Aodh Ruadh to the four
Senior Football Division 3
12 July 2014
Aodh Ruadh 4-8
Burt 1-6
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Aodh Ruadh made light of a greasy surface and tricky ball-handling to emerge with their second win over tough Inishowen opposition in as many weeks. With the preceding few hours seeing showery weather and a fresh breeze coming from the Atlantic the conditions were tricky and that was reflected in the football from both sides.
It was the homesters who were to open the scoring, and they did so in the best possible fashion.
Just before clock ticked into two minutes Ronan McGurrin let the ball into brother David McGurrin on the edge of the area. McGurrin got away a shot that he might not be too thrilled with, but it was deflected past Ciaran McDermott into the net by his own man. That was followed in short order by a point for David Dolan, winning his ball well before turning his man and slipping over.
Burt had to wait until the 11th minute before opening their account, that coming from a Dara Grant free. Aodh Ruadh responded instantly, the ball sped up the pitch to Ryan Granaghan who took his chance well. That was followed four minutes later by a Conor Patton effort, he was allowed to advance and had plenty of time to screw his shot over the bar to make the scores 1-3 to 0-1.
Peter Boyle then stepped up on the 19th minute to a tricky dead ball opportunity close to the sideline on the stand side of the field. His shot was splendidly accurate, but was to be the best bit of play for the remainder of the half. It was followed by a spell of interminable hand passing from Burt and over-cooked kick passes from Aodh Ruadh as both sides made the worst of the conditions.
The game was into added time when some quality returned to the tie. Ciron Whoriskey showed great guts to win a ball before feeding Ronan McGurrin, who again lashed the ball into brother David. This time the younger McGurrin would be much happier with his finish, an emphatic drive which Ciaran McDermott hadn't a chance with.
A minute later Burt managed their second score of the game, an excellent Joe Boyle distance free from out on the left which sailed over to leave the half time scores at Aodh Ruadh 2-4 Burt 0-2.
It was the Inishowen men who opened scoring in the second half, Dara Grant sticking over a close range free with a minute gone. Ronan Drummond chalked up an answering point for the homesters two minutes later, an excellent shot splitting the posts from out on the right.
A minute later and David McGurrin was through with an outside chance of a goal on. Ciaran McDermott showed great reactions to palm the ball over the bar, putting three goals between the sides.
Joe Boyle was Burt's man of the match, leading the charge the whole way through, and he got their score of the game in the 38th minute, a lovely effort from range and the visitors' first score from play.
David McGurrin pushed the gap out again with a free in front of the posts which was brought forward for dissent. That was followed by the score of the game in the 43rd minute. Johnny Gallagher showed huge courage to break a series of Burt tackles before letting the ball onto David McGurrin. He work the ball out Jamie McDonald on the left hand side of the penalty area and he finished clinically, low and hard to the corner. Aodh Ruadh piled on the misery for the visitors a minute later with David Dolan firing over a sumptuous point to take the scores to 3-8 to 0-4.
That score saw Ballyshannon easing off the gas and Burt used the opportunity to finish brightly. Joe Boyle was the first to take advantage, sweeping over a quality long range effort. Then with ten minutes to go Enda McDermott became only the third Burt man to get on the score sheet with a nice point. Dara Grant added another point shortly after from a free.
Young star Sean Mullan was making his debut for Burt after a two year spell on Sheffield Wednesday's books. He didn't see much possession for much of the game, but when the ball came his way he made good use of it. Aodh Ruadh were unable to clear the ball and Mullan profited, drilling home a good shot to put eight points between the sides with eight minutes left.
The final say was left to Aodh Ruadh. A minute into added time David Dolan showed great strength making a burst down the right wing with the ball. He then showed even better vision to drill in a laser guided cross which Pauric Patton palmed into the net to make the final scores 4-8 to 1-6 in favour of Aodh Ruadh.
So another two important points for Ballyshannon as they maintain their promotion push. It was a real team effort from Aodh Ruadh. Defensively Ciron Whoriskey was in very assertive mood, while Johnny Gallagher was show-casing all the best aspects of his game. Conor Patton and Eamonn McGrath became progressively more dominant as the game went on, while the midfield partnership of Ronan McGurrin and James O'Donnell were in control throughout.
Up front David McGurrin finished the game with 2-2 to his credit and his contribution was a big factor in the Ballyshannon win. David Dolan's ball winning qualities were once again in evidence, and he set up a number of scores, as well as finishing with two points.
For Burt, half forward Joe Boyle was the pick, never giving up the fight at any point. Paul McHugh, an under 21 star last season, also caught the eye at half back as a spring board from Burt kick outs.
| Vital Statistics |
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| Teams |
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Aodh Ruadh Peter Boyle (0-1f); Michael Ward, Damien Cleary, Ciron Whoriskey; Johnny Gallagher, Eamonn McGrath, Conor Patton (0-1); Ronan McGurrin, James O'Donnell; Eddie Lynch, David McGurrin (2-2, 2f), Ronan Drummond (0-1); Ryan Granaghan (0-1), David Dolan (0-2), Jamie McDonald (1-0). Substitutes: Diarmaid McInerney for Jamie McDonald: 46 minutes; Pauric Patton (1-0) for Ronan McGurrin: 54 minutes; Kieran Keown for Eddie Lynch: 59 minutes; Niall Thomas for James O'Donnell: 59 minutes; Daniel Kelly, Philip Patton Wides: First half: 4; Second half: 2; Total: 6. Frees conceded: First half: 9; Second half: 5; Total: 14. Kick outs won: Own: 8; Opposition: 1; Total: 9. |
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Burt Ciaran McDermott; Stephen O'Donnell, Ronan McDermott, Seamus O'Donnell; Darren Gallagher, Rory Grant, Paul McHugh; Paddy McDermott, Enda McDermott (0-1); Sean McHugh, Joe Boyle (0-3, 1f), Dara Grant (0-2f); Mark Coyle, Stephen Gillespie, Sean Mullan (1-0). Substitutes: Phelim Henry for Stephen Gillespie: 36 minutes; Stephen Gillepsie for Paddy McDermott: 54 minutes. Wides: First half: 4; Second half: 3; Total: 7. Frees conceded: First half: 3; Second half: 8; Total: 11. Kick outs won: Own: 11; Opposition: 4; Total: 15. Yellow card: Joe Boyle: 36 minutes. Black card: Mark Coyle: 57 minutes, not replaced. |
| Referee: Connie Doherty (Naomh Conaill) |
Last modified: Thursday, 28 May 2020 at 10:46pm