ACFL Division 2
Dunloy 0-5 All Saints 0-13
Photographs and Report from Brian McKee at Pearse Park
This was a top against bottom contest at Dunloy on Wednesday evening, but it took a while for this gap in the league table to be reflected in play on the field. Both sides started off with a pattern of passes going astray, poor shooting and a general lack of direction in play.
After 10 minutes of play though the men from Ballymena were gaining the upper hand with points from play by Emmet Killough and McDonnell.
Dunloy retaliated with an O’Rawe free, but All Saints reacted with a fast break forward only to see the final shot go well wide. A free shortly after from McDonnell restore a two point lead for All Saints. Again Dunloy responded with an incisive move forward leading to a lovely point from McCloskey. Any thought that this was the start of a rally from Dunloy was rebutted with a quick ball up the field from the kick out with Michael Read fisting the ball over the bar to move All Saints further ahead.
As the first half unfolded Dunloy lacked any clear plan to break down the All Saints defence and they spent a lot of time crossing from side to side looking for an opening without any real success.
A powerful run by McVeigh resulting in a lovely individual point demonstrated the clear difference in the two teams and this was reinforced by three further points before half-time without reply.
Half Time: Dunloy 0-3 All Saints 0-7
Dunloy made the first attack of the second half in an attempt to get to grips with this game, but it was McDonnell for All Saints who was first to split the posts to leave 5 points between the teams. While Dunloy enjoyed a good proportion of possession during the third quarter, overplaying the ball and wayward shooting prevented them closing the gap with All Saints. The gap would have been larger only for a great save from Brogan in the Dunloy nets following combined play from McKillop and McDonnell that tore the Dunloy defence apart.
A well-organised All Saints defence was proving difficult for Dunloy to penetrate leading to attacks breaking down too easily to threaten the All Saints nets.
As we moved into the final quarter it was clear that Dunloy were facing the inevitable as All Saints were firmly in control and the game lost its competitive edge.
While All Saints will be delighted to be sitting at the top of the table, they will be concerned at the number of scoring opportunities missed. They will be optimistic about maintaining their unbeaten record in a home game against St Teresa’s on their next outing, while Dunloy will not be relishing their visit to Gort na Mona.
Dunloy: 1 Christopher Brogan, 2 Cathail McCloskey, 3 Adrian Scullion, 4 Oisinn McErlane, 5 Sean Scullion, 6 Kevin McQuillan (0-1), 7 Oran Quinn, 8 Peter McQuillan, 9 Tom McFerran, 10 Barry McCloskey (0-1), 11 Eoin Gillan, 12 Rory Smyth, 13 Sean McAleese, 14 Karl Fitzpatrick, 15 Kevin McAllister (0-3, 2f)
All Saints: 1 Ryan Stewart, 2 Eoin Walsh, 3 James Gillan, 4 James McDonnell (0-1), 5 Michael Read (0-1), 6 Shaun O’Callaghan, 7 Cal O’Brien, 8 Sean McVeigh (0-1), 9 Emmet Killough (0-3, 2f), 10 Eoin Campbell (0-1), 11 Kavan Keenan (0-1), 12 Brendan McDonnell (0-5,1f), 13 Connell Lemon, 14 Peter McReynolds, 15 Luke O’Rawe, 16 Daniel McCoy, 17 Archie McGreevey, 18 Charlie Matrustry, 19 Ciaran McGarry, 20 Darach Bradley, Ronan McKillop
Referee: Cathal McDermott
