All County Football League Division 2
Rasharkin 0-14 Glenravel 0-13
Newly promoted Rasharkin got their Division 2 campaign off to a flying start with a one point win over local rivals Glenravel under glorious sunshine in Dreen, despite missing a penalty in the first few minutes of the match. In a hard fought game they didn’t have it all their own way, having to come from four points down half way through the first half to eventually draw level at the short whistle and then going on to win the second half and the game by the narrowest of margins despite being reduced to fourteen players in the final minutes due to one of their players collecting a black card.
Glenravel got off to a good start converting two frees in the opening four minutes with Eoin Hynd’s left foot and Aiden O’Donnell’s right, delivering the goods. Conor McFerran replied for the home team a minute later but Eamon Fyfe restored Con Magees two point advantage on six minutes. Rasharkin’s imposing goalkeeper, Tiernan O’Boyle was influential the entire game and he himself stepped up on eight minutes to stroke a free over the bar from some distance. Indeed O’Boyle’s kickouts, wind assisted in the first half were proving very fruitful for the Dreen men.
Con Magees then hit a short period of dominance recording three unanswered points, again O’Donnell and Hynds the suppliers, and they now led 0-06 to 0-02. Andrew Hassan reduced the deficit to three with a point half way through the first half from a well taken free, but Eamon Fyfe stretched Con Magees lead back into a four when he slooted over at the other end. That was followed by an eight minute hiatus where neither team raised a flag but that seemed to rally the local lads as they went on to notch up four consecutive points in the final ten minutes of the half. Andrew Hassan grabbed two of these from frees with Shane Hassan and Eamonn McNeil the others. Referee Paul Burns blew for half time and the teams retired to the changing rooms on 0-07 points each.
Playing down the hill and with the aid of a slight breeze you would have expected Con Magees to go for broke in the opening period of the second half. Eoin Hynds did deliver a lovely score from distance but the Dreen men came back with three unanswered points again from the boot of Andrew Hassan who was proving deadly on frees. Rasharkin had edged ahead for the first time in the game 0-10 to 0-08, but Eoin Hynds brought the visitors level with a brace of frees. With ten minutes remaining Rasharkin edged in front once more 0-11 to 0-10. Eamon Fyfe and Eoin Hynds nudged Glenravel back in front 0-12 to 0-11 and with the home team now down to fourteen men it looked like the visitors were placed to take the points. However Hassan, from a free, levelled the game with six minutes left on the clock and the Dreen men went ahead when a long sideline ball bounced in front of goal and over the bar to give them a one point lead and two minutes left on the clock. Aiden O’Donnell levelled the game again but Rasharkin would claim the final score of the match, and the league points, as the clock just tipped into stoppage time to get their Division 2 campaign off to the perfect start.
