Moville get the better of Malin Reserves in Tom Farren Cup

Moville had six points to spare over a youthful Malin side in a game played in treacherous conditions on Friday night.

The game, played at Carrick Field, took a while to get going, with Malin having the lion’s share of possession but failing to capitalise on the early momentum. Wides from Darragh Douglas and a Patrick McLaughlin free let Moville off with the early pressure Malin brought.

The first score of the game came on ten minutes when Darragh Douglas found himself free on the right of the small arc and slotted over. Three minutes later Moville equalised through the impressive Seamie McLaughlin.

Jamie McDevitt’s two points from wide on the left-hand side were sandwiched between scores for Malachy McDermott and Daithi Clerkin. Matthew McLarkey got Malin going with two well-taken scores, one of which was close to the two-point line, putting them 0-5 to 0-4 ahead by the the 24^th minute. Unfortunately for Malin that was their final score of the game as Moville began to take control.

A driving run from the relentless Michael Leech from the centre of the field saw the goal open up for Leech approaching the 13m line, but he decided to take the safe option. The half ended with Seamie Pat McLaughlin clipping the outside of the post after good work from Malachy McDermott.

Read more: Former Moville star Ciaran Diver named in GAA.ie Team of the Week

Malin made a raft of substitutions in the second half and by the end used 27 players in all. The gap between reserve and first team football showed in the second half: Malin had their fair share of the ball, Moville upped the tempo with substitute Joshua Lafferty made an instant impact scoring with his first touch of the game.

The turning point came on the 37th minute when a defence-splitting pass from Eoghan McLaughlin from wing back found Leech in acres of space. He laid the ball across for Christy Hegarty to palm into an empty net leaving the score 1-6 to 0-5.

Malin rallied and a John Frazer shot from far out was well dealt with by goalkeeper Stephen Telles. Moville nearly had a second goal as a long lofted ball in was met by a Moville hand in the square but the ball went around the far post.

McDermott made up for the previous squandered chance as the former county man hit his third of the game as he caught a high ball in and around the 13 and in the same movement swung the ball over the bar.

Malin subs Keiran McColgan and Dan McDaid tried to give them the impetus to get back into the game, but Seamie Mc Laughlin continued to be the difference, winning a high ball before taking the ball around the Malin defence and slotting it over for a point.

Towards the end of the game, as it got stretched, Moville had chances of a goal that were well dealt with by the Malin defence.

Malin’s shooting let them down in the first half and in the second half they met a team a step above any reserve side in Inishowen. Some of the younger players impressed, Lewis Kelly at corner back and Cadan Doherty at half forward carried the Malin torch for most of the first half.

The defeat leaves Malin with two defeats from two outings in the Tom Farren Cup after last week’s defeat to Carn, but with lots of players getting a run out it will set them up well for the league which gets under way at the end of the month.

For Moville it was another good run that will help them to build into Division 3. They had some excellent performances, particularly the likes of Malachy McDermott and Michael Leech in midfield. For Moville it will be about getting men based overseas back for the championship as they are relying on a small pool of players.

The Malin Reserve team

Malin scorers: Jamie Mc Devitt 0-2; Matthew Malarkey 0-2; Darragh Douglas 0-1

Moville scorers: Malachy McDermott 0-3; Christy Hegarty 1-0; Seamie PatMc Laughlin 0-2; Micheal Leech 0-1; Daithi Clerkin 0-1; Joshua Lafferty 0-1.

Malin: Patrick McLaughlin; Ryan Kelly, Patrick McLaughlin, Lewis Kelly; Euan McFeely, Charlie Byrne, Conor McCallion; Taylor Bonner, Darragh Douglas; Cadan Doherty, Matthew Malarkey, Jamie McDevitt; Jack Laferty, Peter McCallion, Hugh Devine. Subs: Ben Curley Martin McLaughlin, Keelan McColgan, Conor Byrne, Dan McDaid, Keiran McColgan, Stephen Farren, Daithi Mooney Stephen O'Connor, Liam Gallagher, Stephen O'Connor, John Doherty, John Frazer and Patrick Farren.

Moville: Stephen Teles; Lorcan Gillen, Enda Faulkner, Brendan McClenaghan; Daithi Peto, Declan Diver, Eoghan McLaughlin; Michael Leech, Malachy McDermott; Seamy Pat McLaughlin, Evan Hudner, Christy Hegarty; Tommy Johnston, Cormac Hegarty, Daithi Clerkin. Sub: Joshua Lafferty