ACFL Division 1
St. John’s 1-15 Dunloy 1-18
Dunloy picked up their first win of the season in an entertaining game against St Johns in Corrigan Park. With both teams missing players due to county representation, it was a good opportunity for management to test their squads, and the players didn’t disappoint with some high-quality play and great scores throughout the game.
The Cuchullains had the breeze at their backs in the first half but failed to take advantage as the teams traded early scores with St Johns going into a 0.5 to 0.4 lead. Dunloy got the breakthrough on 15 minutes, however, when Deaghlan Smith forced a turnover deep in the St Johns defence before feeding Kevin McQuillan, who finished to the net.
James Scally and Barry McCloskey also popped up with 2-pointers and Dunloy looked like they were making the breeze count. Their joy would be short lived however as back came St Johns, driven by some excellent fielding by Ryan McNulty the Corrigan men worked the ball up the pitch with the ball eventually finding its way to the Dunloy net.
The teams traded further points and went in at half time with a score of St Johns 1.09, Dunloy 1.11. St Johns came out in the second half and looked like they were going to make the breeze count as an excellent 2-pointer in the opening minute wiped out Dunloy’s first half lead.
They followed this up with further points and the task looked like it was going to be a tough one for Dunloy. The Cuchullains though, found a purple patch of their own before the teams traded further scores and were tied at 1.15 each going into the final 10 minutes.
Dunloy would go on to finish stronger on this occasion with Deaghlan Smith and Tom McFerran adding 3 unanswered points going down the stretch, helping their team earn a victory on a scoreline of St Johns 1.15 Dunloy 1.18.
A good game with plenty of positives for each side. Both teams will now turn their attention to the small ball for the upcoming week. In round 3 of the Football League on Sunday 6th of April St Johns will make the short trip to St Brigids, whilst Dunloy host Creggan.