ACHL Division 3 (B)
Lámh Dhearg 0-14-3-14 Con Magee’s
Kevin Herron reports from Hannahstown
First half goals from Declan Traynor and Sean McKay sent Con Magee’s on their way to victory at Hannahstown on Wednesday evening and a late third goal from James Duffin sealed a convincing 3-14-0-14 over Lámh Dhearg.
It was a meeting between the top-two sides in the bottom half of the division, but with the visitors unable to leapfrog the in-form Lámhs- only pride was at stake as the sides hoped to bring any momentum into the preparation for their respective Championship campaigns in a few weeks’ time.
Niall Donnelly opened the scoring at Hannahstown to give Con Magee’s the early advantage, however Fionn Mervyn burst up the channel and picked off the equaliser and then Odrán Waldron received a pass from Niall McGarry and split the posts to ensure the lead changed hands.
The opening goal arrived seven minutes in when Niall Donnelly popped the ball into the path of Declan Traynor to fire low past Rhys Camlin and give his side a 1-01-0-02 lead
Waldron doubled his account for the half in response, but Connor Derry landed a terrific point from range and Sean McKay then flicked home a second goal to move Con Magee’s 2-02-0-03 ahead.
Further points from James Duffin and Traynor in the aftermath saw the visitors pull further clear, with Odrán Waldron converting a free to try and keep the Hannashtown side in contention.
Back-to-back points from Donnelly and a perfectly executed score from close to the side-line by McKay saw Con Magee’s move 2-06-0-04 to the good.
Lámh Dhearg lacked the killer instinct that Con Magee’s possessed and needed to chip away to stay in touch, their latest point from Daniel Murray reduced arrears once more.
A further burst from the visitors saw Sean McKay land successive points and a converted Niall Donnelly free made it three on the spin for the first time.
The half ended a bit more evenly with the next four scores equally traded, Fionn Mervyn and Odrán Waldron (free) cut the gap, only for Sean McKay to land an excellent score from range and James Duffin to float over another response.
Odrán Waldron would convert his third free of the half before the break, but his side trailed 2-11-0-08 at the break and had a lot of work to do in order to salvage anything from the encounter.
Con Magee’s opened their second half scoring account through an effort from Chrissy Quinn that dropped over the bar.
Daire Cunningham replied at the other end with his first score of the evening and Daniel Murray then combined with Tiernan McKenna to pop the ball between the posts.
A third score in succession courtesy of Odrán Waldron had the hosts on the comeback trail, though their momentum was halted as James Duffin and Declan Traynor both sent over points.
Lámh Dhearg needed a goal to spark themselves to life- but the visitors stood strong in the face of pressure.
The hosts would play the remaining ten minutes a man light when Aidan McGuigan was shown a second yellow-card for a late challenge.
Declan Lynch landed a 65’ from range and Waldron increased his tally from the dead ball situation, though the Lámhs still had a seven-point deficit to eat into.
Any faint hopes of a comeback were dead in the water when Declan Traynor’s side-line cut landed to James Duffin and he rifled to the corner of the net to give his side a 3-14-0-13 advantage.
Daire Cunningham could only muster a point in response to Duffin’s strike and in the end Con Magee’s ran out convincing 3-14-0-14 winners to end their league campaign on a high.
Lámh Dhearg: R Camlin, C Nolan, J Brady, M McGuigan, T McKenna (0-01), D Lynch (0-01 65’), B Rice, SP Gibson, C Boyd, D Murray (0-01), A McGuigan, F Mervyn (0-02), D Cunningham (0-02), O Waldron (0-07, 0-06f), N McGarry.
Con Magees: R Donnelly, B O’Neill, S Woulahan, C Mullan, M McDonnell, E McCusker, J Fyfe, K McIlfatrick, C Deery (0-01), N Donnelly (0-03, 0-01f), J Duffin (1-03) , S McKay (1-04), C Quinn (0-01), M Scullion, D Traynor (1-02).
Referee: John O’Connor