Malin keep fighting with two late goals to defeat Glenfin

Luke Rudden snatched a late win for Malin, who hit two goals in added time to defeat Glenfin by a point in Páirc Taobhoige in both sides' penultimate Division 1 game.

Both sides were wasteful in the first half, but Glenfin led 1-5 to 0-2 thanks to a Shaun Ward goal.

A two pointer from Jason Morrow and a couple of Luke McGlynn scores had them ten clear, but Malin hit back with a trio of Josh Conlon points and a goal from Nathan McDaid.

The hosts went five up when Oisin McGlynn hit a goal on 57 minutes, but a Paul McLaughlin penalty and a Luke Rudden strike at the death sealed the win.

It puts them on five points with one game to play, level with Buncrana who have three games left, while Kilcar occupy the relegation play-off spot and moved to seven points after their win over St Michael's.

And with a head-to-head advantage over Malin, they would need a lot to go in their favour to finish third bottom.

It took a bit of time for both sides to find their shooting boots, the usually clinical Shaun Ward firing a couple of placed balls wide from distance, with Malin having a few go astray at the other end. 

But Ciaran Brady opened the scoring for the home side, and Luke McGlynn doubled their lead coming up to the tenth minute. 

Malin continued to miss the target, and a Brady free along with one from play from a quick counter made it 0-4 to no score on twenty minutes.

Read Next: 'Written in the stars' - Goal-hero Langan savours 100th Donegal outing with family

The Inishowen side did get off the mark soon after as a shot was blocked down to Nathan McDaid, firing over at their tenth attempt, while Ciaran Doherty burst forward and pointed soon after. 

But Glenfin responded brilliantly as they won the kick out and fed in Shaun Ward, who broke past a couple of tackles and fired low into the bottom left corner. 

They were almost in again as Aaron McGlynn played a 1-2 with Odhran McGlynn, but his shot was saved by Zach Conlon, although it was brought back for a free which Ward converted. 

That left it 1-5 to 0-2 at the break, both sides having six wides each in a misfiring first half an hour.

The second half was similar early on for Malin, while Luke McGlynn and a two point effort from Jason Morrow added to the score line for Frank McGlynn’s men.

Shaun Ward and Josh Conlon traded good solo scores and another Luke McGlynn point, after great work from Jack Long restored the Glenfin ten-point lead with 40 minutes gone.

But Malin hit a purple patch after with Oisin McGonagle kicking over after a good move, and Christopher McLaughlin fired over a two pointer with the outside of the boot.

They threatened for a goal when Luke Rudden’s shot was saved by Andrew Walsh and Josh Conlon then had an effort blocked, although he pointed soon after.

It didn’t take them long after to find the net, however, as Luke Rudden won a kick out and found Nathan McDaid who beat Ross Ó Mearlaigh down the right before squaring across for Paul McLaughlin and while his shot for goal was blocked, it fell to McDaid who kicked in from off the ground.

Conlon added another point to make it a two point game, but Glenfin responded and doubled that lead again through Odhran McGlynn and Daire Quigley from a tight angle.

Ciaran Doherty and Conlon halved the deficit again, but the hosts hit the net with 57 minutes on the clock.

It came from a good move as Ciaran Brady played a 1-2 with Matthew McGinley before teeing the ball up to the back post where Oisin McGlynn palmed in.

That looked like it would seal the win, but Malin got a lifeline as Nathan McDaid looked to be tripped and James Connors signalled for a penalty.

Paul McLaughlin fired low into the bottom left, just out of reach of Walsh to make it a two point game with 62 gone.

But there was still time left and Malin needed a goal to win, Adam Duffy having a shot at goal blocked but Conlon picked up the loose possession and found Rudden, who rifled the ball into the far corner.

Glenfin had two final chances to get level or win it, but both of Luke McGlynn’s attempts couldn’t get between the posts, as Malin took a win hoping to keep them with a chance of survival, although Kilcar’s win over St Michael’s makes it look impossible for them to now stay up with a game to go and two points behind the Towney side who also boast a head-to-head win over the Connolly Park men.

Glenfin scorers: Shaun Ward 1-2, 1f; Oisin McGlynn 1-0; Ciaran Brady 0-3,1f; Luke McGlynn 0-3; Jason Morrow 0-2,tp; Odhran McGlynn and Daire Quigley 0-1 each.

Malin scorers: Nathan McDaid 1-1; Josh Conlon 0-4;  Paul McLaughlin 1-0 pen; Luke Rudden 1-0, Ciaran Doherty 0-2; Christopher McLaughlin 0-2,tp; Oisin McGonagle 0-1.

Glenfin: Andrew Walsh; Martin O’Donnell, Ross Ó Mearlaigh, Shane McGinty; Odhran McGlynn, Jack Long, Luke McGlynn; Stephen Ward, Shaun Ward; Oisin McGrenra, Daniel Marley, Aaron McGlynn, Daire Quigley, Ciaran Brady, Jason Morrow. 

Subs: Matthew McGinley for Shaun Ward (45).

Malin: Zach Conlon, Daniel Green, Ciaran Doherty, Cormac Cullinan; Sean Byrne, Oisin McGonagle, Ben Curley; Ciaran O’Kane, Taylor Bonner; Christopher Doherty, Christy McLaughlin, Josh Conlon; Adam Duffy, Paul McLaughlin, Nathan McDaid. 

Subs: Luke Rudden for Christopher Doherty (36), Sean O’Neill for Curley (50).

Referee: James Connors (St Eunan’s)