ACFL Division One 

Lámh Dhearg 4-23-2-8 Moneyglass 

Kevin Herron reports from Hannahstown 

Despite the scoreline suggesting otherwise, Lámh Dhearg didn’t have things all their own way in their 4-23-2-8 win over Moneyglass on Sunday afternoon. 

The Hannahstown side were in relative control but the visitors had their moments and didn’t go down without a whimper on a rare warm and sunny day on the edge of Black Mountain. 

Lámh Dhearg were quickly off the mark when Terry McCrudden bent a shot inside the posts and they had the games first goal inside of seven minutes when Mark Finnegan’s high looping ball was palmed to the net by Jody Quinn. 

The lead extended when Adam Murray popped over a point, though Moneyglass settled into things with Seanchan Duffin steering over after good build up from Sean Boyd and Boyd would then unleash a two-pointed shot from outside the arc that dropped over the bar to make it 1-2-0-3. 

In reply, the hosts hit four unanswered points to flex their muscles. Adam Murray converted two frees and in between times Owen McKeown burst away from trouble and clipped the ball over, with goal scorer Quinn adding his first point of the afternoon. 

An angled Sean Boyd point doubled his personal tally, though Adam Murray confidently swung over a two-pointed score from play, added a further free and Terry McCrudden doubled his tally. 

Moneyglass were slowly growing in confidence and added two further points before the interval through Duffin and Boyd with McCrudden adding a further score in between. 

On the stroke of half time the visitors were punished when Niall McGarry’s dropping shot was spilled by goalkeeper Rory Gribbon and Pearse Fitzsimons was on hand to capitalise on the gift and poke into the net to make it 2-11-0-6 at the midway point. 

The Lámhs added to their advantage in the early stages of the second period as Declan Lynch and Niall McGarry joined the scoring list. 

However, Moneyglass hit back with a goal after Colum Duffin popped the ball into the path of Dermott McErlain to thump a shot beyond the reach of John Finucane and make it 2-13-1-6. 

It looked as though the hosts would pull away again with five unanswered points in response. 

Nippy wing-half forward Niall McGarry added the first and last of the five, talisman Adam Murray added a further point from the placed ball and another from play and Jody Quinn also increased his personal tally. 

Moneyglass were refusing to go quietly though and conjured up a second goal. Sensing the hosts were switched off, Callum Murray picked out Charlie McCloskey with a free and despite having a bit of work to do, McCloskey hooked the ball home on the turn to make it 2-18-2-6. 

Paddy Cunningham converted a free and Conor Murray opened his account as the Lámhs sought the ascendancy again, but Dermot McErlain pointed after Callum Murray had again exposed the hosts lapse in concentration. 

Quickfire Adam Murray points were replied to by a further Sean Boyd score going down the home straight. 

It was Lámh Dhearg who would finish with a flourish, Jody Quinn kicked his third point of the afternoon and the visitors were twice caught out late on. 

Paddy Cunningham held the ball up and popped a ball over the top to Declan Smyth who spotted Rory Gribbon off his line and substitute Ross Murray poised to take advantage and Murray had the simplest task of touching Smyth’s floated pass into the empty net. 

Then from the resulting kick-out, Mark Finnegan cut out the pass and hooked a fine ball into Paddy Cunningham who lifted the ball over Gribbon and into the net to complete the scoring and a straight-forward afternoon in the end. 

LÁMH DHEARG: J Finucane, M McGarry, P Mervyn, F Mervyn, E Matassa, D Lynch (0-1), D Smyth, P Fitzsimons (1-0), M Finnegan, O McKeown (0-1), A Murray (0-10, 0-4f, 1×0-2pt), N McGarry (0-3), T McCrudden (0-3), J Quinn (1-3), C Murray (0-1). SUBS: P Cunningham (1-1, 0-1f) for P Mervyn (34), Ross Murray (1-0) for F Mervyn (43), D Martin for M McGarry (44), J Trainor for T McCrudden (49). 

MONEYGLASS: R Gribbon, O Hamill, C McCann, J McCormick, C Murray, S Duffin (0-2), S Devlin, C Duffin, D McErlain (1-1), S Boyd (0-5, 1×0-2pt), A McErlain, C O’Kane, S McGlinchey, T Cassidy, C McCloskey (1-0). SUBS: C Boyd for T Cassidy (52). 

REFEREE: Colly Thompson (St Johns)

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