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Five out of five for Aileach
21.10.11
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Greencastle...1 (Gill) Aileach...4 (A. Doherty 2, Donnelly, McGrory) Caoimhinn Barr reports from Ballybrack (Photo: Herbie Barr) AILEACH stretched their lead at the top of the Premier Division to five points after a fifth straight league victory when they overcame Greencastle last Sunday afternoon. A brace from flying winger Anthony Doherty added to goals either side of half-time by Eamon Donnelly and Ciaran McGrory were enough for the Inch men, who must now be considered firm title favourites. A late Charlie Gill strike in the first-half gave Greencastle a brief period of hope before Brian Bell’s men pulled clear with two more goals in the second. Aileach could even afford the luxury of a missed penalty after Greencastle keeper Kevin Cavanagh brilliantly touched Ciaran Craig’s effort onto the bar after an hour. Plying their trade on a difficult pitch at Ballybrack, the Riverside men, with Anthony Doherty, Gavin Doherty and Ciaran Craig in sparkling form, dominated for long periods and could have won by a wider margin had it not been for a series of fine stops by Greencastle keeper Kevin Cavanagh. |
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Home boss Eunan McDaid will
be happy that his team lived with the form side in
Inishowen for an hour and, at times, looked capable of
snatching a draw. The Premier survival of the Ballybrack
men won’t depend on games against Aileach but
Greencastle will need to start picking up points soon.
Bell’s men travel to Cockhill on Sunday confident of
making it six out of six. After early sparring, a Gavin Harkin cross from the right saw Greencastle frontman Danny Murphy flash a header wide. At the other end home keeper Kevin Cavanagh denied Aileach’s Anthony Doherty with a stunning stop following Gavin Doherty’s incisive pass before Greencastle defender Charlie Gill blocked Eddie McIntyre’s follow-up effort. There were loud calls for a penalty on the Greencastle sideline when Murphy went to ground under the weight of a heavy tackle but referee Stephen Deeney was unmoved. Title front-runners Aileach grabbed the lead from an unlikely source after fifteen minutes when Eamon Donnelly’s mis-hit free-kick on the left deceived Cavanagh in the home goal and trundled into the net. |
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A couple of threatening
runs by the lively Gary Collett had Aileach on the front
foot again before Eddie McIntyre almost doubled the Inch
team’s advantage with a clever chip, brilliantly saved
by Kevin Cavanagh. Gathering good possession in midfield, Greencastle playmaker Matthew Henry then carved out a chance for David Houston but Aileach keeper David McGeady made a smart stop to keep the visitors ahead. Lightning Aileach wideman Anthony Doherty skipped clear on the right to set-up Gary Collett, who fired too high from twelve yards, before Bell’s men doubled their advantage. Forsaking his wide role to cut inside with devastating effect, Anthony Doherty collected another excellent Gavin Doherty through ball before keeping his cool to sweep the ball past Cavanagh from fifteen yards. Rather than cave in though, the Greencastle challenge was bolstered by the strike and the home team went on to dominate the last ten minutes of the first-half with Gavin Harkin marauding forward on the right to great effect. Eunan McDaid’s charges deservedly pulled a goal back minutes before the break when Charlie Gill drilled home through a crowd of players after Aileach failed to clear Matthew Henry’s corner on the right. The Ballybrack blues began the second period in buoyant mood with David Houston flashing over following good work by Kieran Diver before Sean Cavanagh headed Henry’s corner over the top from six yards. Keeping his team in the hunt, Greencastle keeper Kevin Cavanagh saved well from Aileach substitute Ciaran McGrory after Ciaran Craig’s intelligent pass. Just before the hour mark Aileach’s star performer Anthony Doherty went sprawling in the box after Kevin Cavanagh raced from his goal in an attempt to clear a poor back pass prompting referee Deeney to immediately signal a penalty kick With a great chance to all but seal victory, Ciaran Craig stepped up to the spot but keeper Cavanagh more than made amends for his earlier error, tipping the penalty onto the bar and gathering the rebound superbly. Within sixty seconds Danny Murphy had a good chance to complete the Greencastle comeback but fired off target from the left side of the box only twelve yards out. Matthew Henry then displayed a cameo of his ability, turning smartly thirty yards from goal before setting his sights a foot too high with a whistling drive that had David McGeady worried. Those missed opportunities were to prove Greencastle’s last chance of upsettting the new title favourites. With a little over twenty minutes remaining Anthony Doherty controlled another second-half Ciaran Craig master pass before arrowing past Cavanagh at the near post to put Aileach two clear once more. Confident of victory, the men in yellow were comfortable thereafter, stroking the ball around impressively. Greencastle’s tactic of employing twin towers, Sean Cavanagh and Charlie Gill, further up the field with a more direct style of play failed to pay off. Aileach’s Ciaran Craig fired off-target as did James Gillespie before Ciaran McGrory stung the palms of Cavanagh with a fine header following Craig’s cross. On song Craig was the provider for goal number four too; deftly dinking the ball into the path of Ciaran McGrory who rifled home off-balance to give Cavanagh no chance. Greencastle: Kevin Cavanagh, Rory Lafferty, Gavin Harkin, Sean Cavanagh, Charlie Gill, Jack Keys, Matthew Henry, Seamus Hegarty, David Houston, Kieran Diver, Danny Murphy. Subs: Paddy McClenaghan, Eunan McDaid. Aileach: David McGeady, Dermot McGlynn, Declan O’Donnell, Eamon Donnelly, Damien Barr, James Gillespie, Anthony Doherty, Gavin Doherty, Eddie McIntyre, Ciaran Craig, Gary Collett. Subs: Ciaran McGrory, Brian Treacy, Conor McShane, Jimmy Gallagher, Dermot Doherty. Man of the Match Matthew Henry and Gavin Harkin were Greencastle’s best players on a disappointing afternoon while Ciaran Craig and Gavin Doherty caught the eye for Aileach. The award goes to flying winger Anthony Doherty, who delivered his best performance of the season in a yellow shirt and added two goals to boot. Ref Watch Stephen Deeney angered the home support by not pointing to the spot in the first period. He was right to give Aileach a penalty in the second. By and large let the game flow as much as possible. Not a difficult game to referee with few tackles flying in all afternoon. Turning Point Kevin Cavanagh’s second-half penalty save almost sparked a home revival prior but Anthony Doherty’s second goal to put Aileach 3-1 up with a little over twenty minutes remaining all but sealed victory for the talented Inch men. For full coverage of all your weekend sport, read the Inishowen Independent. |
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