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Extra time heartbreak for Malin
18.11.09
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Malin...0-10 (A Kelly 0-5 (3f), M Doherty 0-2, D Ward 0-1, G Farren 0-1, D McDaid 0-1) Termon...0-11 (C Conaghan 0-6 (6f), T Alcorn 0-4 (2f) B Nelis 0-1) by Simon McGeady, Inishowen Independent, in Convoy MALIN missed out on a place in Division One of the All County League in heart-breaking fashion in Convoy on Sunday afternoon, going down by a single point to Termon after 80 energy-sapping minutes of football. These teams shared one win apiece in the league and a 0-7 to 0-7 tie last week, so it was no surprise that there was precious little between them again at Pairc Naomh Mhuire at the weekend. |
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Indeed, after normal time
the sides could not be separated and only Termon’s
superior shooting in the second half of extra time
finally killed off Louis Walsh’s determined bunch. Termon shaded the contest and should have been out of sight in the second half. Malin led by six points to five a couple of minutes into the second period but then Termon kicked seven wides in a row as their supporters restless murmuring grew ever more audible. There was great relief, then, on 51 minutes when Trevor Alcorn collected PJ McFadden’s drilled low pass and spun around Darren Doherty’s challenge before firing over. A couple of minutes later Barry Nelis burst through on the left to give his side their first lead since the middle of the first half. The question was could they hold on until the final whistle? |
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| Malin
pressed and pressed and forced a turnover inside the
opposition’s 45 only for Anthony Kelly,
uncharacteristically, to miss the crucial free. Deep into injury time, just when all seemed lost for the Inishowen side, Gary Farren kept Malin’s final move alive after Anthony Kelly’s effort was blocked, the ball broke for substitute Daniel McDaid and he held his nerve to score from a tight angle. The sides couldn’t be separated after the first half of extra time and going into the final ten minutes of play the sides were deadlocked at 0-9 apiece. |
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Termon stunned Malin
straight from the throw in when the dangerous Alcorn
scored and when the Termon corner forward won a free
with four minutes to go, Conaghan held his nerve to put
two points between the sides. Three minutes from time the tireless Gary Farren intercepted a maroon shirt to set up Anthony Kelly and Malin were within touching distance once more, but then Termon took over a minute off the clock with possession football and what little time remained was at the referee’s discretion. Paddy Kelly set up Anthony Kelly for a desperate final shot of the game but it fell wide and with that Termon were up. Termon set a high tempo at the start and had Malin on the back-foot early on. Nevertheless chances were hard to come by and a quarter of an hour in the 2008 county finalists lead by three points to one through frees from Trevor Alcorn and two from Christy Conaghan, the second of which was struck unerringly from 44 metres after Bernard Alcorn won the breaking ball following Declan Lafferty’s kick out. |
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Malin’s forwards were
starved of service early on and had difficulty in
gaining separation from the Termon backs, with Joe
O’Donnell and Jimmy McElwaine composed and dominant.
Malin had six wides to Termon’s two in the first period.
The tide turned towards the end of the half as Malin gained a foothold in midfield. An Anthony Kelly free on 18 minutes should have been followed by another a couple of minutes later when Kelly bisected the posts from a side-line ball on the right, only for the score to be wiped off after the Malin free taker encroached onto the pitch before releasing his strike. In a game dominated by defences, Malin created the only clear goal-scoring chance. In first half injury time Anthony Kelly played a superb through pass that took out Termon backs Joe and Sean O’Donnell. Michael Doherty received the ball and played Gary Farren in on goal. Farren’s shot was true, but Termon keeper Michael Boyle somehow got enough on the shot and the ball cleared his bar for only a point. How crucial that save turned out to be in the end. Malin’s supporters gave their team a standing ovation as they left the pitch at the end of the match in recognition of their superb commitment. They had given it their all, but just come up short and will now spend a fourth season out of the top flight in Donegal. Termon are back in the big time and have a League final with Gweedore to look forward to. Malin: Declan Lafferty; Kevin McColgan, Declan Walsh, Darren Doherty; Daniel Green, Charlie Byrne, John McLaughlin (R); Paddy Kelly, Michael Doherty; Conor Farren, Damien Ward, Anthony Kelly; Gary Farren, Matthew Byrne, Patsy McColgan. Subs: Daniel McDaid for Conor Farren. Termon: Michael Boyle; Joe O’Donnell, Jimmy McElwaine, Sean O’Donnell; Jamie Gallagher, Paddy McDaid, Barry Nelis; Kevin McGettigan, Ollie Doherty; Bernard Alcorn, PJ McFadden, Anthony McGrenra; James Doherty Christy Conaghan Trevor Alcorn. Subs: Brendan Robinson for A McGrenra, Mark Alcorn for O Doherty. For full coverage of all your weekend sport, read the Inishowen Independent. |
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