ACHL Division 2
Creggan 3-14 St. Paul’s 2-18
In ideal conditions, St Pauls travelled to Staffordstown to face Kickham’s in a helter-skelter game that was played at break neck speed. Both teams battled continuously for 60 minutes, but it was the City side’s Caolan O Duibhfinn ,injury time free, that edged them a point ahead and secured the points.
The visitors’ Sean Munce had a white flag raised within the first minute and his colleague Seamus MacDomhnall pointed seconds later. Creggan responded on the 3rd & 4th minute with a point a piece for Morgan Nelson and Ruairi McCann to level proceedings before Nelson scored again to edge his side ahead for the first time.
O’Duibhfinn won the puck out and soloed from the centre of the park before firing to the Creggan’s net from close range. Three more pointed frees from play for the visitors, Sean Og MacHabhraim, Conal MacAnChrosan and Conal O Fionnagain, had the visitors 5 points ahead and Sean Og MacHabhraim and Seamus MacDomhnall stretched the lead to 7 and the gap increased between the sides.
Thomas McCann and Sam Maguire for the home side narrowed the gap again to 5 with 17 minutes on the clock. With Creggan struggling for possession, the City side were impressing all over the field with 4 more points from play for Sean Og Machabhraim, Lorcan MacPhilib, Caolan O Duibhfinn and Conal O Fionnagain.
Their management must have been impressed with 7 different players notching up scores. Creggan’s Ronan McGuckian and Lee Johnston narrowed the gaps slightly, but when Seamus MacDomhnall found the net in the 26th minute, things were not looking good for the home side. When Referee, John O’Connor, blew the whistle for Half Time, many of the Creggan supporters would have felt that this was one that was already out of reach.
HALF TIME SCORE: CREGGAN 0.7 v ST PAULS 2.12
As proceedings got underway for the 2nd half, the Creggan management had made a reshuffle and within one minute of the restart Creggan’s, Kevin Rice, had raised the green flag to signal his side’s intention to finally get into the game. Rice added the next point on the 39th minute followed by a goal on the 41st minute to narrow the gap to 4 points.
The home sides, Morgan Nelson, reduced the deficit further to 3, pointing from a goal scoring effort that just nipped over the bar. The visitors had no answer for this and struggled all over the field. It wasn’t until the 42nd minute that Sean Og MacHabhraim got his side’s 1st score from play for the second half.
Creggan kept up the pressure with 2 points from Ruairi McCann and a converted free from Morgan Nelson, levelling the sides and the home team had the momentum. Nelson got his side’s 3rd goal of the game on the 46th minute to put them 3 points up and it was looking good for the Staffordstown Road side.
The visitors responded however with 3 points on the trot from Caolan O Duibhfinn to level the proceedings once again. With minutes left on the clock, Nelson put the home side ahead once again from a converted free with St Pauls replying again, from a Caolan O Duibhfinn free.
Teddy McKeown edged Creggan ahead once more on the 61st minute as the game moved into injury time but Caolan O Duibhfinn replied from another free to tie the contest once more and it looked like ending all square.
As the game moved 3 minutes into injury time, O’Duibhfinn was once again called upon to step up and take a 30 metre free to edge his side one ahead and as we approached the final whistle, Creggan were handed a lifeline but Morgan Nelson’s free from 40 metres out in the dying seconds which sailed agonisingly wide of the post.
Referee, John O’Connor, concluded proceedings to what was an extremely exciting contest, a game of 2 halves where St Pauls dominated the 1st Half while Creggan will feel they did enough in the second to get something from the game.
CREGGAN: Conor McCann, Conor McLarnon, Aidan McIlwee, Peadar McGuckian, Sennan O’Boyle, Kealan McCann, Teddy McKeown (0.01), Sam Maguire (0.01), Ronan McGuckian (0.01), Lee Johnston (0.01), Daniel Dornan, Morgan Nelson (1.05) Thomas McCann (0.01), Sean McAuley, Kevin Rice (2.01), Ruairi McCann (0.03).
ST PAULS: Criostoir O Muiri, Paul MagAoidh, Marcas Munce, Tiernan Auld, Caoimhin Killyleagh, Lorcan MacPhilib (0.02), Thomas O Duibh, Conal O Fionnagain (0.02), Deaglan O Coinne, Sean Munce (0.01), Sean Og MacLabhraim (0.03), Caolan O Duibhfinn (1.06), Shea MacConboirne, Caolan Mac An Chrosan (0.01), Seamus Mac Domhanall (1.02), Deaglan Chapman, Odhran O Donnghaile, Cian Mac Cana, Aaron O Ciara, Padhraic Mac Dhaibheid.
REFEREE: John O’Connor