Agony for Aghyaran as Moy end their promotion hopes

Moy 1-10 Aghyaran 0-11

A SECOND win in successive weeks has left Moy just one step away from winning promotion back to Division One following a hard-fought victory which could have been so much more comfortable for them.

It was all looking relatively easy for the Tir Na nOgs after a brilliant first half display earned them a commanding 1-7 to 0-3 interval lead. But they had to stage a strong defensive performance on the resumption when Aghyaran came battling back.

The east Tyrone side, though, got the points required to steady things in the closing stages. They now progress to play Coalisland for a place in the senior ranks for 2024, and what an intriguing encounter that one should prove to be.

Moy will hope to reproduce many of the positives from this tie, including a first half display which was especially impressive. Playing with the aid of the wind, they were quickly into their stride and maintained that control throughout those opening 30 minutes.

They were 1-2 to no score ahead after only five minutes. A brace of points from Michael Conroy was embellished by a goal from Declan Conroy. He capitalised on good work from Ryan Conroy who won possession from a misplaced kick-out and just managed to scramble the ball to the net.

All was set for a close contest moments later when Ethan McHugh and Ronan McNamee both pointed for Aghyaran. However, they were unable to sustain their challenge initially at least as the Tir Na nOgs took control subsequently.

Play was held up for five minutes due to an injury to Colm Cavanagh. When play resumed, Moy really turned on the style. Between then and half-time they registered a series of fine scores to open up a commanding advantage.

Colm Cavanagh finished off a fine movement to leave them 1-4 to 0-2 ahead. With Ryan Conroy dictating matters from the centre of the defence, they pressed hard and yielded the dividends. Ryan Coleman added a free, before a great move culminated in Mark Gribben passing to Michael Conroy who made it 1-6 to 0-2.

He was excelling, and his workrate was highlighted when he fired over a free just moments after making an important interception in front of his own goals. There appeared to be no stopping them as Aghyaran struggled despite the best efforts of Thomas Dolan, Ronan McNamee and Ciaran McGlinchey to kick-start a revival.

Their only response was a point courtesy of Benny Gallen just before the break. That gave them some hope at the interval, but the general consensus was that Moy had built up a strong enough lead to withstand whatever they tackled on the resumption.

That was eventually how it proved. However, for much of that second half, Aghyaran worked really hard and were unfortunate not to have closed the gap still further on the leaders. Nevertheless, their workrate, direct approach and skill during that second half was of the highest quality.

After the setback of going 1-8 to 0-3 in arrears courtesy of Diarmuid McKeown, the St Davig’s recovered in brilliant fashion. Over a 24 minute spell, they outscored Moy by seven points to one, and they sought to complete their comeback in the final moments.

It was Ronan McHugh and Ronan McNamee who really spearheaded that revival. Three points from Ronan McHugh and a fourth from McNamee made the score 1-8 to 0-9, with time remaining for Aghyaran to complete their comeback.

Long range points became a speciality for them during that period. Time and again the attacking duo took a chance from far out and were rewarded. Add in the efforts of Thomas Dolan, Patrick McNulty, Ciaran McGlinchey and Benny Gallen it’s clear how they dominated for much of that second half.

However, they just failed to finish the job. Instead, Moy lifted the siege in the final stages despite having Ryan Coleman black carded. Two points from Michael Conroy eased the pressure on them, and ensured that they reached the finish line with relative ease.

Swapped points between Michael Conroy and Ciaran McGlinchey completed the scoring, as Moy progressed to next weekend’s final play-off clash to decide the final senior place for the 2024 season.