Malin's eye for goal earns a point in Division 1 at St Eunan's

Three goals did the trick for Malin to enable them to share the spoils with St Eunan’s in Division 1 of the All-County Football League at O’Donnell Park.

Brendan McLaughlin, Terence Doherty and Josh Conlan all found the net in Letterkenny, with John Kelly scoring the goal for the hosts.

St Eunan's raced into a three-point lead in the first 10 minutes with two Pauric Boyle scores and a point in between from big midfielder Eoin Dowling. 

It was soon all square though Brendan McLaughlin got the ball up the right and advanced from the halfway line into acres of the O'Donnell Park space, and the pacy forward went through on goal and made no mistake shooting into the top left-hand corner of the net to level matters. 

Malin then had another great goal chance but Terence Doherty's effort was saved by the Eunan's keeper Eoin McGeehin. Boyle again got another score as the Letterkenny men edged ahead. St. Eunan's then got a goal themselves when James Kelly bravely beat Malin keeper Daniel Mullarkey to the ball, taking a clattering in the process, as he punched into the net from Eoin McGeehan's pass into the edge of the square. 

The lively Boyle then marked and scored as the lead was stretched out to five. Josh Conlan got Malin back to within two though with a well-taken goal, he had a lot to do with a high handpass into him but he managed to flick it to the side of the fullback and round the keeper to squeeze in from a tight angle. 

Eoin McGeehan tapped over a 13-metre free on the stroke of half-time leaving the score 1-6 to 2-0 in favour of the hosts. 

Malin incredibly got their third goal of the evening five minutes into the second half when Sean O'Neill's wayward shot somehow landed to Brendan McLaughlin and quick hands from him saw him find Terence Doherty, who managed to lob the keeper and the ball went in off the post.

Back came the Cathedral Town men with Kelly, a real thorn in Malin's side all day, swivelling and shooting over with his left. Paul McLaughlin then hit Malin's first point of the evening, worth the 40-minute wait, as he struck from well outside the 45'. 

Malin added their second within a minute with Brendan McLaughlin coming in from the right as Malin hit the front for the first time. Kelly then won a diagonal mark, one of many marks won on the evening, he made it count too with a score from just right of centre. 

The game was end to end and Christopher McLaughlin put Malin ahead again with a point on the run. The visitors doubled their lead when a good ball in from Sean Byrne saw Darragh Douglas advance in from the left corner and handpass over the bar. 

St Eunan's responded with Eoin McGeehin not taking his mark but instead advancing to fire over as the game ramped up nicely heading into the last 10. 

Goalkeeper Ronan McGeehin levelled up the scores with a free from the centre just inside the 45' and he repeated the trick moments later to retake the lead for the home side. Both teams were guilty of a few wides in the last ten minutes but Malin's Christopher McLaughlin drove at Eunan's defence and won a free which he duly dispatched from the ground from outside the 45' to level matters as the clock just passed the hour mark and the spoils were shared on a great evening for football. 

St Eunan's scorers: James Kelly 1-2; Pauric Boyle 0-4, 1m; Ronan McGeehan 0-2, 2f; Eoin McGeehin 0-2, 1f; Eoin Dowling 0-1.
Malin scorers: Brendan McLaughlin 1-1; Terence Doherty and Josh Conlan 1-0; Christopher McLaughlin 0-2, 1f; Paul McLaughlin and Darragh Douglas 0-1.

St Eunan's: Ronan McGeehin, Aaron Deeney, Noel O'Donnell, Anthony Gallagher, Ciaran Tobin, Eamon Doherty, James Kelly  Eoin Dowling, Jordan O'Dowd, Oran Winston, Kevin Kealy, Dylan Dougan, Noah Barrett, Eoin McGeehan and Pauric Boyle. Subs: Conor O’Donnell Snr and Conor Parke for Kealy and O’Donnell, David Boyle for Dowling (35), Oisin Scanlon for Jordan (50)
Malin: Daniel Mullarkey, Mac McLaughlin, Ciaran Doherty, Sean Byrne, Darragh Douglas, Conor Farren, Ciaran O'Kane, John Gerard McLaughlin, Christopher McLaughlin, Brendan McLaughlin, Josh Conlan, Conor O'Neill, Terence Doherty, Sean O'Neill and Paul McLaughlin. Subs: Seamus Houghton for Terence Doherty (50), Finn Ward for Josh Conlan (56)
Referee: Ryan Walsh (Bundoran)