Match Report

Aghaderg Beaten By St Michaels Fire-Power

Date Filed: 02 June 2011

Aghaderg travelled to St Michaels on Friday night last in an attempt to complete four wins in a row in the league  but were brought back down to earth by a strong St Michael’s team who proved most effective in the scoring department. 
The visitors were short goalkeeper and captain Paul McGrath, mid fielder Stevie Fitzsimmons and forward Tony Hegarty from last week’s squad but welcomed back Paul McGivern and Cathal McGrath.
The game was late in starting as there was a problem with the delivery of the Aghaderg skip! The visitors won the throw in and after their first attack had been repulsed Eugene Devlin was on the end of an intricate passing movement to open the scoring with a point.  The new midfield pairing of McGrath and McGivern who had been regulars in this position as juvenile players were winning a lot of possession and were receiving excellent support from the half back and half forward lines. A highlight of the first quarter was how Aghaderg retained possession with their short passing game and support play. Maguire with a point extended the lead before St Michaels opened their account with two points. P McGivern from a free edged the visitors back into the lead. At this stage the Reds  were dominating possession and were pressing to add more scores when  the St Michael’s full back was challenged as he attempted to clear his lines, in his frustration he struck an Aghaderg forward with his fist, the referee was satisfied to award a free and a yellow card.
Conor McGivern opened his account with a point but the home team scored their first goal of the evening to gain a lead that they would not lose. The full back line had two opportunities to clear but were out muscled by the physical home team. Devlin moved the visitors to within one point again with a brilliant point from an acute angle but the home team raised another green flag when Sands, after a good catch was dispossessed by a heavy tackle and the ball was scrambled to the net. Conor McGivern with his second point  kept the visitors in touch but as half time approached a third goal from the dominant full  forward line left the half time score:

St Michaels 3 – 3 Aghaderg  0-6.

The third quarter was to follow a similar pattern to the first half as Aghaderg  continued to win their fair share of ball and played their effective  short passing game. Devlin scored his third point and Maguire kept the scoreboard  ticking over with a point from a free. St Michaels tagged on another point which was followed by a long range point from Maguire. Aghaderg were continuing to press and created a clear goaling opportunity as Devlin and McDonnell  got clear of the full back line and had only the goalkeeper to beat. They took the wrong option, the goalkeeper cleared and the opportunity to make it a one point game was gone.
St Michaels then hit a purple patch with three points and two goals as the home forward line cut swathes through the visitors tiring back line. Martin Fitzpatrick had to retire due to a recurrence of a knee injury to be replaced by Sean Devlin while Maguire with a recurrence of a groin strain was replaced by Jack Devlin. The game continued to be entertaining as Devlin got a well deserved goal. In the final minutes St Michaels again pulled the defence to the right and crossed to an unmarked forward who put the final nail in the Aghaderg coffin. C McGivern finished the visitors scoring with his third point of the evening.
 
Final Score St Michaels 6 -9  Aghaderg 1-10.

Aghaderg were best served by their half back line where Thomas Lennon was particularly impressive, the midfield duo of McGrath and McGivern  were always competitive while Cassidy and Maguire won a lot of ball and linked up play most effectively. Devlin was the most effective Aghaderg forward  on view while Conor McGivern will be well pleased with his three points from open play.
A candidate for the gaelic footballer who travelled the greatest distance for his game of football. Cathal McGrath left Sofia Bulgaria at 10 0’clock on Friday morning, spent two hours in Heathrow and arrived in the City Airport Belfast at 7 0’clock – he hoped to play the second half but due to the mix up with the skip he managed the full match.

Team: Conal Sands, Ciaran Connolly, James McGrath Martin Fitzpatrick,( S Devlin 45 mins) Conor McAlorum, Aaron McAvoy,Thomas Lennon  Paul McGivern,(0-1F) Cathal McGrath, , Martin Cassidy,, Kieran Maguire, (0-3) (J Devlin 48 mins) Shea McDonald , Eugene Devlin.(1-3) Conor McGivern (0-3) Chris McAvoy subs, Jack Devlin,Mark McGrath, Michael McGrath, Sean Devlin, Darren McAlorum.
Next Match –v- Teconnaught home Wed 8th June.