Antrim Football League – Division 3

St Malachy’s 0-6 Rasharkin 2-14

Rasharkin got their Division 3 promotion hopes back on track after last week’s defeat to O’Donnell’s when they travelled to Cherryvale on Wednesday evening and beat St Malachy’s

The Dreen men were slow getting started and were 0-4 to 0-0 behind in the early stages but once they found their feet there no stopping them and they turned up the pace in the second half to win in the end by fourteen points.

St Malachy’s had the better of the early exchanges and scored the first four points of the game through Jack McGovern Paul Divine, Ronan Maneely and Ciaran Vernon. Rasharkin were creating plenty of scoring chances, but wayward shooting, and a couple of smart saves by the Mal’s keeper Sean Turley were keeping the Dreen men at bay.

However once they finally found the target through corner forward Tiernan O’Boyle the score began to flow and further points from Eamon McNeill (2), Ryan Lynch and Conor Higgins had them 0-5 to 0-4 ahead at the break.

They stretched their lead to four early in the second half as Eamon McNeill, Ruairi O’Boyle and Tiernan O’Boyle added points, but Shea Lynch pulled one back for St Malachy’s to leave just three between the sides. McNeill and Ruairi O’Boyle pushed Rasharkin five ahead and when man of the match McNeill got in for a goal there was no way back for the Mal’s.

Ronan Maneely pulled one back for the home side but it was to be St Malachy’s final score and Rasharkin added a further 1-4 without reply, the goal coming from Cathal Mooney to run out winners by 14 points in the end.