McHale happy to assist as Conn make it two wins from two
Cian McHale notched a hat-trick of assists as Conn Rangers recovered from the concession of an early goal to beat north Mayo neighbours Crossmolina 4-1 on Saturday afternoon.
The Mount Falcon men set the standards in what was the first of four Super League games over the weekend and made it six points out of six with an Eoin Prendergast brace and goals for Colm Rutledge and substitute David McHale.
Central to the performance was midfielder Cian McHale, who set up three of Conn’s goals and looks a revelation after signing for the club in the last few weeks.
The hosts did not have it all their own way. Crossmolina broke the deadlock early on through Stephen Rochford and had Conn to the pin of their collars in the opening 15 minutes. They could have really added to their tally but for Brian McMahon in the Conn goal.
There was nothing he could have done to stop Rochford’s opener. McMahon sent a kickout towards Sean Holmes but the left back was caught out by the leap of winger Darragh Duffy, who rose above him and headed it straight into the path of Rochford, onside and behind the Conn defence. The Crossmolina striker unleashed a powerful shot into the back of the net to make it 1-0 with four minutes played.
Rochford and Aaron Coggins both had chances to extend the lead but McMahon got down well to prevent both. Conn were struggling to get back into the game but soon found a stroke of good fortune to restore parity.
Eoin Prendergast latched onto a loose ball arising from a mix-up in the Crossmolina defence and finished well to make it 1-1 with 21 minutes played.
Conn had steadied themselves and Conor Flynn and Cian McHale were starting to run the game in midfield. Adam Gallagher and Colm Rutledge were constantly looking to break behind on the wings and it was the latter man who found the next breakthrough. McHale’s looping pass was right out of the Kevin De Bruyne playbook, finding the runner in behind and Rutledge applied the finish on the stroke of the 33rd minute.
It remained 2-1 for some time but eventually Rangers found the third goal to put some distance between the two teams with 67 minutes played. Cian McHale played a one-two with Sean Holmes on the left wing to find a route in behind the Crossmolina defence. McHale’s low cross put the ball on a plate for Eoin Prendergast but the Conn number 9 still needed composure to ensure his first-time shot found the back of the net for his third goal in two games, a lively return to the club for Prendergast.
David McHale was unlucky not to start after a good performance against Ballyheane the weekend before but he made an impact following his emergence from the bench in place of Tuan O’Horo. Cian McHale sent a searching corner into the danger zone. The ball needed some convincing to cross the Crossmolina goal line but David McHale bundled it over to make it 4-1 to Conn Rangers.
