Antrim Football League – Division 2

Glenavy 0-15 Ahoghill 1-14

St Mary’s Ahoghill secured a crucial victory on the road, edging out St Joseph’s Glenavy 1-15 to 0-15 in a fiercely contested Antrim Football League Division 2 encounter. The visitors ultimately took the points thanks to a decisive late goal from Colla McDonnell, but they owe a massive debt of gratitude to their goalkeeper, Ryan Martin, who produced several top-class saves at critical moments to keep the hosts at bay.

The game began as a tight, point-for-point affair. Leon Lavery opened the scoring for Glenavy with a good individual effort from play after five minutes, but Ahoghill responded quickly through Ronan Graham. Fiontan O’Boyle and Daniel O’Neill traded scores as both sides settled into the contest. Niall McCann finished off a well-worked move for the home side on twelve minutes, but Patrick Jr Graham immediately cancelled it out for Ahoghill. Christopher McGarry added another for Glenavy just after the quarter-hour mark, but the turning point of the half came moments later when Glenavy’s Darragh de Brun was shown a black card. Ahoghill capitalized on their numerical advantage perfectly. Donal Graham pointed the resulting free and proceeded to hit two more unanswered scores—one from a free and a great individual point from play—before Ronan Graham and Colla McDonnell added their names to the scoresheet. The black card period proved costly for Glenavy, leaving them trailing 0-8 to 0-5 at the interval.

Ahoghill started the second half brightly, with Alden Graham landing a massive long-range two-pointer just minutes after the restart. Michael Morgan got Glenavy off the mark for the second half, but Eamonn Brady responded with a well-taken point under severe pressure to maintain Ahoghill’s advantage. It was at this stage that Ryan Martin began his heroics in the Ahoghill net, pulling off a stunning point-blank save to deny Leon Lavery a certain goal. Glenavy’s own goalkeeper, Luke Devereux, came forward to slot over a 2pointer, sparking a brief revival for the hosts as Pearse O’Neill and the returning Darragh de Brun added points from play. Colla McDonnell kept the scoreboard ticking for the visitors before Martin was called into action once again. The Ahoghill stopper produced another brilliant point-blank save, this time from Michael Morgan, though Morgan had the presence of mind to send the rebound over the bar.

Heading into the final quarter, Ahoghill strung together some excellent team moves, resulting in fine points from Thomas McGlone and Ryan McPeake. Glenavy, refusing to throw in the towel, mounted a spirited comeback attempt. Jonathan Phillips found his range, followed by a quickfire double from Leon Lavery and another point from Pearse O’Neill to set up a tense finale. However, just as the game hung in the balance, Ahoghill struck the ultimate blow. On the thirty-minute mark, a sweeping team move was clinically finished to the net by Colla McDonnell for the game’s only goal. Christopher McGarry managed to land a two-pointer from play for Glenavy in the dying moments, but it was not enough to reel in the visitors, as Ahoghill held on for a 1-14 to 0-15 win.

Naomh Seosamh (Glenavy)

1. Luke Devereux
2. Patrick Fox
3. Odhran Arthurs
4. Oisín de Brún
5. Cian Doherty
6. Fiontán O’Boyle
7. Jonathan Phillips
8. Chris Grant
9. Darragh de Brún
10. James Monaghan
11. Niall McCann
12. Pearse O’Neill
13. Leon Lavery
14. Michael McCourt
15. Christopher McGarry

Naomh Muire Achadh Eochaill (Ahoghill)

1. Ryan Martin
2. Shea Neeson
3. James Magee
4. Seamus McKeever
5. Harry O’Donnell
6. Ronan Graham
7. Eamonn Brady
8. Patrick Jr Graham
9. Daniel O’Neill
10. Thomas McGlone
11. Donal Graham
12. Patrick Dougan
13. Conor Paul Crossey
14. Alden Graham
15. Colla McDonnell

Referee – Karol Doherty (Rasharkin)

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