Div 3 Round-Up: Aghaloo, Eskra and Drumquin among the victors

ACL DIVISION 3 ROUND-UP

Augher 0-9  Aghaloo 1-11

A RUAIRI McGlone goal in the closing stages swung the balance of this well-contested local ‘derby’ in favour of Aghaloo. The opening exchanges were evenly traded as a well-worked move yielded a second minute free from Augher’s Declan Connolly before Niall McElroy and then Jamie McElroy combined to put Aghaloo on the board.

Tiarnan Donnelly gave Aghaloo the lead with a score from distance but the St Macartan’s, who had to reshuffle positions due to Darragh Kavanagh being injured, responded via a Raymond McElroy ‘mark’ conversion.

Tiernan McElroy was causing the away defence some problems and McElroy angled over for his team on 12 minutes. Aghaloo’s Padraig McGeary pointed to leave the scores at 0-3 apiece midway through the half.

Ruairi McGlone had Aghaloo back in front with a 17th minute point and Aghaloo keeper Jason Mulgrew saved from Tiernan McElroy as Augher threatened to breach the away goals.

The influential Gary O’Gorman glided over Aghaloo’s fifth point to establish a gap of two for the first time. The visitors were now pushing forward with increasing purpose and Jody McGlone landed a point prior to Dillon Mullen doing likewise as Aghaloo led 0-7 to 0-3 after 22 minutes.

Martin McElhatton, Finbarr McQuaid and Jody Kelly were among those making interceptions to help turn over possession for Augher as Aghaloo probed further for scores.

A speedy home counter-attack then yielded Tiernan McElroy’s second point of proceedings. Declan Connolly also scored a free, reducing Augher’s arrears to two.

St Macartan’s keeper Pascal Gormley saved a Ruairi McGlone shot as half-time beckoned and McGlone’s follow-up to the net was ruled out for an infringement.

The sides headed for the interval with Aghaloo 0-7 to 0-5 in front. Tiarnan Donnelly put Aghaloo three up when scoring the opening point of the second half on 34 minutes. Both sides fluffed a few chances but Gary O’Gorman restored Aghaloo’s lead to four points in the 42nd minute.

Raymond McElroy was trying hard in attack for the St Macartan’s before injury curtailed his contribution but Eoghan Keenan did deliver a home point on 45 minutes.

Good work from Ben Trainor and Cathal McKenna helped preface a move that resulted in a Declan Connolly point for the St Macartan’s. Tiarnan Donnelly replied at the other end but half-back Finbar McElroy drove over a fine score to keep Augher in close contention.

Tiernan McElroy landed a ninth home point but Ruairi McGlone converted a ‘mark’ in response. Aghaloo then pounced for the game’s decisive score on 54 minutes as Tiarnan Donnelly delivered in an effort that came down off the upright invitingly for Ruairi McGlone who thumped the ball home.

Castlederg `0-9  Eskra 1-12

ESKRA maintained their unbeaten tag following a productive second half display as they got the better of Castlederg at the St Eugene’s base.

St Eugene’s started play with two victories behind them and Eskra were chasing a fifth straight success. Castlederg created some decent chances during the first half but their finishing was somewhat off target as the teams tied at 0-4 apiece over half-time. Scores began to flow somewhat better after the restart and each side had their spells on the front foot.

A James McNelis goal, though, enabled Eskra to gain a key foothold on proceedings. Daire Corry converted three frees for Castlederg, with Mark Corry (0-2) pointing from play and a place kick. Home points also came from Adam Traynor, Dominic McGoldrick, Matthew McMenamin and Tommy McMenamin. Eskra’s point returns included five from Joe McCarroll as the joint leaders headed home with win number five.

Derrytresk 0-9  Tattyreagh 0-10

TATTYREAGH edged a tight tussle away at Derrytresk to claim their second victory of the campaign on Friday evening.

The St Patrick’s headed for Derrytresk with one victory recorded from their four previous league outings. Derrytresk were keen to build on their two victories and a closely contested encounter ensued.

One point separated the sides at the finish and Tattyreagh were relieved to shade the verdict after the loughshore team had been in the ascendancy on the scoreboard earlier in the evening.

