ACFL Division One
Relegation Play-Off Final
St Ergnat’s Moneyglass 0-18
Tír na nÓg Randalstown 1-10
At Erin’s Own Cargin
A rampant St. Ergnat’s Moneyglass secured their place in division 1 for next season thanks to an excellent win over fellow strugglers, Tir na nOg Randalstown at a sun kissed but windy Toome on Saturday evening.
St. Ergnat’s produced a power and pace packed hour’s football which their neighbours had no answer to and this game could have been over by half time, given the Moneyglass dominance over the opening 30 plus minutes.
With the strong wind at their backs a Tiernan McCormick inspired Moneyglass led by 0-10 to 0-0 at half time and at least three of those points could have been goals while their opponents were toothless in front of the posts and never looked like getting going.
Still, given the strength of that breeze there would have been plenty amongst the good crowd who attended that thought that the Randalstown side could turn it around after the break and while they did do much better after the break, they never really looked like sufficiently closing the gap.
Tiernan McCormick who helped Moneyglass to victory over Tir na nOg in a division 1 relegation contest in Toome on Saturday.
From the first whistle St Ergnat’s had their foot firmly on the throttle with a great effort floating for two-points instantly courtesy of Seanchan Duffin in the middle of the park.
Moneyglass relied on the brilliance of Sean Boyd and Tiernan McCormick with the pair proving a nightmare to cope with for their opponents, as they struck seven points between them.
Boyd found his first score from a gently clipped effort on the fifth minute before McCormick soon followed with a point of his own, following a great score aided by the strong breeze in Toome.
McCormick split the uprights once again with a piece of brilliance which saw a neat pass and return from Boyd before the Antrim star floated a point between the sticks at the end of a driving run.
Caolan Boyd popped up with another score for Moneyglass and the men from Randalstown struggled to get out of their half with the continued pressure and multiple turn-overs which rained heavy from their opponents.
Both Sean and Caolan Boyd reached the catch-net with points and stretched their side’s advantage to eight points by the 25th minute as Tir na nOg continued to struggle to open their account.
Aidan McErlain soon got in on the act with a score from a free before Tiernan McCormick showed his class once again and used his blistering pace before splitting the posts once more,
Tír na nÓg rarely threatened in the opening half, but, they did have a goal chance from Cormac Devlin, but it was one of seven first-half wides as Rory Gribbon’s posts continued to prove an elusive target.
The St. Ergnat’s management must have been relatively happy with that first half performance but perhaps a little concerned given the strength of the breeze they were about to face in the second half.
Darragh Fagan squeezes past Zach McCaughan to score the games only goal and give his side some hope
They need not have worried however as the second-half unfolded, it was much of the same from the sides in the opening minutes, and Moneyglass built on their lead with another Tiernan McCormick point for his third of the day.
A five-minute spell as the half restarted gave some hope to the men in white as Eamon Óg McAllister pointed at the first time of asking for his side and they looked on course shortly after when a splendid Darragh Fagan two-pointer flew between the uprights, the Tir na nOg talisman finally finding his range.
A 45 from Fagan and a great score from Ciaran O’Neill saw the lead reduced further, but Moneyglass managed to retain their advantage when Colum Duffin and Sean Boyd both raised white flags in reply.
Dermott McErlain and Duffin both followed up and restored that lead back to eight points, but Randalstown were doing much better and continued to prod for the scores that would turn this game around..
Connor O’Neill found space and added a point for his side and when Eamon Óg McAllister’s driving run saw him finish to the net from a difficult angle, the fat was very much in the fire.
The low-struck effort did just enough to squeeze past Rory Gribbon in the Moneyglass goal and give his side hope that a comeback could be on the cards.
Barry McCormick then converted a great score to close the gap to three and St. Ergnat’s looked in a spot of bother for the first time but they rallied magnificently with Colm Duffin, now operating further out the field helping to steady the ship.
Tiernan McCormick fisted over and Duffin converted two frees as a composed Moneyglass saw out the game as St. Ergnat’s finished confident winners to retain their top flight status and condemn their opponents to a place in division 2 next season.
Moneyglass: Rory Gribbon; James McCormick, Zach McCaughan, Callum Murray; Eunan McErlain, Fearghal Duffin, Sean Boyd 0-3; Tiernan McCormick 0-4, Seanchan Duffin 0-2 (1xTP); Odhran Duffin, Aidan McErlain 0-1 (1f), Caolan Boyd 0-2; Mark Duffin, Colum Duffin 0-3 (0-3f), Dermott McErlain 0-3
Tír na nÓg: Conor McKenna; Ciaran McGrellis, Brandon McLornon, Daniel McLornan; Barry McCormick 0-2, Ryan Crilly, Ciaran Logan; Ciaran O’Neill 0-2, Cormac Devlin; Sean McKeown, Eamon Óg McAllister 1-1, Oliver McAtamney; Caleb Smith, Darragh Fagan 0-3 (1xtpf, 1×45′), Connor O’Neill 0-2
Referee: Colm McDonald (St. Gall’s)
Fearghal Duffin leads the celebrations as Moneyglass retain their top flight status with a win over Tir na nOg
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