Na Fianna overcame Moynalvey by three points on a 2-8 to 0-11 score line in this Div. 1 A League Round 3 game played at Moynalvey on Sunday morning 12th March.
Moynalvey 0-11 Na Fianna 2-8
Ultimately it was Na Fianna’s ability to get goals that proved the difference in this contest, as they bagged one at the end of each half. It was the Enfield/Baconstown combination side that started the game’s scoring with a point from Barry Slevin within the 1st minute. Moynalvey equalised in the 10th
minute when full forward James O’Neill split the uprights. Moynalvey then went on to score three points without answer, one from James O’Neill, one from David McLoughlin and a third from Conor Shirren after Shane Lenehan’s goal attempt beat Shane Geraghty only to see the ball crash back off the cross bar, leaving it 0-3 to 0-1 in favour of the home side after 14 minutes.
Danien Downey and Dean Hendrick pointed for Na Fianna either side of a James O’Neill point, before Na Fianna’s first goal arrived in the 26th minute when Jamie Queeney found the back of Ray Ryan’s net to give Fergal Foran’s side the lead for the second time in the game, one they would hold until the final whistle. Na Fianna’s lead was increased to three with a late free to leave the score 1-4 to 0-4 at the break.
Within two minutes of the restart Moynalvey had the deficit reduced to two with John Donoghue pointing, but between the 38th & 43rd minutes Na Fianna hit three points, two from Jamie Queeney, one from a free and the other from play, with Barry Clancy converting another free to leave the visitors five points to the good at the three quarter mark, 1-7 to 0-5.
A purple patch for Moynalvey saw them hit three unanswered points of their own, two from James O’Neill and one for McLoughlin to narrow the margin to two again, leaving it 1-7 to 0-8 after 52 minutes. Just as Moynalvey were gaining momentum and taking a grip on the game they suffered a setback when Barry Clancy found the net for Na Fianna’s second goal in the 53rd minute. Despite this setback Moynalvey’s control on the game in the final quarter saw them hit three points before the full time whistle, two from Stephen Donoghue and one from Darragh Branigan to leave three in it at the full time whistle, 2-8 to 0-11.
Moynalvey: R. Ryan, B. O’Reilly, C. Harnan, P. Donoghue, D. Branigan (0-1), S. Donoghue (0-2), S. Lenehan, J. Donoghue (0-1), D. Smith, A. Murphy, D. McLoughlin (0-2), D. Brennan, J. Weldon, J. O’Neill (0-4, 2f), Conor Shirren (0-1).
Subs: S. Duggan for Brennan, P. Conneely for Weldon.
