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Carn book place in Junior A
final
11.09.08
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Carndonagh...0-10 Naomh Ultan...0-04 by Enda McHugh, Inishowen Independent, at MacCumhaill Park CARNDONAGH booked a place in the Junior Championship final, after they saw off the challenge of Naomh Ultan on Saturday evening in MacCumhaill Park. Despite hitting a total of 18 wides throughout the course of the game,the Inishowen men deserved their victory. It could have been a different story had Diarmuid Gallier converted a penalty at the start of the second-half, but his shot was easily saved by the 'keeper. The opening exchanges were extremely scrappy, as both teams struggled to keep possession. Carndonagh dominated the midfield area, but were unable to convert their dominance into scores. It was Naomh Ultan who registered the first score, when the lively Diarmuid Gallier cut in from the right-hand side and pointed with his left foot from 30 metres. |
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| Carndonagh half-forward Darren Burke levelled the scores moments later, with a well taken score from a very tight angle, and Carndonagh took the lead when Declan O'Donnell beat his marker and sent the ball over the bar. Gerard Doherty was proving difficult to beat in the aerial clashes and he was central to Carn's control of the game. The score of the game came in the 11th minute, when Darren Burke rose highest to field a Naomh Ultan kick out. He then beat two men, before striking the ball eloquently over the bar with his left boot. Carndonagh had all the possession, as their opponents were struggling to get the ball into the full forward line. It was noticeable that when the ball did reach Aidan Duddy and Gallier in the Naomh Ultan attack, they looked a potent threat, but |
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the poor service ensured
that Carndonagh were always in control. Despite this,
they never really took a commanding lead. Further scores
from Burke and O'Donnell put them three points clear,
but in the 18th minute, Aidan Duddy burst into life, and
he found himself through on goal, but the full-forward
opted to take his score. Darren Burke hit his third
point of the game with another fine score, but that was
cancelled out minutes later when Conor Ward lost his
marker and he converted with ease. Despite having the
majority of the possession in the first half, Carndonagh
went in only two points clear, with the score 0-5 to
0-3. Carndonagh hit the first score of the second half, with substitute Mark Canny getting his name on the score-sheet. Naomh Ultan responded quickly with Diarmuid Gallier splitting the posts with a lovely score. He narrowed Carn's lead to just two points and he could have put his team ahead, when a penalty was awarded five minutes into the second half. Aidan Duddy was just about to unleash a shot at goal, when he was fouled by Padraig Nelson. Up stepped Gallier, but his effort was easily saved by Martin Mooney in the Carn goal. This changed the course of the game, as Naomh Ultan had looked like they were going to mount a challenge in the second half, but the penalty miss took the wind from their sails. This was a lucky escape for the Inishowen men, who could have went behind, despite their dominance in this encounter. Darren Burke registered his fourth score of the game to put Carn back on track and his effort was followed up by Declan O'Donnell who put four points between the sides. Any hopes of a Naomh Ultan fight back were dispelled when Carndonagh half-backs, Ronan O'Connor and Michael McLaughlin both got their names on the score sheet in the 20th minute. O'Connor was the first to run the pitch before knocking the ball over the bar, and his feat was emulated from the resulting kick out when McLaughlin ran from his own half to produce a fine score, which was the last score of the game. Even the introduction of former county star Martin Shovlin failed to invigorate the Naomh Ultan men, who seemed to have accepted their fate, as the game drew to a close. Carndonagh hit wide after wide in the closing stages, bringing their final wide tally to 18. This will be a cause for concern for Ciaran Canny and his management team, who will be looking for more accuracy from their forwards. Naomh Ultan will be disappointed with their performance, and no doubt they will be ruing the penalty miss, which could have changed the game. In the end, it was a deserved victory for Carndonagh, who will now be looking forward to a championship final. Carndonagh: Martin Mooney; Michael Nelson, Padraig Nelson, Ryan Davenport; Michael McLaughlin (0-1), Kevin McElhinney, Ronan O'Connor (0-1); Gerard Doherty, Gerry Simpson; Robert McCartney, Cathal Doherty, Darren Burke (0-4); Gavin McGrenra, Barry McElhinney, Declan O'Donnell (0-3). Subs: Darragh McLaughlin for McGrenra, Mark Canny (0-1) for K. McElhinney. Naomh Ultan: Peter Duddy; Rory Boyle, Brendan Kennedy, Padraig Fisher; Conor Shovlin, Sean Blaine, Paul Byrne; Declan Murrin, Colin Nicholas; Donal Murrin, Turlough McGinley, Damian Quigley; Diarmuid Gallier (0-2), Conor Ward (0-1) Aidan Duddy (0-1). Subs: Conor Blaine for Quigley, Martin Shovlin for Donal Murrin, Ronan McCallig for Nicholas. For full coverage of all your weekend sport, read the Inishowen Independent. |
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