Late goals condemn battling Skryne to a second defeat
Moynalty 2-11 Skryne 0-11
Premier Football Championship, Division 5 – Round 2
Two late goals from Moynalty were enough to see off Skryne in this entertaining Premier Championship Round 2 game in Moynalty.
After a narrow defeat to Simonstown Gaels in Round 1, Skryne really needed to win this Round 2 fixture to resurrect any hopes of challenging for the title in Division 5. Despite matching Moynalty for 50 minutes of this game, a fortuitous goal in the 20th minute of the second half gave Moynalty the lead and Skryne, who were beginning to tire at this stage, were unable to peg back the hosts who hit a second goal with only two minutes remaining to put the game to bed.
Skryne although missing half a dozen players who lined out in Round 1, fielded a strong team with a nice mix of youth and experience. Moynalty had more youth on the pitch than Skryne and this was to prove beneficial in the latter stages of the game. Moynalty were first to trouble the scoreboard with an Oliver Sheridan point 2 minutes in. Seán Keogh opened Skryne’s account when he floated over a magnificent point from wide on the right hand side. Niall Morley added a second for Skryne after Aidan Tuite sent a high ball into the edge of the small square. Ronan McCabe palmed it down to Morley who fired over. Moynalty’s Oliver Sheridan added a point from a free. Mark Swan almost hit a goal for Skryne on 8 minutes when he made a run from the 40 yard line before firing a powerful shot just to the right of Moynalty goal. Points from Conor O’Reilly and Jack Farrell put Moynalty two points ahead, but Ronan McCabe who was a constant threat up front for Skryne added a third point. Moynalty pulled three ahead with a brace of points, the second which saw the ball hit the right hand side post before rebounding to a Moynalty player, whose follow up shot hit the left hand side post. James Lynch collected the rebound and hit a low shot which clipped the top of the crossbar as it went over. Allan Carty hit a reply for Skryne before Felim O’Rourke pointed a free. Skryne drew level after some excellent defending from James Keane saw him win possession before shifting the ball to Ronan McCabe who took the ball on the run and fired over. Moynalty’s Oliver Sheridan edged Moynalty ahead on the stroke of half time. Half-time: Moynalty 0-7, Skryne 0-6.
The third quarter continued in a similar vein to the first half with both sides swapping scores. Moynalty’s Jamie Maloney opened the scoring inside the first minute of the half. Ronan McCabe added his second point of the game before Allan Carty levelled matters again with a pointed free which he quickly followed with a point from distance to put Skryne ahead for the first time in the game. Two Moynalty points saw them reclaim the lead. Mark Swan found the target for Skryne mid way through the half and then an Allan Carty free again edged the Skrynemen ahead. With nothing between the two sides, Moynalty were awarded a free wide on the right hand side on the nineteenth minute. The free was sent in high and struck the post before rebounding to Jamie Maloney inside the penalty area. He fired a powerful shot to the back of the Skryne net. Moynalty added another point to move three clear. Skryne had given everything and were beginning to tire. That coupled with a sending off with seven minutes to go meant Skryne were left with an uphill battle to rescue a win from the game. Moynalty’s second goal came with two minutes remaining when they lofted a high ball into the Skryne penalty area. John Brogan reached highest and punched the ball to the Skryne net to secure the 2 points and move them to the top of the Division 5 table.
Skryne had produced an excellent team performance with Tommy Kelly superb at full back with George Fitzpatrick and James Keane also doing well in defence while also getting forward to help in attack. Aidan Tuite was excellent in midfield with Alex Grendon, ensuring Skryne had a good base to build attacks and cover defence. Mark Swan and Ronan McCabe were a constant threat up front. Skryne will take plenty of positives from this game and will count themselves unlucky to be still without a point in this competition. Full-time: Moynalty 2-11, Skryne 0-11.
Skryne – Des McAvinney; Paul McGoldrick, Tommy Kelly, Billy Reilly; James Keane, Ciarán Finnerty, George Fitzpatrick; Alex Grendon, Aidan Tuite; Mark Swan(0-1), Allan Carty(0-4, 2fs), Seán Cassidy; Niall Morley(0-1), Ronan McCabe(0-3), Seán Keogh(0-1).
Subs used – Felim O’Rourke(0-1, 1f), Kevin O’Reilly, Bryan Clarke, Michael Swan
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