FOR THE SECOND WEEK in a row, Raphoe fell to a 3-2 defeat although, again, there were positives in defeat for the Donegal side.
Raphoe 2 Mossley 3
Raphoe (pictured above) can count themselves extremely unfortunate not to have taken at least a draw from this Kirk Cup clash.
The big disappointment for Raphoe was the manner of the concessions, with all three Mossley goals coming from set pieces – two from short corners and another from a penalty flick.
It was an encouraging performance by Raphoe, but those goals and a lack of a killer touch in the final third returned to haunt them.
They began well and Matthew Lecky burst through in the ninth minute, but saw a shot well blocked. There was a half-chance on the rebound for Alan Lyttle, but he just couldn’t make contact.
Raphoe took a deserved lead in the 14th minute when a fine team move concluded with George Patterson showing good control and composure, slamming low to the Mossley net.
Raphoe might have doubled the lead soon after, but when an inviting ball from the right channel was missed by a Mossley defender, it took William Kilpatrick by surprise.
Lyttle riffled over with another chance and, just when it seemed as if Raphoe would lead at the break, Mossley drew level right on the stroke of half-time.
It took the visitors until the final minute of the half to fashion a chance. After Johnny Rankin denied Mossley with a magnificent save, Mossley were back on level terms.
They won the first short corner of the game and, following a three-man combination, David Glenney struck gold.
It was nip-and-tuck for the opening 15 minutes of the second half. During this time, Raphoe had their poorest period of the game and they were made pay when Mossley hit the front.
It was almost a carbon copy of their first goal as another short corner made its way to Glenney and he made no mistake in firing beyond Rankin, who made a fair fist of keeping it out.
Raphoe broke almost immediately, but Kilpatrick’s mis-hit effort didn’t trouble Mossley, who were soon 3-1 in front as Jason Robertson, their captain, confidently scored from a penalty flick.
Raphoe got a goal back when Lecky finished from a short corner routine and they carved one last chance of salvaging a draw.
Ben Wallace, one of the home side’s underage internationals, broke down the right and left two Mossley defenders in his wake.
His pull-back for Lecky was just missed by the in-rushing Raphoe man who was within a hair’s breadth of connecting.
Raphoe: Johnny Rankin, Matthew Lecky, Simon Goudie, Alan Meehan, Ben Wallace, Luke Witherow, Alexander Tinney, Kit Regan, George Patterson, William Kilpatrick, Alan Lyttle, Paul Stewart, Stephen Cleverley, Ian McGonigle.
Mossley: Owen Doole, David Glenney, Phil Kane, Alan Mullen, Stephen Clarke, Joel Cuthcart, Matthew Sullivan, Aaron Boyd, Ross McIvor, Tim Moreland, Mark Moreland, Adam McClenaghan, Jordan Robinson, Phil Hamill, Ricki McClintock.
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