Revenge for Naomh Columba
Division 3 Football League
1 July 2012
Aodh Ruadh 0-5
Naomh Columba 1-10
John Hughes reports from Father Tierney Park
The men from Glen exacted revenge for their surprise 0-10 to 4-4 defeat at the hands of Aodh Ruadh back in April and propelled themselves to joint top of the division with Termon and Carndonagh. Meanwhile Ballyshannon's remorseless drop has taken them to third from bottom with all the sides around them still with games in hand as they slipped to their fifth defeat on the bounce.
As for the game itself there was little for attendees to get too excited about. With both sides setting out in defensive formations there was a lot of ball recycled outside the 45s and shooting opportunities hard won.
Aodh Ruadh had the early pressure with David Dolan going close with a free before Michael 'Sticky' Ward slotted over on three minutes. Naomh Columba got on the score board a minute later when a shot from Kevin Beag Cunningham was given as a point by Andrew Mullin despite being given wide by the two umpires. It certainly looked wide from the press box. In any event it was to have no critical impact on the course of the game and the sides were level. Three minutes later Oisín McGinley, the best attacking player on show, fired over a quality long range effort to edge the visitors in front. Kerry Ryan responded on 13 minutes, his shot coming back off the inside of the post to level the game at 0-2 to 0-2.
A minute later came a hammer blow for Ballyshannon. With defences on top it was clear a goal was always going to have a decisive say. Oisín McGinley had a shot at the posts from out on the right, but his effort came back of the post and Liam Boyle was the quickest to react, slipping the ball into the net before the Ernesiders even knew where it was. Two minutes later Sticky Ward fashioned a defiant response with a good score from distance, but that was to be Aodh Ruadh's last score for fully 35 minutes.
Indeed the second quarter was pretty uninspired from both sides and was only enlivened at the end when the Glen midfielders, Dermot and Declan Maguire added points in the closing minutes of the half. Declan Maguire's point came after some intricate and precise play from the visitors and was probably the best worked score of the half and took the sides in at the break at 0-3 to 1-4.
The first ten minutes of the second half continued in the same pedestrian vein as the second quarter. Aodh Ruadh needed the next score and although they had plenty of possession, but couldn't penetrate the Glen defensive cover. In the event it was Naomh Columba who drew first blood with Oisín McGinley adding his second score of the game on 41 minutes. McGinley added a free six minutes later to push the visitor's lead out to seven points and two minutes later Michael Maguire added another to all but finish the game as a contest.
With nine minutes left David Dolan executed a routine free to register the homesters first score since the 16th minute of the first half. That was cancelled out two minutes later when Dermot Maguire capped a business-like 60 minutes with his second point of the game.
There were two further scores in added time a Dolan free answered by a long range effort from Gavin McGinley which just sneaked over Paul Kane's cross bar.
So four wins from the last five put Naomh Columba firmly in the promotion mix. Oisín McGinley was the best player on show, while the midfield of Dermot and Declan Maguire were exercised a dertermined influence on the game. Meanwhile the spectre of relegation to the basement becomes ever more palpable with each passing game for Aodh Ruadh.
| Vital Statistics |
|---|
| Teams |
|
Aodh Ruadh Paul Kane; Michael Dolan, Ciron Whoriskey, Ronan Drummond; Niall McCready, PJ McGee, Anthony Boyle; Donagh McIntyre, Kerry Ryan (0-1); Conor Patton, Padraig Loughlin, David Dolan (0-2f); Diarmaid McInerney, Michael Ward (0-2), Brian Roper. Substitutes: Ruairí Drummond for Diarmaid McInerney: Half time, James O'Donnell for Brian Roper: Half time, Shane Ward for Kerry Ryan: 42 minutes, David Finnerty for Padraig Loughlin: 47 minutes; Brian Roper for Michael Ward: 47 minutes; Kieran Keown, Ronan Matthews. Yellow cards: Michael Ward: 22 minutes; Ciron Whoriskey: 54 minutes. Frees awarded: 27 Wides: 7 |
|
Naomh Columba Shane O'Gara; Ciaran McBrearty, Kevin Cunningham, Martin Cunningham; Kevin McNern, Michael Maguire (0-1), Barry Carr; Declan Maguire (0-1), Dermot Maguire (0-2); Gavin McGinley (0-1), Ryan McNern, Andrew O'Gara; Oisín McGinley (0-4, 2f), Kevin Beag Cunningham (0-1), Liam Boyle (1-0). Substitutes: Conor Butler for Ryan McNern: 45 minutes; Francis McGinley for Kevin Beag Cunningham: 55 minutes. Yellow cards: Andrew O'Gara: 27 minutes. Frees awarded: 14 Wides: 4 |
| Referee: Andrew Mullin (Killybegs) |
Last modified: Monday, 1 June 2020 at 1:11pm