All County Football League Division One
Cargin 4-21 Ahoghill 2-14
Friday June 28
Brendan McTaggart reports from Toome
Cargin maintained their good league form on Friday evening with a comfortable win over Ahoghill. Coming into the game after an eye catching win over St John’s, the St Mary’s men looked a confident side from the first whistle but 13 points separated the sides at the end of the hour with the home side seeing off a determined opening quarter from their south west rivals before pulling away before half time.
Such was the start from the visitors, Ahoghill held a two point lead after eight minutes with Owen Neeson, PJ and James O’Connell all causing the Cargin defence problems along with Martin Graham and Neil O’Connell impressing in midfield. Cargin took a while to find their rhythm but when they got the supply of ball right into their forwards, they were able to go through the gears with Tomás McCann and Pat Shivers linking up well.
In the last ten minutes before the interval, Cargin were ahead by the minimum but outscored Ahoghill 2-5 to 0-3 in the time that remained of the first half. The McCann brothers Tomás and Michael with the majors while Michael would add a further in the second half and Tomás top scored with 1-9 for his hours work.
Ahoghill started the second half well and whittled the ten point deficit to six midway through the half with Owen Neeson raising a green flag in the 37th minute to spark a mini-revival. Cargin regained composure and looked to have weathered the storm with Enda McGrogan’s 48th minute goal, only for Ahoghill to land their second major with the next attack. PJ O’Connell with a volleyed finish after good work from James O’Connell to create the chance.
The home side finished the contest strongly however and with the introduction of John Carron to midfield at half time, eventually they took a stranglehold once more to take control. Ciaran Bradley and Enda McGrogan were hugely influential throughout the game and with Michael McCann prominent in attack during the final quarter with Paul McCann and substitute David Johnston threatening at every opportunity, Cargin began to pull away. Michael McCann’s goal in the 57th minute added further gloss to the score line for the home side and while Ahoghill were competitive in midfield and looked dangerous when in attack, Cargin were too good on the night and fully justified of their winning margin.
Friday nights victory ensured the Erin’s Own men remain top of the league going into the second half of the season, tied with St Galls while Ahoghill are faced with a dogfight to maintain their Division one status. They showed plenty throughout this hour however to suggest they are more than capable of gaining the required wins and points to prolong their stay at the top table for another season.
TEAMS
Cargin: John McNabb; Donagh McKeever, Justin Crozier, Gerard McCorley; Mark Keegan, James Laverty, Michael Clarke; Gerard McCann, Kevin McShane; Enda McGrogan, Michael McCann, Ciaran Bradley; Tomás McCann, Paul McCann, Pat Shivers.
Scorers: Tomás McCann 1-9 (5 f’s); Michael McCann 2-1; Paul McCann 0-3; Enda McGrogan 1-00; Pat Shivers 0-2; Ciaran Bradley 0-2; Donagh McKeever 0-1; Michael Clarke 0-1; David Johnston 0-1; Ronan Gribben 0-1.
Ahoghill: Pearse Downey; Bernard Graham, Sean McMahon, Gerard Graham; Diarmuid Graham, Stephen O’Connell, Eoin Graham; Neil O’Connell, Martin Graham; Daniel O’Neill, PJ O’Connell, Owen Neeson; James O’Connell, Donal Graham, James Magee.
Scorers: PJ O’Connell 1-4 (3 f’s); Owen Neeson 1-3; James O’Connell 0-2; Donal Graham 0-2; Daniel O’Neill 0-1; Neil O’Connell 0-1; Diarmuid Graham 0-1.
Referee: Colm McDonald (St Galls)
