Glenfin 1-7
St Eunan’s 0-20
St Eunan’s made it back to back wins in Division 1 on Sunday afternoon courtesy of a 10-point victory over Glenfin at Pairc Tabhoige.
The O’Donnell Park residents held a slender one-point advantage at the short whistle in this encounter however, a superb second stanza display helped them to secure the two league points.
The hosts got the afternoon’s scoring underway, with Luke McGlynn finding the target after 30 seconds of play.
The away side responded with three points of their home courtesy of Noah Barrett, James Kelly and Pauric Boyle before Seaghan McCormick hit back with a superb score after coming on the loop.
Niall O’Donnell kicked his first score of the contest through an 11th minute free to restore the visitors two-point cushion.
However, Glenfin were soon awarded a penalty after Anthony McCallig deemed that Ciaran Brady was fouled while contesting a high ball in the square.
Luke McGlynn stepped up to the spot to take the penalty and made no mistake, slotting the ball into the bottom corner of the net.
The next four scores of this encounter were shared two-apiece, with Daniel Marley and Shaun Ward (45’) firing over fantastic scores for the home side while Pauric Boyle and Niall O’Donnell added to the Letterkenny men’s tally.
On the 24 minute mark, a well-worked move from St Eunan’s was finished off by a well-taken score by Niall O’Donnell before the same man converted another free to put his side ahead.
With two minutes to go in Act One, Shaun Ward proved successful from his second placed ball of the match to level proceedings.
In the last play of the opening half, Glenfin were blown for breach infringement which left O’Donnell with a short range free to give his side the slender one-point lead at the break.
Much like the first half, Glenfin made a flying start to Act Two as Daniel Marley fired over a superb point 20 seconds after the restart to level the contest again.
However, the O’Donnell Park residents began to find their rhythm from this point, kicking the game’s next ten points.
This fruitful spell was commenced by Niall O’Donnell who struck over a placed ball for his side before a pair of Dylan Doogan scores and another free from O’Donnell, this time from outside the arc, gave them a five-point cushion.
After 45 minutes of play, the Pairc Tabhoige outfit were given an opportunity back into the game when they were awarded a second penalty after Odhran O’Connor was taken down in the square.
This time however, Ronan McGeehin was equal to Luke McGlynn’s spot-kick, making a fine save to stop his powerful effort.
Kieran Donnelly’s side continued to push on and a flurry of scores in the closing quarter through Jordan O’Dowd (2), Niall O’Donnell (two pointed-free) and Oisin Scanlon left them ten points to the good.
Odhran McGlynn and Niall O’Donnell traded good scores late on but Anthony McCallig soon called an end to proceedings, sealing a fine win on the road for the Letterkenny win.
Glenfin: Seamus O’Donnell; Frank McGlynn, John Harkin, Donal Harkin; Jack Long, Daniel McGlynn, Karl McGlynn; Jason Morrow, Stephen Ward; Callum Long, Luke McGlynn (1-1, 1-0 pen), Daniel Marley (0-2); Seaghan McCormick (0-1), Ciaran Brady, Shaun Ward (0-2, 0-1f, 0-1 45’). Subs: Odhran O’Connor and Daire Quigley for Brady and Callum Long (40 mins), Odhran McGlynn (0-1) for Frank McGlynn (50 mins), Oisin McGlynn for Donal Harkin (55 mins).
St Eunan’s: Ronan McGeehin; Peter Devine (0-1), Eamonn Doherty, Mark Galvin; Noah Barrett (0-1), Caolan Ward, Josh Hay; James Kelly (0-1), Eoin Dowling; Jordan O’Dowd (0-2), Dylan Doogan (0-2), Noel O’Donnell; Oisin Scanlon (0-1), Niall O’Donnell (0-10, 2tpf, 0-5f), Pauric Boyle (0-2). Subs: Philip Doherty for Boyle (54 mins), Conor Harley for Doogan (57 mins), Darragh Mulgrew and Evan Hickey for Hay and Devine (62 mins).
Referee: Anthony McCallig (Naomh Ultan).
Game at a Glance
Man of the Match: Niall O’Donnell (St Eunan’s). The St Eunan’s captain on the day was very clinical during Sunday’s encounter and finished with a personal tally of 0-10. Dylan Doogan and Noah Barrett also impressed while Daniel Marley performed well for the hosts.
The Whistler: Anthony McCallig did a good job in the middle on Sunday. He spotted two breach infringements and there were also no complaints over his decision to award Glenfin two penalties.
Turning Point: Only a point separated the two teams at the interval on Sunday however, a strong third quarter helped to give St Eunan’s a cushion that Glenfin were unable to recover from.
Talking Point: Kieran Donnelly will be delighted with the performance of his side on Sunday, particularly in the second stanza. This makes it two wins in-a-row for them in Division 1 ahead of next weekend’s trip to Dungloe. Glenfin will be disappointed but they’ll look to regroup ahead of their match against Naomh Conaill next time out.
What’s Next: St Eunan’s travel to Rosses Park for a meeting with Dungloe next weekend. Meanwhile, Glenfin will host Naomh Conaill on the same day.