Naomh Conaill hold off late Aodh Ruadh fightback

Four first-half goals did the job for Naomh Conaill in Fr Tierney Park as they made hay with the gale at their back, building a nine-point interval cushion which ultimately carried them to victory.

The visitors only scored two points in the second half, but with the breeze dropping a bit and the homesters only coming to life in brief flashes, that was enough to see them over the line.

Naomh Conaill made maximum use of the reeze in the first half, quickly racing out into an eight-point lead. Daniel Gildea pointed with just 12 seconds on the clock, and that was followed by Eoghan McGettigan fisting over.

Then, twice in the space of the fourth minute, the Glenties men had the ball in the back of the net. First, Hugh Gallagher gathered a ball over the top and tapped to the net, and then Daithi Molloy had time to get on his knees to collect the ball before popping up to go round Peter Boyle and slip home.

Aodh Ruadh got off the mark in the sixth minute with Jack Gallagher thumping over an impressive shot against the gale, but that was quickly cancelled out as Danny Brown waltzed through the defence to split the posts.

Ballyshannon came back with a well-worked goal, Shane McGrath making a smart cut through the cover before deftly flicking through for Damian Weber to palm home. Aodh Ruadh then won the kick out, and Damian Weber came on to the ball on the right and swung over off the left peg.

A Jack McGlynn point just inside the arc made it 2-4 to 1-2 as the game moved into the second quarter. The Ernesiders seemed to be holding their own well, given the elements, but it was at this point that calamity came calling.

First, Eoghan McGettigan came onto the ball on the left wing and cut past his tackler as if he wasn't there before slamming a precision shot in at Peter Boyle's right post. Jack Gallagher hit an immediate answering point, but in the 17th minute, McGettigan obliged with a carbon copy goal to open a ten-point gap between the sides. A booming 20th-minute two-pointer from John O'Malley then made the mountain facing the Ernesiders just that bit higher.

In fairness to the hosts, they rallied well over the remaining ten minutes of the half, especially considering the wind tunnel conditions.

They responded with the next three scores, helped in large part by taking better care of the ball and working their chances. Darren Drummond pulled the first point back in the 24th minute, before Jack Gallagher flighted over from 30 metres. Matt Gillespie pointed a minute before the break to make it 1-6 to 4-6, which made for a very respectable interval scoreboard in the circumstances.

On the resumption, it looked like Aodh Ruadh would make rapid inroads into the visitors' lead, Shane McGrath floating over a two-pointer just a minute in. However, the scores were to be much slower coming over the second 30.

In the 37th minute, Brendan McDyre pointed, but that was quickly cancelled out by Joe Gibbions with his first senior point for Aodh Ruadh. It took ten minutes for the next score, Naomh Conaill playing a lot of sensible keep-ball. Damian Weber was the man on the mark with a two-pointer from play.

It was another eleven minutes before the next score arrived, and this one finally introduced a badly needed note of jeopardy to the game. Damian Weber raced at the posts and played the ball across goal to Cian Dolan, who palmed on to Diarmaid McInerney, and he slipped it into the net.

Just two in it now with three minutes left to play. And it was down to a point a minute from time when James Connors penalised Jordan O'Donnell for lingering over the kick out and Diarmaid McInerney popped over the free.

With the crowd finally finding their voice Aodh Ruadh went chasing a leveller or a two-point winner, but it was Naomh Conaill who went up the pitch where sub Stephen McDevitt sent over the insurance score.

Aodh Ruadh scorers: Damian Weber 1-3,1tp; Diarmaid McInerney 1-1,1f; Jack Gallagher 0-3; Shane McGrath 0-2,tp; Joseph Gibbions, Matt Gillespie and Darren Drummond 0-1 each.

Naomh Conaill scorers: Eoghan McGettigan 2-1; Hugh Gallagher and Daithi Molloy 1-0 each; Dermot Molloy 0-2,tp; Jack McGlynn, Daniel Gildea, Brendan McDyre, Danny Brown and Stephen McDevitt 0-1 each.

Aodh Ruadh: Peter Boyle; Eddie Lynch, Kyle Murray, Darragh Flood Dolan; James Monaghan, Darren Drummond, Shane Delahunty; Eamonn McGrath, Matt Gillespie; Shane McGrath, Joseph Gibbions, Damian Weber; Jack Gallagher, David Dolan, Robbie Murphy.

Subs: Senan Rooney for Murphy (37); Diarmaid McInerney for Gibbions 49 minutes; Cian Dolan for David Dolan (53); Ryan Keenaghan for Flood Dolan (56); Eoin Cassidy for Gallagher (63).

Naomh Conaill: Jordan O'Donnell; AJ Gallagher, Shean Roarty, Logan Quinn; Jack McGlynn, Hugh Gallagher, Mark McDevitt; Mark Campbell, Daithi Molloy; Seamus Corcoran, John O'Malley, Daniel Gildea; Brendan McDyre, Eoghan McGettigan, Danny Brown.

Substitutions: Stephen Molloy for Logan Quinn (ht); Stephen McDevitt.

Referee: James Connors (Saint Eunan's).