Two late Cloughaneely goals rubber-stamp SFC win over Milford

It looked more comfortable on the scoreboard than it did in reality, although that won’t bother Cloughaneely as they too much as they ran out winners against Milford.

Cloughaneely 3-7 Milford 0-7

After picking up just one point from their four outings last year on their return to the SFC, Cloughaneely have now two and can look up and not down following their first win in the competition since Ardara came to town in 2011.

The home team saw a lead of eight points whittle down to three before hitting two late goals to get over the line with a bit to spare. John Fitzgerald scored two goals over the course of the game and Conor Coyle got 1-2.

In blustery Falcarragh, it was the home team who had the elements to begin with, and 15 minutes in they had established a lead of 1-2 to 0-1.

Shaun Curran and Ciaran Coll hit the Cloughaneely points, either side of Kane Barrett’s opener for Milford. However, there was a telling passage of play in the 13th minute that was pivotal.

Milford had been the ones on the offensive and having worked the ball fast, Darragh Black played in Cathal McGettigan, only for Shaun McClafferty to come from his line and save.

From there, Cloughaneely manufactured a move down the right and Blake McGarvey centred for the incoming John Fitzgerald, who collected it right in the breadbasket and that enabled him to round Shea McBride to shoot into the empty net without breaking stride.

Cloughaneely went down fighting in Towney against Kilcar on the opening weekend and Milford were denied a share of the spoils by a late Dungloe winner at Moyle View.

Jason McGee’s return from winning the Boston GAA Championship was a significant boost for Denis Doohan, with his positioning at full-forward giving Milford plenty to think about. He was moved further ack the longer it went on. 

Coll scored his second point with another well-judged shot coming in from the left, with Darren Ferry and then Conor Coyle making it three in three minutes for Cloughaneely, who were 1-5 to 0-2 in front.

Barrett’s point stemmed the tide, although Coyle then kicked the point of the half, from far out on the right to restore the seven-point margin. Not be undone, Ferry, right on the whistle got his second as well, so it was 1-7 to 0-2 at the break.

Milford took a few minutes to find their gears in the second half, although four on the bounce from the 39th minute gave them some hope. Cathal McGettigan’s free was followed by a close-range punched Barrett point that could’ve gone anywhere.

Connor Gormley then picked off a McClafferty kick-out and made a brave go of the shot from 40 metres and it flew over the crossbar when it thought about going under. Then, when Kyle Black scored, it was suddenly 1-7 to 0-6 with more than 20 minutes to play.

Cloughaneely, who were by now losing the midfield tussles with Rory O’Donnell and Gormley gained the upper hand, kept Milford out for eight more minutes but couldn’t get a score of their own.

Black, again, found space to score and was down to three points, with Milford having hit five in a row. The score was 1-7 to 0-7 and Milford had the advantage.

However, Cloughaneely broke their second-half duck from a penalty, which Fitzgerald stirred home with four minutes to play. Referee Seamus McGonagle, with the square crowded, penalised Lorcan Friel for picking the ball off the ground as they struggled to clear a free from Curran.

A six-point loss would’ve been harsh on Milford but it was to get worse, as Conor Coyle, who stood out well in the first half, skipped onto the ball and managed to poke home a third goal in injury time.

Cloughaneely scorers: John Fitzgerald 2-0, 1-0 pen; Ciaran Coll 0-2; Conor Coyle 1-2; Darren Ferry 0-2; Shaun Curran 0-1, 1f.
Milford scorers: Kane Barrett 0-3; Kyle Black 0-2; Cathal McGettigan 0-1, 1f; Connor Gormley 0-1.

Cloughaneely: Shaun McClafferty; Michael Fitzgerald, Shaun Curran, Cian McFadden; Mark Harley, Ciaran Scanlon, Daire Ferry; Jason McGee, Darren McGeever; Conor Coyle, Darren Ferry, Ciaran Coll; Blake McGarvey, Ethan Friel, John Fitzgerald. Subs: Paul Sweeney for McGeever (57), Cillian Gallagher for Coyle (60+1).

Milford: Shea McBride; Shaun Coffey, Shay Durning, Finn Coll; Ronan Docherty, James Doyle, Kyle Black; Connor Gormley, Rory O'Donnell; Darragh Black, Caolan Bolton, Lorcan Friel; Cathal McGettigan, Kane Barrett, Shane Black. Subs: Patrick Ferry for Durning (36), Martin Doyle for Shane Black (45), Black for Bolton (55)Durning for Friel (59)

Referee: Seamus McGonagle (Aodh Ruadh)