ACL Div 3 round-up: Aghaloo and Drumquin maintain good form

ALL-COUNTY LEAGUE DIVISION THREE ROUND-UP

Aghaloo 1-12  Killeeshil 1-10

SOMETIMES you need to get the senses stirred to realise the gift that sport can give and keeps on giving.

This was one of those matches that reminds you of how compelling gaelic football can be despite all the negativity we hear about dour styles of play and claims it’s just not like the football of yesteryear.

Killeeshil folk may not look back on the tie as fondly as the home contingent, given the nature of their defeat. The St Mary’s camp will feel that some key moments went against them and one in particular near the finish. They still showed plenty of potential for the second half of the season, though, through their performance and effort on the evening.

Play began with Killeeshil opening the scoring through a Luke Donnelly fisted point following Donnelly’s forceful run. Aghaloo replied with a sharp move that yielded a Niall McElroy point inside five minutes.

St Mary’s midfielder Dillon O’Neill landed a long distance point and opposing midfielder Jody McGlone did likewise in response as play moved fast from end to end.

A Tomas Hoy free preceded another big point delivered over by Jody McGlone and Gary O’Gorman gave Aghaloo the lead for the first time from a free 14 minutes in. Niall McElroy then followed up for his side’s fifth point of the match.

Killeeshil were awarded a penalty after Tomas Hoy was impeded on 23 minutes and St Mary’s keeper Ciaran Reilly converted past opposing custodian Jason Mulgrew.

Ruairi McGlone scored the closing point of the first half as the sides went in level at 0-6 to 1-3 and McGlone set up a quick goal chance after the break which James O’Hara finished home to the net at close quarters.

Cormac Donaghy got the St Mary’s second half account going with a point before both sides missed a few opportunities. Gary O’Gorman and Paul O’Neill swapped tidy points prior to Tomas Hoy(free)that left just one between the teams.

Conor Mullen was getting on the ball well for Aghaloo and his link-up play helped to bring about a Niall McElroy free conversion. Michael O’Neill, though, was on target as the St Mary’s responded again.

Gary O’Gorman(free) and a third thumping point courtesy of Jody McGlone left Killeeshil facing a three-point gap. The St Mary’s dug in well as Cathal Rafferty and Dillon O’Neill delivered his second long range score.

Tomas Hoy gave Killeeshil parity at 1-10 each via a free after 57 minutes and the St Mary’s pressed again but hard working half-back Conor McCool’s first time effort being declared wide led to plenty of frustration being felt on behalf of the visiting camp.

Play continued into added time and a resilient Aghaloo conjured up clinching scores from Gary O’Gorman plus Ruairi McGlone to swing the verdict narrowly their way.

Augher 0-9 Drumquin 1-11

THE St Macartan’s and Tones met at Fr Hackett Park in Augher where Drumquin got the better of the exchanges to maintain their good run of form.

Drumquin arrived for Friday’s contest placed joint third in the table on 14 points, whereas Augher started play in joint fifth with 12 points. The Tones netted the game’s only goal from Oisin Gormley who put in a productive shift by adding five points overall to his major strike. Sean McDonagh supplied three points for Drumquin as well.

It was a tight enough affair and that Gormley goal gave Drumquin an extra bit of leeway to help get across the winning line. Augher battled well as the likes of Declan Connolly, Ronan McElroy, Tiernan McElroy and the returning Darragh Kavanagh contributed to the St Macartan’s score mix. Drumquin, though, did enough to maintain their prominent position in the league listings.

Glenelly 1-10 Eskra 0-10

THE home St Joseph’s boosted their league standing before the break with this victory over an Eskra side who were encountering their second reversal in three outings.

Second-placed Eskra made the trip to Plumbridge seeking a ninth league victory as they faced a St Joseph’s side close by in sixth spot. The Emmets led narrowly over half-time on 0-7 to 0-6 with Joe McCarroll and Cathal Meegan landing seven points between them overall in the game. The St Joseph’s, though, turned matters their way in the closing 30 minutes.

Lorcan McCullagh not only posted six points on the home side of the scoreboard but he had an influential game overall. Oscar O’Neill, Kevin McConnell and Rory Kennedy also performed well for the St Josephs. Ronan O’Kane delivered the key score when netting in that last half and Cormac McBride sent over a point brace. Single scores came from Rory Kennedy and Nathan McLaughlin.

