Long trip ends in frustration for Shrule/Glencorrib

JFC Group 2 – Round 1

Northern Gaels 1-12

Shrule/Glencorrib 2-6

It proved a fruitless three-hour round trip for Shrule/Glencorrib as the south Mayo side lost by three points to Northern Gaels in Lacken on Sunday afternoon.

Niall McDonnell was immense for the Lacken-Kilfian amalgamation scoring nine points, five from play, and scored their opening three points. Shrule/Glencorrib looked stronger in the opening quarter and had a two-point lead within the opening 15 minutes with Ronan Ward, Kevin Ryan, Brendan Ryan, a double and Evan Cawley scoring points.

Northern Gaels began to seize control with a massive home support behind them. McDonnell put three more over the bar to give his side the lead by the 22nd minute and 60 seconds layer, John McLoughlin scored a peach of a point to make it a two-point game. Tommy Clarke put them three ahead but a goal, with quite literally the last kick of the half, made it level at the break.

Northern Gaels keeper Charlie Harrison had already saved two great efforts from Noel Sheridan and Ronan Ward but he could do nothing about Eoghan Hennelly’s shot, swept neatly into the corner of the net.

The home side came out with fire in their bellies. Cathal Boland showed great power to burst through the Shrule defence and fired home a goal just two minutes into the second half. Brendan Ryan responded for the visitors but Northern Gaels crucially took the next four scores unanswered.

Three of them came from the peerless right peg of Niall McDonnell who took his tally to 0-9 for the day and the other from Sean McKeown.

Shrule/Glencorrib were six points in the hole and needed a shot in the arm. It came from Shane Mellett’s goal in the 45th minute as he finished off a lovely soaring pass sent towards him by Brendan Ryan.

Amazingly, there was no further scores in this game. Northern Gaels had 14 men back on the line to block a close-range Evan Cawley free with 63 minutes played and that was about as Shrule got to restoring parity.

Scorers. Northern Gaels: Niall McDonnell 0-9 (4f), Cathal Boland 1-0, John McLoughlin, Tommy Clarke and Sean McKeown 0-1 each.

Shrule/Glencorrib: Brendan Ryan 0-3, Eoghan Hennelly and Shane Mellett 1-0 each, Ronan Ward (f), Kevin Ryan and Evan Cawley 0-1 each.

Northern Gaels: Charlie Harrison: Ronan Murphy, Shane Loughney, Fergal McHale: Liam Ruddy, Daniel Coleman, Mark McDonnell: Tommy Clarke, Conor McHale: Craig McCormick, Sean McKeown, Ruairi McDonnell: John McLoughlin, Niall McDonnell, Cathal Boland. Subs: Ciaran Loughney (for Coleman 52).

Shrule/Glencorrib: Gary Hennelly: Michael Garvey, TJ Canavan, Joe Flood: Daniel McGaugh, Johnny Naughton, Sean Finnegan: Sionan Hyland, Shane Mellett: Ronan Ward, Evan Cawley, Eoghan Hennelly: Noel Sheridan, Kevin Ryan, Brendan Ryan. Subs: Ronan Walsh, John Sheridan and Adrian Moran (for Garvey, Joe Flood and Hyland 39), John Flood (for Canavan 45), Oisin Whelan (for B Ryan 59).

Ref: Enda Nolan