FINALLY FOUND THE TARGET FOR THE VISITORS. ORAN MCANN WENT ON TO SCORE THE NEXT THREE POINTS UNANSWERED, ALL FROM THE PLACED BALL.
DUNGANON SHARP SHOOTER ,DAMIAN CASEY’S ABILITY TO SPLIT THE POSTS WAS TESTED SEVERAL TIMES BEFORE HE FINALLY LANDED THE HOME SIDE’S FIRST POINT FROM A FREE, GIVING THE LARGE HOME SUPPORT SOMETHING TO CHEER ABOUT. 10 MINUTES INTO THE GAME, CREGGAN WERE 2 POINTS UP.
BOTH SIDES BATTLED ON, FINDING SCORES HARD TO COME BY. THE BALL WAS WON AND LOST AT REGULAR INTERVALS AND WHAT LITTLE CHANCES THERE WERE FOR POINTS GOT BLOWN OFF COURSE.
AT THE SHORT WHISLE THE ANTRIM LADS LEAD 0.8 TO O.4, WITH ALL BUT ONE OF THESE SCORES COMING FROM THE PLACED BALL AND CASEY AND ORAN MCCANN WERE THE ONLY NAMES ON THE SCORE SHEET FOR THEIR RESPECTIVE TEAMS.
CREGGAN’S MORGAN NELSON GOT PROCEEDINGS UNDER WAY IN THE SECOND HALF WITH HIS SIDE’S FIRST POINT FROM PLAY FROM TWENTY METRES OUT.
CONOR SMALL COULD THEN HAVE SEALED THE DEAL FOR THE VISITORS WHEN HE LOST HIS MARKER AND SHOT FOR GOAL BUT THE DUNGANNON KEERPER PULLED OFF A GREAT POINT BLANK SAVE.
WITH THE DUNGANON LADS NOW TRAILING BY FIVE POINTS THEY UPPED THEIR GAME AND BOTH TEAMS BECAME INCREASINLY PHYSICAL CAUSING THE REF TO TAKE ACTION AND HAND OUT SEVERAL YELLOW CARDS TO RESTORE ORDER.
CREGGAN WERE DELT A MAJOR BLOW WHEN THEIR MID FIELDER TEDDY MCKEOWN WAS SENT OFF FOLLOWING A SECOND YELLOW CARD.
SAM MAGUIRE AND CONOR MCCANN ADDED TWO POINTS FROM PLAY FOR THE VISITORS, AS DID TIERNAN MORGAN AND BEN GORMLEY FOR THE HOME SIDE BUT IT WAS ULTIMATELY THE FREE-TAKERS ON BOTH TEAMS KEEPING THE SCORE BOARD TICKING OVER.
DAMIAN CASEY NOTCHED UP THE NEXT FIVE SCORES, THREE FROM PLAY AND TWO FROM FREES,WHILST ORAN MCCANN ADDED A FURTHER TWO FROM FREES TO LEAVE BOTH SIDES LEVEL AS THEY ENTERED INJURY TIME.
WITH TIME RUNNING OUT, CASEY TOOK A HIGH BALL IN MID FIELD AND ALMOST BROKE THROUGH AND DESPITE STRONG PRESSURE FROM THE CREGGAN DEFENCE, HE STILL MANAGED TO PUT HIS SIDE ONE UP.
THE NEXT THREE BALLS WERE WON BY CREGGAN AND WHEN THEY CHARGED FORWARD, DUNGANON’S DEFENCE DID ALL IN THEIR POWER TO STOP THEM, HOWEVER THIS DEFENSIVE PRESSURE RESULTED IN THE HOME SIDE CONCEDING 3 FREES, MUCH TO THE FRUSTRATION OF THEIR MANAGEMENT.
MCCANN WAS UNFORTUNATE TO HAVE MISSED THE FIRST TWO FREES BUT MANAGED TO MAKE AMENDS BY SAILING THE FINAL PUCK OF THE GAME OVER THE BAR.
CREGGAN PANEL: EMMET LONG,JAKE MCATEER,CIARAN RICE,DANAAN OHARA,KEVIN SMALL,AIDAN MAGUIRE,LIAM M CANN,KEALAN MCCANN,AIDAN MCKEOWN,CONOR MCCANN,SAM MAGUIRE,ORAN MCCANN,CONOR SMALL,THOMAS MCCANN, MORGAN NELSON,MICHAEL MAGUIRE,ENDA MAGUIRE,DIARMUID MUHOLLAND,ETHAN CAREY SMALL,MARK MCCANN,OLIVER DUFFIN,JAMES DOUGAN,NIALL MCAULEY,EOGHAN GRANT
EOGHAN RUADH PANEL: DAMIAN CASEY,FEARGHAL DEVLIN,LORCAN DEVLIN.SHAUN DONAGHY,JOSH FERGUSON,PADRAIG HUGHES,DUIBHIR MARSHELL,MARK MCCRORY, PATRICK MCKILLION,PIARAS MCERLAIN,CONOR MCNALLY,TIERNAN MORGAN,CONOR COYLE,JOHN DEVLIN,RUAIRI DEVLIN,STEPHEN DONNELLY, BEN GORMLEY,PADRAIG MALLON,MATTHEW MCCANN,CIARAN MCCRUDDEN .PADRAIG MCHUGH,CATHAL MCERLEAN,PADRAIG MCNALLY,KIEFER MORGAN,MATTHEW MULGREW ,BRAIN RUSHE,JACK TONER.
