ACFL Division 1 Senior Football

Kickhams Creggan 0-24 | Naomh Gall St Galls 0-10

Venue: Creggan | Date: Wednesday, 3 June 2026

Match report: Gerard Kelly | Photos: Dominic Kelly

Kickhams Creggan produced a commanding all-round display to brush aside St Galls by fourteen points at a sodden Creggan on Wednesday evening, running out comfortable 0-24 to 0-10 winners in conditions that made flowing football a serious challenge. In heavy, persistent rain that never relented throughout the sixty minutes, Creggan’s accuracy, width of scoring threat and sheer work rate proved far too much for the visitors.

The hosts shared the scoring around with no fewer than thirteen different players raising white flags — a remarkable statistic on any evening, let alone one as testing as this. While St Galls competed gamely in the opening quarter, Creggan gradually tightened their grip and pulled clear with a dominant second-half showing that left no doubt as to the destination of the points.

Even Start Before Creggan Find Their Range

St Galls actually settled the quicker of the two sides, with Michael Pollock opening the scoring inside two minutes. Shea McCann replied for Creggan on 4, but Daniel Quinn and Pollock again had the visitors 0-03 to 0-01 ahead inside the opening ten minutes — an early sign that St Galls had travelled with intent.

Creggan, however, responded emphatically. Liam Quinn pointed on 10, and Ruairi McCann and Eunan McAteer followed to level matters. Kevin Small and Shea McCann edged the hosts in front, and from there the home side never looked back. Despite the greasy conditions underfoot, Creggan’s forwards moved the ball cleverly, and points from Sean Duffin (24th), Ruairi McCann (25th) and Conor Small (26th) had the hosts in a commanding position. Ruairi McCann’s two-point score on 28 and another Shea McCann point on 30 stretched Creggan’s lead to 0-12 to 0-05 at the interval — a deserved advantage given how thoroughly they had taken control after that early wobble.

Creggan Pull Clear After The Break

If St Galls harboured any hopes of a comeback in the second half, they were swiftly extinguished. Creggan came out with real purpose and simply overwhelmed the visitors. A brace from Jamie McCann in the 38th and 39th minutes set the tone, and Kevin Small added a point on 40 followed by a superb two-point score on 41 to push the gap into double figures.

St Galls, to their credit, kept battling, with Pollock and their number 13 doing what they could to stem the tide. But Creggan were relentless. Dominic McAteer pointed on 48, and the home side then produced their most eye-catching passage of the evening — Conor McCann landing a two-pointer on 50 before Shea McCann pointed almost immediately to leave Creggan out of sight.

The scores kept coming. Joe McAteer (56th), Conor Johnston (59th) and Mark Dougan (60th) all found the target late on as Creggan ran out fourteen-point winners, with substitute Conor Small and the introductions off the bench all playing their part in a thoroughly professional team performance.

The Verdict

This was about as complete a display as Creggan could have produced in such difficult conditions. The McCann contingent led the way — Shea (0-4), Ruairi (0-4), Jamie (0-2) and Conor (0-2) combining for twelve points between them — while Kevin Small (0-4) was equally influential. The spread of thirteen different scorers spoke volumes about Creggan’s collective threat, and their ability to maintain such accuracy in driving rain was hugely impressive.

For St Galls, Michael Pollock (0-4) and Daniel Quinn (0-4) carried the bulk of the scoring threat, but the visitors were ultimately second best in every sector and will have plenty to ponder ahead of their next outing. On this evidence, Creggan look every inch a side capable of challenging at the top end of Division One.

KICKHAMS CREGGAN: Oisin Kerr; Eunan McAteer (0-1), Liam McLernon, Fintan Close; Aidan Maguire, Ethan Carey-Small, Dominic McAteer (0-1); Kealan McCann, Jamie McCann (0-2); Sean Duffin (0-1), Kevin Small (0-4), Ruairi McCann (0-4); Joe McAteer (0-1), Liam Quinn (0-1), Shea McCann (0-4). Also used: Conor Small (0-1) for L. Quinn (inj.), Conor McCann (0-2) for P. McGuckian, Mark Dougan (0-1), Conor Johnston (0-1).

NAOMH GALL ST GALLS: Niall McCurdy; Christopher Hale, Gairech Mac Adhaimh, Eoghan McCurdy; John McCaffrey, Dubhaltach Mac Liam, Damien Ball; Manus McCrossan, ConorRyan; Conaill Murray, Daniel Quinn (0-4), Cormac Austin; [No. 13] (0-2), Padraig Jnr O’Muirigh, Michael Pollock (0-4). Also used: Louis McCormick, Michael Hopkins, Martin Murray, Niall Fallon, Aidan McDonagh.

TO VIEW MORE OF DOMINIC KELLY’S PICS CLICK ON THE LINK BELOW

https://myalbum.com/album/hUMcM9xsh37pzt/?invite=3d562ebb-6f5e-442d-a344-f4bb2357e332