Scores were not that plentiful on the night but the St Patrick’s managed to emerge with a single point success that the Tatts will hope can lead to a decent run of results as June unfolds. Johnny Harkin sent over some important contributions to the away side’s cause, with Odhran Hughes prominent on the score front for Derrytresk who missed out by the minimum margin.

Urney 0-10  Strabane 1-9

THE St Columba’s welcomed the Sigersons for this local derby on Friday evening and the host team staged their best display of the season to nearly garner some reward from the contest.

It’s been a challenging start to the campaign for Urney who had three defeats on the board prior to throw-in. Strabane arrived with two wins and a draw to their name. The match hinged on fine margins and the only goal of the evening from Kelvin Nelson helped Strabane reach the final whistle narrowly in front.

Oran McGrath supplied four of Strabane’s points and Haydn McNamee contributed three points. Gavin Molloy and goal scorer Kelvin Nelson sent over points as well. The St Columba’s stayed right in the mix as Ryan Henry added to their score account but the home side found themselves two points shy by the finish.

Brackaville 0-5  Drumquin 1-14

THE Roes had the Tones as visitors for this Thursday evening match and the away side made it five wins from as many outings in convincing fashion.

Brackaville had drawn with Strabane the week previous when Dale McSorley brought the Roes to parity, whereas Drumquin rallied to overturn Tattyreagh. The home Roes tried hard on the evening but they were unable to match scoreboard strides with Drumquin. The Tones showed ahead over the interval by 1-3 to 0-2 after Sean McDonagh found the net with what turned out to be the game’s only goal.

McDonagh landed good points in each half as well to finish on a 1-5 tally overall. Oisin McMenamin and Oisin Gormley shared a six-point return, with Finnen Patterson landing a brace into the bargain as the Tones continue to share top spot in the league.

Brocagh 2-8  Clann na nGael 1-15

CLANN na nGael laid the foundation for this victory at Brocagh during a first half that yielded an interval lead of seven points and the guests did enough to hold off a subsequent home team revival bid.

Both Brocagh and Clann na nGael took to the field looking for boosts following reversals the week before, with the North Tyrone team making more of an impact as that opening 30 minutes unfolded. David Conway netted for Clann na nGael as they turned round leading by 1-8 to 0-4.

Brocagh, whose first half points were provided by Owen Canavan (0-2), James McKiver and Michael Robinson, lifted the tempo after half-time. The Emmets gave themselves a chance of overturning things as Niall Cassidy and James McKiver both bagged goals.

McKiver also pointed, as did Ciaran Campbell, Mickey Hughes and Aidan Dorman. Clann na nGael, though, held their ground with points courtesy of Ciaran Kerlin, goal scorer David Conway and Aaron Devine.

Errigal Ciaran III 4-13  Donaghmore III 1-2

HOME team Errigal Ciaran III chalked up a considerable score tally as they got the better of Donaghmore III in Dunmoyle.

Errigal Ciaran recorded their first success of the season in round four when beating Urney and they were expecting a good tussle with the St Patrick’s who have produced some battling displays alongside their one win thus far as well. The guests, however, found scores tricky to find on this occasion but the St Patrick’s still worked hard during the encounter.

Sunny conditions provided a summer style backdrop to proceedings as Davy Harte(1-5) and Ben McDermott(2-1) led the home score returns. Pat Corrigan got a goal too, with Cahir Tierney and Colm Mellon contributing 0-3 each. Sean Mellon added a point to the Errigal account as well. The St Patrick’s managed to notch a goal but Errigal had the league points in safe keeping.

Glenelly 4-22  Killyman 0-2

THIS was just the second fixture so far for Glenelly following some recent postponements but the St Joseph’s put lack of match practice behind them to seal a second win in the league.

It was a challenging evening for the visiting St Mary’s who were chasing the game as the St Joseph’s chalked up a steady supply of scores. Killyman, on the other hand, could only find two points but the St Mary’s kept trying despite the lop-sided look of the scoreboard.

Nathan McLaughlin was in lively form for the St Joseph’s and he posted a tidy return of 1-9. Lorcan McCullagh claimed 1-4 plus Eamonn McConnell rowed in with 1-2.

Thomas Coyle scored Glenelly’s other goal as Seamus Harkin and Cormac McBride each contributed point braces. Ronan O’Kane, Conor McAneny and Cathal O’Neill sent over St Joseph’s scores too.