STEPHEN MULLIGAN SCORED a stunning 3-5 as Sean MacCumhaills stay at the top of Division 2 thanks to a four-point win over Naomh Columba.
Sean Mac Cumhaills 3-11 Naomh Columba 2-10
By Chris Doherty
Declan McGuire got things under way with a point from play and Glen had raced into a 3 point lead after five minutes with scores from Paul Doherty and Christopher Byrne.
Picture caption: Stephen Mulligan fires home a goal past Paddy Byrne. Picture by Chris Doherty
MacCumhaills opened their own scoring account for the afternoon pointing from play through Joe Dunnion and Alan Patton was fouled shortly after with Mulligan converting the free.
Both teams traded points with Ryan Gillespie from a free, before Padhraic Patton lost his marker to open his own tally for the afternoon and putting in a good shift for his team.
The home side took the lead for the first time in the game when Mulligan showed strength to beat his marker and composure to direct his shot in for a goal.
The lead was short lived however as Naomh Columba bagged their own goal soon after when Michael Maguire was given ample space and time on the ball to run at the MacCumhaills backs and to beat Chris Patton between the posts. The visitors followed up soon after with another point from play from Christopher Byrne.
Patton added his second point and Mulligan drew the two teams level again after braving a barrage of tackles to slot over.
MacCumhaills were looking dangerous for the final 5 minutes of the half and Steven O’Reilly used his possession wisely to slip Nathan Gavigan in for a point.
MacCumhaills hit their second goal of the game when dogged work by Alan Patton allowed Mulligan to goal again with Glen following up with a free from their goalkeeper Paddy Byrne but it was the Mac Cumhaills side with the three-point lead at half time, 2-6 to 1-6.
The intensity of the first half never faded and continued into the second half of the game. The home side had an effort which rattled off the post but any danger was cleared by the Glen defence and they went on to slot three points over from play in the first seven minutes through Byrne, Gillespie and Ryan McNern.
Ten minutes into the second half the pressure paid off for Naomh Columba and they hit the back of the MacCumhaill’s net through Christopher Bryne and had a three-point lead.
A minute later Mac Cumhaills had their first score of the half when Joe Dunnion showed great drive to energy to tear through the Glen backline, offload the ball and allow Mulligan to point over.
A foul on Mac Cumhaill’s midfielder Nathan Gavigan allowed Mulligan to point over and he added another shortly after.
With momentum and belief building a goalmouth scramble involving Alan Patton getting the much needed pass to let Mulligan net his third of the game.
With the game going down to the final minutes every score could prove pivotal and a point from Darren McGowan helped keep the board ticking over. Glen had an opportunity for another goal but Chris Patton was alert to dive low and put the ball out for a 45’.
The visitors opted to launch the ball in low to try and drag the game back but Ronan McMenamin rose from among the mass of players in the goalmouth area and saw the danger clear.
Glen added another point from a free by Gillespie with the deficit now three points and still very much up for grabs but the game was sealed when Patton, who had been impressive all day, broke through the backlines and elected to fist the ball over to seal the result.
Sean Mac Cumhaills: Chris Patton; Gerard Grindle, Martin Gallagher, Ronan Mc Menamin; Andrew McCloskey, Gary Dunnion, Conor Griffin; Steven O’Reilly, Nathan Gavigan (0-1); Padhraic Patton (0-3), Joe Dunnion (0-1), Gary Wilson; Stephen Mulligan (3-5), Alan Patton, Adam Lynch. Subs: Darren McGowan (0-1) for McCloskey (black card), Shaun McGowan for Patton
Naomh Columba: Paddy Byrne (0-1, 1f); Barry Carr, Kieran Mc Brearty, Philip Doherty; Philip McNern, Michael Maguire (0-1), Conor Carr; Declan McGuire (0-1), Christopher Byrne (1-3, 1f); Ryan McNern (0-1), Pauric Cunningham, Kevin McNern; Paul Doherty, Ryan Gillespie (0-2, 2f), Pauric O’Neill. Sub: Martin Cunnigham for C.Carr
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