Carn raiders take first win
07.04.11
Naomh Colmcille...0-7
Carndonagh...0-9
by Dónal Campbell in Páirc Cholm Cille, Newtown
CARN rolled into Newtown on Saturday evening more
in hope than anticipation of securing a brace of league
points but secure them they did thanks to a gutsy
display against a Naomh Colmcille side who will surely
rue the fact they kicked a grand total of 13 wides over
the hour.
The game was fully 11 minutes old before Dermot Simpson
opened the scoring for Carn. Naomh Colmcille, for all
their primary possession in that opening 11 minutes, had
already recorded four wides – all of them kicked from
near impossible angles. A great catch by Caoimhin
Doherty set up Mark Canny for Carn’s second two minutes
later and suddenly Naomh Colmcille were on the back
foot.
The impressive Donnacha Gallagher might have goaled for
the Carn men on the quarter hour mark but for a good
save on his boot by Alistair Doherty. At the other end a
wild shot by Ryan McKinley was retrived by county-man
Thomas McKinley and stuck smartly over the bar to get
Naomh Colmcille off the mark. They had a brief goal
chance themselves on 17 minutes but the ball was
eventually cleared for a ’45.
Matters were drawn level on 19 minutes when Ciaran
Callaghan stroked over a free following a foul on the
ever-dangerous Ryan McErlean. |
That seemed to trigger a
response in the visitors who went on to dominate the
remainder of the half, adding four well-taken points to
their tally courtesy of Gerard Doherty, Rory Ward,
Donnacha Gallagher and Fergal Matthews. The Newtown men
clawed one back following good work by the industrious
Thomas McKinley in setting up target man Ryan McErlean
for a well taken score to trail at the interval by 0-3
to 0-6.
Newtown had the wind in their backs in the second half
but a fired-up Carn showed their intent within a minute
of the restart when Rory Ward blasted over a great point
on the run. Donnacha Gallagher was most unlucky not to
add a second before Newtown finally hit a purple patch
thanks largely to the tireless efforts of Thomas
McKinley. |
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McErlean raised the flag
from a considerable distance out and this was added to
by half-time substitute William Gillespie, who chipped
over a beauty to leave just two points between the
sides.
An injured Barry O’Hagan was patrolling the sideline for
the home side and his calming presence was badly missed.
Young Thomas McKinley was Newtown’s best player by a
country mile, sweeping up a huge amount of ball – his
only fault that he takes on too much himself. However it
was McKinley who got them back on track at the half-way
mark with a well struck ’45 to leave a single point
seperating the sides.
In fairness to both teams, this was a good honest game
of football even if it wasn’t always pretty. The
expected equaliser – another effort by McKinley from the
’45 – never materialised. Carn, operating on crumbs,
worked the ball upfield and finally drew a foul some 40
yards out. Donnacha Gallagher stroked a beauty over the
black spot to regain the upper hand for the visitors but
much credit has to go to the Carn defence who soaked up
wave after wave of Newtown attacks – Dermot McGonagle in
particular catching the eye with a number of timely
interventions. Gallagher added to Newtown’s woes with
seven minutes remaining, converting from a difficult
angle when Ryan Davenport was hauled to the ground.
William Gillespie’s second point for the home side with
three minutes of normal time remaining proved to be the
final flag-raiser of the evening as the two sides played
out a frantic but scoreless final five minutes.
0-7 to 0-9 it finished, with the Carn men deserving of
their victory for converting the chances that came their
way. Naomh Colmcille will be rightly disappointed –
thirteen largely unforced wides to Carn’s seven telling
its own story.
Naomh Colmcille: Alistar Doherty; Barry McDaid,
Alex Devenney, John Fullerton; Gerard Curran, Thomas
McKinley (0-2), Paul Friel; Andrew Clarke, Ciaran
Devine; Ryan McKinley, Joe Donaghey, Stephen Davenport;
Ciaran Callaghan (0-1), Ryan McErlean (0-02), Mark
Callaghan. Subs: Eddie Gillespie for Fullerton, William
Gillespie (0-02) for Mark Callaghan, William Lynch for
Ciaran Callaghan, Matthew Crossan for Davenport.
Carndonagh: Declan O’Donnell; Dermott McGonagle,
Gerry Simpson, Conor Doherty; Ronan O’Connor, Paddy
Nelson, Mark Canny (0-01); Gerard Doherty (0-01), Richie
Cunningham; Dermott Simpson (0-1), Caoimhin Doherty,
Rory Ward (0-02); Fergal Matthews (0-01), Donnacha
Gallagher (0-03), Ryan Davenport.
For full coverage of all your weekend sport, read the
Inishowen Independent. |
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