St Eunan’s defeat Aodh Ruadh in Under 21 opener

St Eunan’s 0-11Aodh Ruadh 0-9

BY MATTHEW WILSON

St Eunan’s got their Under-21 campaign off to a winning start courtesy of a two-point victory over Aodh Ruadh at O’Donnell Park on Sunday.

The Letterkenny outfit led by six at the break andAodh Ruadh battled hard in the second stanza to reduce the arrears but the St Eunan’s held on to secure the win.

The visitors got off to a bright start in this encounter, racing into an early three-point lead.

Eoin Cassidy got the afternoon’s scoring underway, finding the white flag inside the opening 60 seconds before further points from Bobby Murphy and Damien Weber (free) left them three to the good.

The hosts got off on the mark after eight minutes, with captain Noah Barrett hitting the target for his side.

It took 12 minutes for the contest’s next score to arrive but it was the Letterkenny men that got it as Thomas Roache fired over a nice left-footed score to cut the deficit to one.

Immediately afterwards, the sides were level, with Eoghan Farren getting his name on the scoresheet.

The O’Donnell Park residents powered on in the last ten minutes of Act One, kicking the final six scores.

This fruitful spell began with Thomas Roache seeing the orange flag raised for his long range effort.

Shortly afterwards, Luke McGuinness laid the ball off to Philip Doherty who popped it over the bar from close range.

Evan Hickey was the next man to get his name on the scoresheet before Thomas Roache added another point to his personal tally for the afternoon.

Luke McGuinness fisted over an effort from inside the square late on in the opening stanza to leave the hosts six ahead at the break.

The Ballyshannon men came out after the restart and narrowed the deficit to four points, with Darragh Dolan Flood slotting over a fine score from outside the arc.

With fifteen minutes remaining, St Eunans’ advantage was reduced to three as Eoin Cassidy swung over a well-taken score from the last-hand side.

Five minutes later, Eoin Cassidy was again involved in the action as he beat his man for pace and converted the ball between the posts.

It took the Letterkenny outfit 24 minutes to get off the mark in Act Two but they eventually did, with Mark Galvin driving forward with the ball and fisting it over the bar.

After landing their first of the half, they quickly found their second as Thomas Roache popped the ball over the bar following a good team move.

As the clock entered red, Eoin Cassid responded with a two pointer for the Father Tierney Park residents.

However, it would be the last action of the afternoon as Martin McCormick ended proceedings which saw St Eunan’s prevail.

St Eunan’s: Fintan Doherty; Pauric McHugh, David Horgan, Mark Galvin (0-1); Sean Freeburn, John Keely, Seanan Martin; Luke McGuinness (0-1), Eoghan Farren (0-1); Noah Barrett (0-1), Philip Doherty (0-1), Evan Hickey (0-1); Thomas Roache (0-5,1tp), Sam Harvey, Odhran Ryan. Subs: Gavin McCarron for Harvey (36 mins), Ruairi Kavanagh for Ryan (45 mins), Lorcan Harvey for Freeburn (50 mins), Ryan Bradley for Keely (52 mins).

Aodh Ruadh: Aaron Cullen; James Gallagher, Ryan Keenaghan, Gareth Brennan; Oran Gillespie, Eoghan Kelly, Shane McGloin; Shane Delahunty, Darragh Flood Dolan (0-2,1tp); Damian Weber (0-1,1f), Jack Gallagher, Garvey Meade; Barry Campbell, Bobby Murphy (0-1), Eoin Cassidy (0-5,1tp). Subs: Ted O’Donnell for McGloin (44 mins), Shane McGloin for Murphy (54 mins).

Referee: Martin McCormick (Glenfin)