ACFL Division 1
Tir na nOg 0-14 St. James’ 2-11
While planes may have been at a standstill at Heathrow, the men from Aldergrove were very much in business during the second-half of this opening game at Randalstown on Sunday afternoon.
The first half of this game played in blustery conditions was dominated by the home side. After an opening exchange of points, the Randalstown men outscored Aldergrove over the next 20 minutes by 9 points to 2. O’Donnell sparked this period of dominance with a point scored from a very tight angle at the dressing room end. Higgins also got into the act when, despite the best efforts of the Aldergrove defence, he swung a beautiful point over the bar.
Tir na nóG were soon well settled into their groove, highlighted when McCormick sent over a 2 pointer with just over 20 minutes gone. Aldergrove chipped away at the scoreboard but were unable to contain the home side. A high ball from the men in blue into Fagan at full forward led to a penalty, but McGarry in the Aldergrove net produced one of many fine saves during the afternoon.
The chances were coming to Aldergrove but too many dropped balls and loose passes frustrated their attempts to get a foothold on this game as the first half came to an end.
Half-time: Tír na nOg 0-10 Naomh Séamus 0-5
Whatever John Rafferty said to his men at half time, a rejuvenated Aldergrove stamped their authority on the second-half from the throw in. Brian McQuillan cut through the Randalstown defence and, although his shot went wide, it was a very clear statement that Aldergrove were determined to make their mark on this game.
It took a while for the game plan to come together but with a defence growing in confidence and forwards starting to find their shooting feet it was clear that Aldergrove were gaining dominance as the second-half unfolded. Cormac McGarry was first to put the ball in the net for Aldergrove, and when McAtamney then produced a great save to frustrate a follow up Aldergrove attack, it was clear that this was not Randalstown’s day as McGarry hit the roof of the net again after collecting the rebound.
The majority of the play in the second-half saw Aldergrove on the attack, with Randalstown finding it difficult to get out of their own half. The last 10 minutes of play saw Randalstown go point for point with Aldergrove but they were unable to stem the red tide.
As the final whistle drew near, McGarry in the Aldergrove nets produced a save to cap off a great display. The save resulted in Aldergrove powering down the pitch, but a resulting penalty taken by S McGarry rebounded off the crossbar. He would not have been too annoyed though, as the final whistle blew and Aldergrove hit the road with both points in the bag.
Tír na nOg 1 Sean-Paul McAtamney 2 Sean McKeown 3 Ciaran McGrellis 4 Brandon McLarnon 5 Paul McCloskey 6 Barry McCormick (0-3) 7 Ciaran Logan 8 Ryan O’Neill 9 Ciarán O’Neill (0-1) 10 Aaron McNeilly (0-5, 0-2f) 11 Joshua Higgins (0-1) 12 Ryan Crilly 13 Dylan McLarnon 14 Darragh Fagan (0-2) 15 Alex O’Donnell (0-1)
Naomh Séamas 1 Oisin McGarry 2 Cayden Lagan 3 Emmett Irvine 4 Aiden Irvine 5 Corey Fogarty 6 Chris McVeigh 7 Eoin Gough 8 Brian McQuillan 9 Conor Browning 10 Sean Patrick Fogarty 11 Oisin Graham (0-1) 12 Christopher McSteen 13 Ryan McCarthy 14 Ronan Hanna (0-3,0-2f) 15 Seamus McGarry (1-6, 0-1f) 16 Anthony Brown 18 Conleith O’Toole 19 Ronan Aiken 20 Michael Smart (1-1) 21 Declan Gough 23 Fergal Hanna
Referee: Darren McKeown
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