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Muff men rue missed chances 14.10.09
 Promotion hopes all but dashed following wasteful display

Convoy...1-11
(Shovlin 0-8, McMullan 0-1, Mailey 1-1, Kyle 0-1)

Muff...1-07
(B Hegarty 0-2, D McLaughlin 0-1, M Dufy 0-1, G McColgan 0-1, R McColgan 1-0, O McColgan 0-1, C McColgan 0-1)

by Liam Porter, Inishowen Independent, in Convoy

NAOMH Padraig’s hopes of promotion from division four of the all-county league were all but dashed on Saturday night following a wasteful performance in front of goal that saw them squander several great scoring chances that in the end cost them dearly.
Not only did the men from Muff miss a first half penalty, they hit the woodwork three times and hit eight wides, many from scoreable positions.
And it was that poor finishing that really cost them a match they should have won, especially since they dominated possession for large periods of the second half.
However, after they’d found the net in the 19th minute of the first half with a Ryan McColgan goal that had given them a three point lead, Naomh Padraig failed to register a score again until the 22nd minute of the second half, and by that stage they had left themselves just too big of a mountain to climb.
It had been even pegging in the opening quarter. David Shovlin opened the scoring for Convoy with a free in the first minute, but a fine point from play by Barry Hegarty had the sides level within sixty seconds.
Then came the penalty. Mark Duffy worked the ball well into Barry Hegarty who was fouled by Gary Patton and referee Ciaran McShea immediately awarded the spot kick. However Convoy keeper Emmett Doherty made a good save from Barry Hegarty’s shot and Padraig Porter reacted quickest to sweep away the loose ball from the inrushing Muff forwards.
Still, the Muff side looked lively, with Mark Duffy in particular enjoying good possession down the left and they went back ahead in the 7th minute when Duffy found Declan McLaughlin and he fisted over the bar.
Again Convoy came back, this time Thomas McHugh’s good work setting up the dangerous David Shovlin for a point to level the scores. Mark Duffy and Christopher Kyle traded points after that and by the 12th minute the sides were still level at three points each.
Gerard McColgan’s free put Muff ahead again in the 16th minute but Lawrence McMullan’s good work set up Shovlin again and he fired over to again tie the game in the 18th minute.
However a minute later Muff again cut the home defence open and when Aidan Lynch worked the ball into Ryan McColgan he made no mistake by smashing home past Emmett Doherty to give the visitors a three point advantage.
They should really have built on that, but instead the home side rallied and two more points from Shovlin and one from Lawrence McMullan had the sides level again by the 26th minute.
And this time there was no comeback from Muff. Instead Shovlin pointed again with a clever chip from the ground that came off the post before dropping over and then Mailey hammered to the roof of the net a minute before the break to see Convoy turn a three goal deficit into a four point lead.
Declan McLaughlin almost pulled a point back for Muff on the stroke of half-time but saw his shot come off the side of the post and there was similar bad luck at the start of the second half when Mark Duffy first rattled the bar just fifteen seconds after the re-start and a minute later saw another shot come off the post.
Muff had all the possession at this stage but it was Convoy who scored again, Mailey firing over following some great work by Mark Sweeney and Thomas McHugh to set up the chance.
Another free from Shovlin ten minutes into the half had Convoy’s tally to 1-10, but Muff still had all the ball and just couldn’t score.
In a twelve-minute spell the Naomh Padraig men fired six efforts wide of the target and eventually managed to notch up a score when Barry Hegarty’s fine point from play left five points between the teams.
And then it looked as if there might be a comeback on the cards. Substitute Oisin McColgan followed up with another good point from play and a minute later Colm McColgan grabbed a high ball from a free before turning to fire over a fine point.
There were now just three points between the sides with six minutes to go, but another free from Shovlin added to Convoy’s tally.
In a tetchy ending when tempers flared on both sides, neither could muster another score and in the end Convoy held on for a win that keeps their promotion hopes alive, but surely puts an end to Naomh Padraig’s.

Convoy: Emmett Doherty, Liam Prunty, John A McMullan, Kevin Boyle, John Doherty, Padraig Porter, Gary Patton, Marty McNamee, Thomas McHugh, Mark Sweeney, Laurence McMullan, Packie Mailey, Christopher Kyle, David Shovlin, Seamus O’Donnell.

Muff: Gerard Harkin, Laurence Lynch, Enda McColgan, Gary McKinney, John McLaughlin, Raymond McLaughlin, Cathal McColgan, Barry McColgan, Colm McColgan, Gerard McColgan, Barry Hegarty, Ryan McColgan, Declan McLaughlin, Aidan Lynch, Mark Duffy.

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