Strabane 1-8 Clann na nGael 0-10

ORAN McGrath helped make the difference in favour of Strabane as the Sigersons edged out visitors Clann na nGael by a point on Friday evening.

The Sigersons started play looking to augment their tally of points in the table and Clann na nGael too sought additional points from their pre-match slot. The match itself was tight and Clann na nGael held a one-point lead over the interval. The away team were within grasp of a favourable result but Oran McGrath netted the only goal of proceedings late on as Strabane reached the winning line narrowly in front.

McGrath complemented his goal with five well-struck scores on an evening when Kelvin Nelson, Gavin Molloy and Conal Crawford also found the target for Strabane. Clann na nGael remained right in the mix through the scoring efforts of Aaron Devine and Terry McCaughey among others but the Sigersons held on for their fifth win.

Killyman 1-13 Urney 1-8

KILLYMAN sealed their first success of the season as the St Mary’s held off Urney’s challenge at home base.

The St Mary’s and St Columba’s were both on the trail of their opening league points of the campaign when meeting here at Killyman. Urney tried hard but it was the home St Mary’s that emerged victorious by a five-point margin at the finish. They had to dig in for the second half, however, after Urney showed ahead by a single point at the midway juncture.

Ryan Henry proved a good source of scores for the St Columba’s here and Darly Maxwell got their goal. At the other end of the field, Cathal McGahan and Enda McGahan led the Killyman point returns as the hosts turned things round. The game remained finely balanced but Enda McGahan slotted home a penalty to help set the seal on that first St Mary’s success.

Derrytresk 0-11 Castlederg 3-6

CASTLEDERG made the long trek to meet Derrytresk on the loughshore and the St Eugene’s scored three goals en route to securing an away victory.

The visiting St Eugene’s have been in decent form during the first half of the fixture list and were seeking a return to winning ways following their round nine reversal at the hands of Aghaloo. The home team sent over five more points than their guests here but those goals dented Derrytresk in regards to the ultimate outcome.

Matty McMenamin pocketed two of the away goals, with Paddy Lynch finding the net as well. Daire Corry claimed four points(one free) plus Oran O’Donnell and Mark Corry pointed too. Derrytresk tried to rally with Cathal O’Neill among their points but Brian Coyle, Padraig Keys and the St Eugene’s defence as a whole would not wilt. Ben Harper had a fine game in the playmaker role as well.

Errigal Ciaran III 0-10 Brocagh 2-6

A BRACE of first half goals helped lay the foundation for Brocagh to secure victory over Errigal Ciaran III at Dunmoyle on Thursday evening.

Both these teams were keen to sign off for the holiday break with a positive result and a closely contested tie unfolded. Errigal enjoyed the better of the point exchanges but those Brocagh goals held the key to this away victory. Marc Canavan and James McKiver netted the three-pointers as the Emmets gave themselves an advantage that Errigal Ciaran kept pushing to try and turn round.

Davy Harte sent over seven scores on the evening for Errigal Ciaran who also had points from Damien ‘Dasher’ McDermott, Caolan Tierney and Colm Mellon. Brocagh picked off points via goal suppliers Marc Canavan(2) and James McKiver(1) plus Owen O’Neill, Niall McCloskey and Stephen Canavan landed single scores as the Emmets returned home with the league points in tow.

Tattyreagh 0-14 Donaghmore III 3-7

THE Tatts and St Patrick’s were in action on Thursday evening when Donaghmore landed their third league victory thus far following a contest in which three away goals proved pivotal.

Donaghmore had put some points on the board earlier in the campaign but the St Patrick’s were looking to regain the winning habit here and they delivered. Sean McCaul and Mark McGoldrick(2) netted the away goals as McCaul led the points registered. The home St Patrick’s will hope that they can get some players back in action after the break.

Aidan Martin chalked up four frees in this one for Tattyreagh and Eoin McGinn also claimed 0-4, two via place kicks, with Jarlath McDonagh landing two points in open play. Ciaran McCroary, Cathal Darcy, Keelan McDonagh and Chris Armstrong also scored for the host St Patrick’s but it was Donaghmore’s day.