Claremorris bring the heat to ‘Beirne’ Moy visitors

Mayo SFL Division 1B – Round 7 

Claremorris 1-18 

Moy Davitts 2-10 

Daragh Coyle at Canon Gibbons Park, Claremorris 

Moy Davitts began well but eventually faltered to their fourth defeat of the Division 1B campaign as a superb final flurry from hosts Claremorris secured win number five for the Blues this year. Central to their success on Saturday were the Beirne brothers, Darragh and Adam, who kicked 0-8 between them.

But someone who scored eight points on his own was Cian McHale, and it was he who landed the game’s first score courtesy of a free just before an early injury to his teammate, former Mayo senior footballer Brian Reape, forced Moy Davitts into a change. McHale then scored another, this time from play from between the D and the 45, before Stephen McGreal got the home side up and running with a point moving to his left.

Darragh Beirne was denied a goal because of a super save from Chris McGlynn in the away goal, with his tip over levelling the game, and it was Moy Davitts who actually raised the first green flag in the 11th minute. A superb run from defence by Oisin McHugh saw him move with the ball down the right wing to McHale who in turn moved it on quickly to Adam Boukioud. The former Mayo minor spotted the overlapping run of McHugh who slotted the ball into the bottom right corner. A free from Adam Beirne cut the gap back to two, but Cian McHale responded in kind.

Moving into the second quarter, James Shaughnessy converted a free for Claremorris and that was quickly followed by a Darragh Beirne point from play, after he feinted inside his man for a close-range finish.

20 minutes on the clock and Claremorris would level through wing-forward Cathal Joyce who punished a careless turnover in the Moy Davitts attack. Cian McHale would tack on another free but McGreal linked with Cathal Joyce to get himself another point on the break.

Oisin McHugh snuck the visitors ahead with a beautiful point after catching Boukioud’s deft kick-pass but the sides would go in level, with the first-half coming from Conor Diskin on the turn, leaving the score at Claremorris 0-8, Moy Davitts 1-5.

Adam Beirne converted his second free upon the restart but that was negated when Padraig Ruane’s strong run from the full- back line saw him offload to Cian McHale who won and scored another free. Adam Beirne’s first point from play put Claremorris ahead again in the 35th minute and they doubled their lead through Diskin in a central position, a nice curling point on the half-turn.

Moy Davitts hit back through Stephen Clarke, who appeared from corner-back to curl over left-footed point over from the left wing, but the gap was back out to two when Cathal Joyce, off his left, doubled his personal tally just as the game entered its final 15 minutes.

The visitors halved their arrears, drew level and then moved a point in front after Cian McHale successfully converted a trio of frees but with under five minutes left to play, Claremorris equalised through another Stephen McGreal single before Darragh Beirne fired over off his left after a handoff from Matthew McCormack, to regain the hosts the lead.

A technical foul, where Moy Davitts returned a kickout to their goalkeeper, resulted in Darragh Beirne scoring his first free of the game – but Claremorris were far from home and hosed.

With just two minutes to play, Mayo panellist Conor Reid netted what seemed to be a huge goal for Moy Davitts, with his powerful midfield run ending with the ball being thumped into the top left corner to leave Moy Davitts one point in front. However, Claremorris substitutes were effective and a run of three unanswered points and a late goal from Aidan Butler made certain of their five point win.

Scorers – Claremorris: Darragh Beirne 0-5 (1f), Aidan Butler 1-0, Stephen McGreal and Adam Beirne (2f) 0-3 each, Cathal Joyce and Conor Diskin 0-2 each, James Shaughnessy (f), Michael Mullins and David O’Reilly 0-1 each.

Moy Davitts: Cian McHale 0-8 (7f), Oisin McHugh 1-1, Conor Reid 1-0, Stephen Clarke 0-1.

Claremorris: Alvin McCallig; Daniel Murphy Paddy Barry, Conrad Dixon; Padraig Cummins, Rio Mortimer, David Slattery; Matthew Macken, James McCormack; Conor Diskin, Stephen McGreal, Cathal Joyce; James Shaughnessy, Darragh Beirne, Adam Beirne. Subs: Aidan Butler, Michael Mullins, David O’Reilly, Matthew McCormack.

Moy Davitts: Chris McGlynn; Stephen Clarke, Alan Bourke, Neil Murphy; Fiachra Cruise, Padraig Ruane, John Gilmore; Oisin McHugh, Ryan Kenny; Brian Reape, Conor Reid, Anthony Jordan; Colm Reape, Cian McHale, Adam Boukioud. Subs: Max Babiarczyk, Conor Ryder, Ronan Clarke, Paul Byrne, Sean Murphy.