Burt pip MacCumhaills in six-goal thriller

Burt narrowly defeated Seán MacCumhaills in an entertaining game in Ballybofey on Friday evening, clinching the win over the hosts.

MacCumhaills 3-9 Burt 3-10

Both teams were evenly matched throughout the game, despite missing several key players involved with the Donegal senior team. Kieran Brady was the main man for Burt scoring 0-8 for the winners and opened from play with 5 minutes on the clock. 

Burt dominated possession and had numerous scoring opportunities in the early stages, but their attempts lacked accuracy.

Their persistence however paid off however when Gavin McGrath found space and time to register a goal and points from Caolan McDermott and Brady followed soon after.

Burt’s fast start was the wake up call the home side needed and soon got up and going themselves with Jamie DeWard scoring from play and shortly after raised a green flag of their own. 

Corner forward Anthony Patton’s pin-point pass found PJ Browne whose shot was blocked but Patrick Bradley pounced to beat Paul Burns in the Burt goal.

Another point from Jamie DeWard on 18 minutes followed by a PJ Browne free levelled matters up briefly but Brady, who was in fine form on the evening added a trio of scores for the visitors. 

Another free from Browne just inside the 65’ took the deficit down to two points when the half time whistle was blown with the visitors 1-6 to 1-4 clear. 

Burt were first off the mark in the second half registered from Brady but the game took a sharp turn when MacCumhaills went on to take the lead after Dean O’Donnell’s point from play and substitute Justin McGhee’s goals was followed with a point from Fintan Griffin.

Burt retook the lead at the 40-minute mark with a point from Brady and a goal by substitute Kevin Glenn. In a closely fought match, MacCumhaills equalised again through substitute Josh McGhee and Aaron Toner's points.

As momentum shifted in favour of the home team, their hopes suffered a setback when Glenn scored his second goal of the game, and a Brady free kick extended the visitor's lead to four points as time ran out.

However, there was even more excitement and a nail-biting finish in store. A second goal from veteran Justin McGhee left only a point between the sides once more.

Ciaran Kelly's point extended Burt's lead to two points, but PJ Browne's late point in injury time added to the intrigue of the final moments. Unfortunately, the hosts were unable to score an equalizer, which would have been a deserved outcome for their efforts.

MacCumhaills scorers: Justin McGhee 2-0; PJ Browne 0-3, 2f; Patrick Bradley 1-0; Jamie DeWard 0-2; Fintan Griffin, Dean O’Donnell, Josh McGhee, Aaron Toner 0-1 each.

Burt scorers: Kieran Brady 0-8, 2f; Kevin Glenn 2-0; Gavin McGrath 1-0; Caolan McDermott, Ciaran Kelly 0-1 each. 

MacCumhaills: Ger Cunningham, Eoghan Wright, John Anthony Chambers, Kyle Tourish, Aaron Toner, Lee Henderson, Conor Murphy, Fintan Griffin, Orin McDermott, Dean O’Donnell. PJ Browne, Jamie DeWard, Anthony Patton, Shane McMenamin, Patrick Bradley

Subs: Justin McGhee for Shane McMenamin, Josh McGhee for Anthony Patton (half time)

Burt: Paul Burns, James Donaghey, Gareth Quinn, Darius McColgan, Callum Purves, Oisin Kelly, Ciaran Porter, Caolan McDermott, Jack Gallagher, Leo Doherty, Kieran Brady, Stephen Gallagher, Michael Gill, Gavin McGrath, Paraic Curran

Subs: Kevin Glenn for Michael Gill (first half), Dara Grant for Stephen Gallagher, Ciaran Kelly for Leo Doherty (second half)

Referee: James Callaghan (Setanta)