All County Football League – Division 2
Moneyglass 0-16 Glenravel 2-09
Newly promoted Con Magees came close to causing a major upset when they travelled to Moneyglass on Sunday to take on St Ergnat’s in Division 2 of the All County Football League. A match which started with some fine free flowing football and excellent point scoring from both sides unfortunately ended up a tempestuous affair with the home side finishing the game with 13 players.
Played in bright sunshine, Moneyglass were strong favourites to dampen the spirits of the newly promoted Glensmen and started the game well only to be denied by some last gasp defending from the opposition. It was however Glenravel who registered the first score, coming from the majestic left boot of minor footballer Eoin Hynds who found room on the 40 and arrowed over the sticks after two mins. That was followed by a couple of points from Moneyglass when midfielder Dermot McErlain, playing in a very forward position, picked off a nice point from a tight angle and Colum Duffin added one soon afterwards. Glenravel’s Josh McKeown equalised from play on eight minutes and Hynds again put Glenravel into the lead two minutes later with another long ranger from play.
Moneyglass then suffered from some wayward shooting before their impressive centre half forward Kevin Marron levelled the game at three points apiece in the 12th minute, but Glenravel edged back ahead again through Eoin Hynds with a brace of points from play in the 14th and 15th minute.
The home side hit back with points from Dermot McErlain and Kevin Marron in the 20th and 21st minutes before we saw the first score of the match from a free which was delivered by Josh McKeown in the 24th min to edge the visitors back in front.
The see-saw battle continued with Liam Brady pointing for Moneyglass on 26 mins to bring them back on level terms but a minute later David Higgins burst through the Moneyglass defence to edge the Glensmen in front by a point. Moneyglass were not to be outdone however and they finished out the first half stronger to go in on top by a point on a 0-8 to 0-7 scoreline after full forward Conail Prenter’s point was followed with a pointed free by centre half back Conor Boyd, who calmly split the posts on the stroke of half time.
The second half started pretty much where the first left off with both teams exchanging points in the opening minutes. Moneyglass first stretched their lead to two through Liam Brady but Sean McKay was on hand to reduce the lead to the minimum when he pointed from play on the 36th minute. The game’s first goal came on 38 mins when David Higgins capitalised on defensive confusion in the Moneyglass box before sending a piledriver past the hapless keeper Mark Carey to give Glenravel a two point lead. That only spurred Moneyglass on and they followed with ten minute spell of total dominance where the Con Magees were penned back in on their own half. The St Ergnats men tagged on points from play through Colum Duffin, Kevin Marron and Conail Prenter before midfielder Dermot McErlain pointed from a free to leave Moneyglass ahead by three on a 0-14 to 1-08 scoreline.
Glenravel’s hopes were dented when Josh McKeown received a black card from referee Vincent Boyle in the middle of that scoring spree. The soft underfoot conditions were starting to take their toll and both teams emptied their bench for the final 10 minutes of the game to try and inject some impetus through fresh legs. Glenravel’s Sean McKay reduced the deficit to two, eight minutes from time, but Patrick McCormick, who was having a very impressive performance on the forty, restored the home sides three point advantage on 24 mins. The substitutions seemed to work better for the visitors who were starting to get back on top and when man of the match Eoin Hynds goaled to level the game with 4 mins left on the clock an upset looked on the cards. However Moneyglass midfielder McErlain pointed from a 45 for the final score of the game to seal victory for them on the narrowest of margins.
Overall, Moneyglass will be relieved to start the season with a win but Glenravel should take great heart from this performance where they came so close to creating an upset.
Teams:
Moneyglass:: Mark Carey, Miran Neeson, Tiernan Duffin, Peter McCormick, Jack McCoy, Conor Boyd (0-1f), Benny Marron, Dermot McErlain (0-04) 2f, Niall Boyd, Liam Brady (0-02), Kevin Marron (0-03), Patrick McCormick (0-01), Sean Kelly, Conail Prenter (0-03), Colum Duffin (0-02)
Glenravel:: Jonathon Fyfe, Declan Mcauley, Paul McCurry, Aiden McCafferty, David Higgins (1-01), Kieran McKeown, Michael Laverty, Conor Carey, James Duffin, Josh McKeown (0-02) 1f, Aiden O’Donnell, Eoin Hynds (1-04), Sean McKay (0-02), Martin McCarry, Conor McNeill
Referee – Vincent Boyle (Dunloy)
