All County Football League – Division 2
Davitts 2-14 Glenravel 2-13
Report by Aodh O’Loan
In this, the penultimate round of matches in Phase 1 of Division 2 league, mid-table teams are jockeying for position in the race to make it into the top six. Davitts edged home by a short head but were made to fight all the way. This was very much a game of two halves, inexplicably so given the elements were very favourable; very light wind and sun shining for the entire game. Davitts won the first half by a bagfull and did just enough in the second as the Glensmen tried valiantly to rein them in.
The home side got off to a perfect start when Danny Largey goaled after three minutes, which rocked the visitors, and when Padraig Parland and Anthony Rowntree added points it was clear Davitts were in fine shooting form.
Eamon Fyfe got Glenravel onto the scoresheet with a point in the fifth minute to reduce the gap to four points but back came the Belfast men in wave after wave of attacks and recorded the next six points in succession from the sixth to fifteenth minute. Caomhan Slane, James Lindsay and Anthony Rowntree got three of those points, the other three coming from the assured boot of goalkeeper Aaron Slane who gave an exhibition of free taking over the hour and ended up being Davitt’s joint top scorer in the game. Ahead at this stage 1-08 to 0-01 Davitt’s looked like they would go on to record a cricket score. Glenravel steadied the ship with points from Eamon Fyfe and Conor McNeil s to reduce the gap but Aaron Slane again popped up to convert two frees to leave the home team ahead 1-10 to 0-03 after twenty four minutes. Glenravel then hit the reset button and started to get a grip of the game, recording four unanswered points in the closing three minutes to cut the game to 1-11 to 0-7 at the interval.
If Davitts dominated the first thirty minutes then for certain their visitors dominated the second thirty. In the opening minute of the half, Conleth O’Loan collected a kickout and burst through the half back line before finding Eamon Fyfe who cooly picked out a great run by Conor McNeil and gave Aaron Slane no chance as he unleashed a rocket to the net. Fyfe popped up 3 minutes later with another point and the visiting spectators started to believe. Davitts were going short on their kickouts to maintain possession but that went horribly wrong for them when a defender was robbed of possession on the twenty metre line by Eamon Fyfe who rounded the keeper and slotted home into an empty net. All square 1-11 to 2-08 – Game on! Davitts were having none of it and went straight down the field and goaled from the boot of Danny Largey to restore a three point lead. Glenravel were getting on top at this stage all over the pitch and that lead was once again eliminated by scores from Aiden O’Donnell (2) and Conor McNeill.
Davitts needed to slow the game down now and arrest the forward momentum of their visitors and, as all Dublin fans will tell you, no better way to achieve that than having your goalkeeper as your main free taker. With ten minutes left on the clock Danny Largey nudged Davitts ahead and Aaron Slane stretched that lead a couple of minutes later. Fyfe and O’Donnell levelled the match and a draw looked likely but up stepped the intrepid goalkeeper again six minutes into injury time to slot over his seventh and winning point of the game.
One more round of matches left in Phase 1 and this result means that most likely these two sides will meet again in Phase 2 at the wrong end of the table!
Davitts:: Aaron Slane, Sean Linberg, Jason Park, Nathan Maginn, Conor Toner, Declan Smyth, Niall McParland, Anthony Rowntree, Ryan Park, James Lindsay, Padraig McParland, Niall Hughes, Danny Largey, Caomhan Slane, Stephen Og Toner
Glenravel:: Shaun O’Boyle, Declan McAuley, Paul McCurry, Michael Laverty, Conor Carey, Niall Swann, Conleth O’Loan, Eoin Hynds, David Higgins, Aiden O’Donnell, Declan Traynor, Conor McNeill, Eamon Fyfe, Martin McCarry, Sean McKay.
