Moneyglass and Rasharkin got a fantastic day’s juvenile football underway in Clooney on Sunday with the final of the U13 Plate. Both sides set the standards for the Shield and Cup finals that were to follow and they didn’t disappoint.
U13 Plate final
Moneyglass 1-9 Rasharkin 1-3
The final score-line slightly flattered St. Ergnat’s Moneyglass but they were never the less worthy winners as both sides got proceedings under way in Ahoghill in the final of the South West U13 Plate.
It was St. Mary’s Rasharkin who opened strongly and the impressive Conor McGaughey came close to finding he net on a couple of occasions when he danced through the St. Ergnat’s defence with the posts coming to St. Ergnat’s rescue on both occasions.
They would live to rue those early missed and in St. Ergnat’s first serious attack Jude Melarkey fired over in the 4th minute to open the scoring.
The boys from Dreen came back strongly as Conor McGaughey scored a splendid goal to put his side ahead as the Hoops enjoyed a period of ascendancy.
The same player saw his rocket rebound of the crossbar and those early missed chances would come back to haunt St. Mary’s as Moneyglass began to get on top, led by the impressive Sionan McCormack.
The towering McCormack raced through to fist over his side’s second point in the 8th minute and a James Gribben goal in the 12th minute changed the complexion of the game completely.
Moneyglass pressed again and were awarded a penalty with Patrick McFadden getting down to save McCormack’s spot kick at the expense of a ‘45’ which the Moneyglass captain converted to put his side 1-3 to 1-0 ahead.
That’s how it stood at half time but St. Mary’s might have been ahead with both posts coming to St. Ergnat’s rescue during an exciting first half of football.
As the second half got under way, towering mid-fielder Sionan McCormack began to stamp his influence on proceedings as he gave a master-class of mid-field play.
McCormack added points in the first and second minutes of the new half to move his side five ahead and substitute, Jack McCann added another to extend that lead to six as they dominated the opening exchanges.
Moneyglass were now dominating in the mid-field sector as Sionan McCormack fisted over after racing clear and Cahir McErlain added another as they continued to press.
Rasharkin never gave up and finally had a bit of success for their not considerable efforts when Sean Casey kicked their first score of the half from a ‘45’ and they hit the final two scores of the game through the splendid Conor McGaughey and Casey again.
After the game South West chairman, Stephen Graham presented the Plate to my man of the match, and possibly man of the evening, Sionan McCormack but on another day that award could have gone the way of the impressive Conor McGaughey who looks a real prospect.
