U17 Football League Division 2
Aldergrove 3-8 Glenavy 3-7
An injury time point and a man of the match performance from Aldergrove’s excellent full-forward, Chris Robb snatched the points from a Glenavy side who will feel that they did enough to get something from this entertaining U17 Football League encounter in Crumlin on Wednesday night.
A Darragh Brown goal, just minutes earlier looked to have earned the visitors from Chapel Hill a share of the spoils but there would be one last piece of action and Robb popped up with the winner for the home side.
Nothing separated the sides throughout with both teams enjoying periods on the ascendancy and it was Lewis Smith who pointed the Crumlin side into an early lead with Jim Higham equalising in the third minute.
Dominic Doherty fired home a 6th minute goal for St. Joseph’s with Fionntan Muldoon replying almost immediately with a goal at the other end as things began to liven up and it was clear that there was little between these sides.
Glenavy returned to the attack with Darragh Brown and Eoin McAleese moving them two ahead but the home side came back strongly through Chris Robb, Liam Og Cullen and two more from the lively Robb to move two in front by the 20th minute
Robb was proving a real handful and he got on the end of an excellent move to side-foot to the net in the 22nd minute with James Monaghan replying with a point for Glenavy to leave it evenly balanced at the break, 2-5 to 2-4 in favour of St. James.
Both sides took a time to find the target again as the second half got under way before Aidan McCorry sent over an equalising point for the visitors in the 10th minute and Darragh Brown followed with another to give the visitors back the lead.
The home side were finding it difficult to convert possession into score but that man Chris Robb settled them with a point from a converted free at the end of the third quarter.
St. Joseph’s responded through a James Monaghan free from out on the wing to edge ahead again but a Lewis Smith goal from the penalty spot and another Robb point moved St. James three in front with four minutes remaining.
Darragh Brown’s goal on 30 minutes looked like giving Glenavy the draw that on the balance of play they probably deserved but Chris Robb came back with that late point to seal victory for the Crumlin side.
St. James: 1 Daniel McCutcheon, 2 Sean O’Toole, 3 Cayden Lagan, 4 Adam Magd, 5 Rian Carl, 6 Rory Finney, 7 Fionntan Muldoon, 8 Luke Delaney, 9 Liam Og Cullen, 10 Ruben McGlinchey, 11 Lewis Smith, 12 Breagh Maguire, 13 Eoin McAleese, 14 Chris Robb, 15 Aidan McCorry, 17 Jude Keenan, 18 Malachy Kennedy, 19 Rian Hope, 21 Logan Magee, 27 Caleb Whiteway
Glenavy: 1 Oisin Brown, 2 Nathan Morris, 3 Darragh Phillips, 4 Michael Campbell, 5 Colin McKernan, 6 Padhraic McKevitt, 7 Liam Reynolds, 8 Oisin McArdle, 9 Odhran McDonagh, 10 Dominic Doherty, 11 John Nelson, 12 Jim Higham, 13 Leon Lavery, 14 Darragh Brown, 15 James Monaghan, 17 Joe Gilbride, 19 Ryan Phillips, 20 Sean O’Hare, 21 Kevin McKay, 22 Eugene Mulholland
Referee: Paul Burns (Naomh Comhghall)
