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Naomh Pádraig miss play-off
12.11.08
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Naomh Pádraig, Iskaheen...0-8 (A. Lynch 0-6 (4 frees); B. Hegarty 0-1;G. McColgan 0-1) Red Hugh’s, Killygordon...0-12 (D. Browne 0-10 (8 frees); M. Coyle 0-1; PJ McLaughlin 0-1) by Damian Dowds, Inishowen Independent, at Ture Photos: Evan Logan NAOMH Pádraig ended their season with defeat at the hands of Red Hugh’s on Sunday. Victory would have seen them overtake the Killygordon side and move into the promotion play-off place, but Red Hugh’s have two games in and Naomh Pádraig would have been depending on them to lose both of those games to retain that place. Victory assured Red Hugh’s of a promotion play-off place at least, but should they win both their remaining games – at home against the joint league leaders Robert Emmet’s and Carndonagh – they would force a three-way tie at the top of Division 3. |
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The Muff men started the
stronger, but Red Hugh’s took control in the quarters on
either side of the half-time break and Naomh Pádraig
couldn’t really get back into the game after that. Muff
conceded too many frees in scorable positions, and the
accurate Damian Browne made light of the difficult
conditions to convert eight placed-balls over the hour. While the playing surface itself was in good nick, playing conditions at the Foyleside venue were awful. A strong wind whipped across the field throughout and a stinging hail shower just before half time made a miserable situation worse, and both teams deserve credit for serving up a fine, competitive game. Former county minor Aidan Lynch opened the scoring for the home team with a second minute free, but Damian Browne equalised from play soon after. With Enda McColgan putting in a powerful display at full back, and Dermot McColgan full of strong running at midfield, the Iskaheen side dominated for the next ten minutes. Two points from play from Barry Hegarty and Gerard McColgan on |
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either side of an Aidan
Lynch free had them 0-4 to 0-1 ahead by the 13th minute. Warren Scanlon’s attacking runs from left half back caused the Naomh Pádraig defence all kinds of trouble, and he drew three frees between the 14th and 18th minutes that Browne converted with the minimum of fuss. A goal chance briefly presented itself for Naomh Pádraig when goalkeeper Troy McCormack spilled a Dermot McColgan shot that dropped short, but their full forwards couldn’t react quickly enough and the Killygordon defence cleared the danger. Mark Coyle got the final score of the half, a fine individual point from the right wing, in the 24th minute, just before that heavy hail shower made playing conditions almost impossible. The players herded together like cattle as they tried in vain to shelter from the stringing hailstones and everyone was relieved when referee Paddy McGonagle sounded the half-time whistle. Leading by 0-5 to 0-4 at the break, Red Hugh’s tagged on four unanswered points at the start of the second half to build what turned out to be an unassailable lead. Three frees from the boot of Damian Browne, and a well taken point from full forward PJ Gallagher after a mix-up in the Naomh Pádraig defence had them 0-9 to 0-4 ahead by the 41st minute. Aidan Lynch was proving equally accurate from the placed ball at the other end, scoring two points in as many minutes midway through the half to narrow the deficit. Muff were on top at this stage, with Dermot McColgan dominant in the middle, and corner forward Mark Duffy coming deep to assist his defence. Lynch reduced the deficit to two points, 0-9 to 0-7, when he pointed after a foul on Dermot McColgan in the 49th minute. But just as Naomh Pádraig were threatening to make a game of it, Damian Browne collected the ball in midfield and held off a couple of challenges before pointing from play to break Muff’s momentum. The same player added two further frees, in the 25th and 27th minutes, to put five points between the teams. With the hard work done, Red Hugh’s dropped back and were content to defend their lead. Muff needed goals, and a half-chance fell to Aidan Lynch two minutes into injury time. The big midfielder found space at the edge of the parallelogram but he pulled his shot across the face of the goal and it went narrowly to the right and wide. Lynch added another pointed free in the 63rd minute, but time just ran out for the Muff men who will play Division 3 football again in the 2009. Red Hugh’s should know their fate before the end of the month. Naomh Pádraig, Iskaheen: Gerard Harkin; Paul Duffy, Enda McColgan, Ryan McColgan; John McLaughlin, Raymond McLaughlin, Brendan McColgan; Dermot McColgan, Aidan Lynch; Martin Duffy, Barry Hegarty, Colm McColgan; Gerard McColgan, Eunan Keaveney, Mark Duffy. Subs: Declan McLaughlin for C. McColgan (half-time); Kieran Harkin for B. Hegarty (34 mins); Colm McColgan for E. McColgan (48 mins); Barry Hegarty for D. McLaughlin (54 mins). Red Hugh’s, Killygordon: Troy McCormack; Kieran Callaghan, Sean Sweeney, Joe Coyle; Kevin Melaugh, Karl Gallen, Warren Scanlon; Paul Temple, Eugene Browne; Damian Browne, Anthony McDaid, Gerard Melaugh; Mark Coyle, PJ Gallagher, Rory Garvey. Sub: Martin Wilson for P. Temple (55 mins). * Both teams observed a minute’s silence before throw-in in memory of Seán Lynch. The Valentia Islander was a Muff-based customs man for some 40 years, and a founding member of Naomh Pádraig in 1989. He died after a short illness and was buried in his native Kerry last Thursday. Go ndéana Dia trócaire ar a h-anam. For full coverage of all your weekend sport, read the Inishowen Independent. |
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