Eoghan McGettigan returns as Naomh Conaill see off MacCumhaills 

Eoghan McGettigan was back in the Naomh Conaill ranks on Saturday evening as the Boys in Blue seen off MacCumhaills by ten points in Division 1. 

On a wet and miserable evening at Davy Brennan Memorial Park, the opening stanza was competitive and the visitors, after a tricky start where they went five behind early on, certainly held their own. 

But with the hosts turning the screw after the interval, they eventually pulled away from their Twin Towns opposition to record what was, in the end, a comfortable victory. 

Just seconds in, Neil Francis Boyle palmed home a goal at the back post after another Naomh Conaill county squad member, Kevin McGettigan, had delivered the ball in from the wide right. 

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Dermot Molloy and Eoghan McGettigan followed that breakthrough with quickfire points as Naomh Conaill went five clear inside the first three minutes. 

MacCumhaills shook the cobwebs in admirable fashion though as Luke Gavigan fired off a two-pointer. And the same player was at it again on seven minutes as 0-4 chased 1-2. 

Jamie Keegan kept the momentum in the visitors’ sails as he levelled matters up soon after. 

Naomh Conaill responded through Keelan McGill and Brendan McDyer while McGettigan jinked in but seen his low effort on goal come back off the butt of the post. 

Keegan halved the deficit on the quarter hour but Naomh Conaill took a real grip on matters either side of the 20-minute mark as McGettigan landed a brace of frees while Tiernan Ward and McDyer, with his second, left it 1-8 to 0-6. 

Dylan Doherty and Keegan, noticing a two-pointer from play, reeled matters back into just two points, but with Dermot Molloy nailing a two-pointer of his own just before the break, four points split the sides at the changeover.

Molloy and Aaron Kelly, from a free, swapped points on the resumption but another concentrated flexing of scoring muscle from the home charges seen them jump out to 1-18 to 0-10 as the visitors’ hopes completely disintegrated in that same spell. 

Leo McLoone got all that underway with a lovely effort on the far right when the angle appeared against him. 

Molloy followed that up with a two-point free. Brendan McDyer also got in on the act from outside the arc while McGettigan, not to be outdone, also sailed over a two-point free from the far left. 

Chad McSorley managed to find a reply for Gary Wilson’s outfit but Keelan McGill instantly wiped that headway out. 

Substitute Sean Breen had the last say of the contest late on but Naomh Conaill were well out the gate at that stage. 

Naomh Conaill scorers: Dermot Molloy 0-6, 2tpf; Eoghan McGettigan 0-5, 2f 1tpf; Neil Francis Boyle 1-1; Brendan McDyer 0-4, 1tp; Tiernan Ward, Leo McLoone and Keelan McGill 0-1 
MacCumhaills scorers: Luke Gavigan 0-4, 2 2pt; Jamie Keegan 0-4, 1tp; Aaron Kelly 0-1,1f; Dylan Doherty, Chad McSorley and Sean Breen 0-1. 

Naomh Conaill: Jordan O’Donnell; Stephen Molloy, Logan Quinn, Hugh Gallagher; Kevin McGettigan, Connor Roarty, Shane McDevitt; Neil Francis Boyle, Keelan McGill; Brendan McDyer, Eoghan McGettigan, Leo McLoone; Tiernan Ward, Dermot Molloy, John O’Malley. Subs: Jack McGlynn, Seamus Corcoran and Jason Campbell for S Molloy, McDevitt and Ward (all 47); Danny Brown for D Molloy (52); Shea Malone for McDyer (57)
MacCumhaills: Ronan Callaghan; Alan Sproule, Conor Griffin, Fionn McGinty; Fintan Griffin, Cian Mulligan, Darragh Byrne; Luke Gavigan, Andrew Murray; Jack Duffy, Chad McSorley, Adam Lynch; Dylan Doherty, Jamie Keegan, Aaron Kelly. Subs: Jason Duignan for D Doherty (50); Sean Breen for Duffy (45).
Referee: Marc Brown (Four Masters)