GLENSWILLY CAME OUT on top in an instantly forgettable All-County Football League Division 1 clash – but one that might talked about for a long time – against St Eunan’s this afternoon.
Glenswilly 0-3 St Eunan’s 0-2
Although a starred fixture with Donegal’s All-Ireland Round 4B qualifier against Cork to come this coming Saturday and both teams without a host of regulars – St Eunan’s missing list is at 21 players either working, playing abroad or injured with Glenswilly absent of All-Stars like Michael Murphy and Neil Gallagher and a handful of others – the contest was drab in the extreme.
Photo caption: St Eunan’s Conall Dunne grapples with Patrick McFadden of Glenswilly as Caolan Kelly awaits developments in this afternoon’s AllSportStore.com All-County Football League Division 1 clash at Pairc Naomh Columba. Photo: Geraldine Diver
The fixture was brought forward from 3pm to 12 noon to accommodate the Tractor Run, a charity event for the Glenswilly Chapel Restoration Fund. Those who didn’t learn of the change in time until it was too late were probably better off.
It was the kind of game where people didn’t ask how long was gone, they only wondered how much time was left. At one stage in the second half when the play was, well, a little lateral, there was a shout from the home support on the hill taken from Six Nations mode: “Come on ref, that’s surely a forward pass.”
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The final score does though, only tell half the story. Five points is a very poor collective return but the main reason for that low total wasn’t blanket defence; more so some particularly poor shooting from both teams. There were plenty of scoring opportunities, with very poor execution shown.
Over the course of the hour, Glenswilly hit 15 wides and dropped three balls short into the hands of St Eunan’s goalkeeper Sean Daffan. At the other end, David McGinley’s St Eunan’s were as wasteful with 12 wides, two shots hitting the upright and four balls not having the legs to get over the crossbar.
[adrotate group=”38″]Between them, Glenswilly and St Eunan’s have won seven out of the last 10 Donegal Senior Football Championships and have had some climactic battles in recent years.
Photo caption: Glenswilly’s Charley Bonner is surrounded by St Eunan’s Dylan Sweeney and Oisin Clarke as Daniel Gillespie watches on in this afternoon’s AllSportStore.com All-County Football League Division 1 clash at Pairc Naomh Columba. Photo: Geraldine Diver
Today’s was not one of them. Referee Martin Coll, a former county player, adapted a liberal enough attitude and let the game flow when he could. Neither set of players nor supporters were unhappy with that approach and although a couple of minor flash-points, it made the contest better for it.
He actually fell over twice, although swiftly jumped back to his feet on each occassion.
Glenswilly scored all three of their points in the first half with Cathal Gallagher opening the scoring after 14 seconds and then adding a free. Gary McFadden put the home team 0-3 to 0-0 up on 25 minutes and St Eunan’s finally got on the scoreboard in the 30th minute of the half when Conor Parke joined the attack to score.
[adrotate group=”56″]The only point of the entire second half came from a Conor Gibbons free for St Eunan’s on 45 minutes. From then on, the Letterkenny team fluffed a litany of chances to level, just as their hosts couldn’t find the target to put some sort of daylight between them. Glenswilly brought on goalkeeper James Gallagher to enable Philip O’Donnell to be re-positioned in the full-forward line.
In the end, it was two vital points for the side managed by Michael Canning at the bottom of the table but few could’ve predicted just how they would get those points.
So – regardless of what anyone says – it wasn’t a completely pointless affair.
Glenswilly: Philip O’Donnell; Patrick McFadden, Eamonn Ward, Mark McAteer; Caolan Kelly, Ryan Diver, Aidan McDevitt; Cathal Gallagher (0-2, 1f), Gary McFadden (0-1); Joe Gibbons, Darren McGinley, Ciaran Gibbons; Caoimhin Marley, Kealan McFadden, Christopher McMonagle. Subs: Ethan Sweeney for Marley (23), Charley Bonner for McMonagle (35), James Gallagher for Sweeney (52).
St Eunan’s: Sean Daffan; Conor Parke (0-1), Darragh McWalters, Dylan Sweeney; Kieran Sharkey, Niall McClafferty, Mark Forde; Daniel Gillespie, Sean Hensey; David Tyrrell, Sean McVeigh, Oisin Clarke; Conall Dunne, John Haran, Conor Gibbons (0-1, 1f). Jake Whelan for Tyrrell (54).
Referee: Martin Coll (Gaoth Dobhair).
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