Intermediate Football Championship – Group 1 – Round 3
Moneyglass 2-18 St Patrick’s Lisburn 1-16
Moneyglass had to come from seven points down early in the second half before getting the better of Naomh Padraig Lisburn in Friday evening’s Round 3 game in the Intermediate Football Championship at Loughbeg Road. When Naomh Padraig goalkeeper Ruadhan McKeena hit a 2pointer three mintues into the second half the Lisburn men were seven to the good. The team had a mountain to climb but Moneyglass corner forward Conor Boyd grabbed a goal to start the comeback and they turned things around in the second half to all but seal a semi-final spot.
Che Smyth got Lisburn off the mark on three minutes when he sent over a point but the home side came back with two in a row, the first from Colum Duffin on four minutes and the second a minute later from Tyler Cassidy to take the lead for the first time. However a goal from Adam Patterson, a 2pointer from Colm Burns and two single point from Oisin Gorman and Adam Patterson put the men from Kirwoods Park six clear after thirteen minutes.
Duffin and Cassidy pointed to cut the gap back to four but Lisburn were on top and Oisin Gorman and Colm Burns pushed the gap out to six again. Aidan McErlain and Tyrler Cassidy pulled two back for the home side but Lisburn replied through Mullan and Rafferty and it took an injury time point from Rafferty to get St Ergnat’s to within five by half time.
When Lisburn goalkeeper Ruadhan McKenna sent over a two pointer just after the restart to stretch the lead to seven the home team had a mountain to climb, but slowly but surely they started to edge their way back. A goal by corner forward Conor Boyd proved a big psychological lift for the St Ergnat’s men and though Lisburn replied with a point of their own the tide was starting to turn.
Two 2pointers from Burns and Gorman and a another point from Burns brought Moneyglass back on terms and though the visitors briefly restored their lead with a Rafferty 2pointer at the end of the third quarter they would only score once more for the remainder of the game. It took a further five minutes before Conor Boyd tied the scores once again and but once that happened it was all one way traffic during the last ten minutes as the home side made use of the breeze to hit six in a row, three of them from full forward Gorman.
McKeena came up from goals to point a free for Lisburn but Gorman had the final say when he slotted over another from a free to get his team home by five.
