Aghyaran are edged out in six goal thriller

Moortown 3-13  Aghyaran 3-11

MOORTOWN came through by the skin of their teeth in Sunday’s Intermediate Championship quarter-final against a hugely resilient Aghyaran at Carrickmore.

St Malachy’s surged into a 2-4 to 0-2 lead by the end of the opening quarter and it looked like it was going to be a fairly straightforward day at the office for a team that cruised past Fintona on their first day out.

Aghyaran by contrast hadn’t impressed against Cookstown, and they looked in a big spot of bother against Moortown, but they can be really proud of their efforts yesterday as they dug in their heels and came roaring back into the contest.

Indeed, with the clock ticking into the final ten minutes it looked like an upset could be on the cards as the scoreboard read 3-11 apiece, but Moortown mustered the final two scores of a thrilling contest to belatedly make sure of their place in the semi-finals.

Moortown, tipped by many as Intermediate Champions in waiting, flew out of the traps and opened up a 1-3 to no score lead by the ninth minute.

Attacking at angles and blessed with players more than capable of taking a score, Tarlach Quinn and the hugely influential Paul Quinn, who popped up just about everywhere, got the show on the road early doors.

Then came the opening goal of the game – and it wouldn’t be the last – half-back Brian McLernon spotting a gap in the Aghyaran rearguard and making hay with only the goalie to beat.

The Loughshore side compounded their advantage with a Paul Quinn point but it wasn’t entirely one-way traffic and Aghyaran got their first score with a Ronan McHugh free in the 12th minute.

Benny Gallen floated over a lovely score to leave Aghyaran with a more manageable four-point deficit to work with, but Moortown certainly weren’t afraid to go for the jugular and their efforts yielded a second goal when Liam Lawn raced in at an angle and blasted the ball home.

Paul Quinn’s link play was hugely effectual and he also carries a serious scoring threat, and he landed his second point from play, leaving Moortown with a 2-4 to 0-2 lead in the 17th minute.

You’d have been forgiven for thinking that the game was as good as over but Aghyaran weren’t about to throw in the towel and they conjured up two goals in the space of a minute, long-range passes into Benny Gallen finished to the net by the versatile full-forward.

Remarkably a third goal arrived in the very next play, Moortown midfielder Sean Kelly tucking the ball home with the game starting to become something of a goalfest.

The rest of the half was fairly even – Ronan McHugh, who was stationed around the middle, banging over a couple of frees while Moortown tagged on further points from play courtesy of Rian Smith and Liam and Shea Lawn.

So they led 3-7 to 2-6 – all 3-7 of their tally coming from open play – but the game was by no means over thanks to the concerted efforts of the underdogs, and it’s fair to say Aghyaran gave it absolute everything after the break.

Moortown kept the scoreboard ticking over with points from Liam Lawn (a free, which was their first converted free of the championship to date) and goalkeeper Tony Quinn, but Aghyaran were in no mood to lie down and kept in contention and nabbed their third goal of the game, this time from Eoghan McHugh. Thirty six minutes of play had elapsed and there’d been six goals – the neutrals were certainly getting their money’s worth.

Moortown were nowhere near as fluid in attack as they had been prior to the break and credit for that must go to a resilient Aghyaran side characterised by the unselfish work in the middle sector from their scoregetter-in-chief Ronan McHugh.

Diarmuid McHugh landed two points while Benny Gallen nailed a difficult effort and it really looked like an upset could be on the cards with the scoreboard reading 3-11 apiece heading into the final ten minutes.

It was a time for cool heads and Moortown got their noses in front via half-back Connor Quinn, a crucial score in the overall scheme of things, and then they earned a close-in free that was converted by Shea Lawn as the clock ticked into injury time.

Aghyaran needed a goal – and you wouldn’t have ruled it out given there had already been six of them – but Moortown hung on to book their semi-final spot against Derrylaughan.

The Scorers

Moortown
Liam Lawn (1-3, 1f), Paul Quinn (0-3), Sean Kelly and Brian McLernon (1-0 each), Shea Lawn (0-2, 1f), Tarlach Quinn (0-2), Tony Quinn, Conor Quinn and Rian Smith (0-1 each)

Aghyaran
Benny Gallen (2-2), Ronan McHugh (0-6f), Eoghan McHugh (1-0), Diarmuid McHugh (0-2), Ciaran McGlinchey (0-1)