Moynalvey picked up their first win of the 2016 Div. 2 A League when getting the better of visitors Walterstown on a 4-15 to 1-10 score line at Kilmore Park on Sunday afternoon 14th February.
Moynalvey 4-15 Walterstown 1-10
Moynalvey welcomed back Cillian O’Sullivan to the maroon and white jersey for the first time in 2 years & 5 months, with his last appearance for Moynalvey coming in the 2013 SFC Quarter Final vs Na Fianna. It was the 1st time Moynalvey have had both O’Sullivan brothers in their starting line up since August 2012. This was also the 1st time Moynalvey had Padraic Harnan in their starting 15 in the League in over 2 years due to various County/College commitments and injuries.
Little separated the sides at the break as home side Moynalvey held a slender two point lead at the interval 0-6 to 0-4. It was Moynalvey who opened the scoring in the 3rd minute when full forward Mark O’Sullivan sent over the 1st of his six scores. Two minutes later the Blacks drew level and within sixty seconds took the lead for the first time. Moynalvey’s Darragh Branigan wearing No. 4 but operating in a more roving out field role pointed in the 10th minute to leave the sides level, 0-2 apiece.
A brace of Walterstown points were countered by a Cillian O’Sullivan free in the 17th minute and two more frees from his brother Mark saw Moynalvey take the lead for a second time, this time a lead they wouldn’t relinquish for the remainder of the game. Midfielder Donal Smith added another point to the home sides’s tally two minutes before the referee’s half time whistle, leaving it 0-6 to 0-4 at the break.
The second half could not have started any better for the home side when the O’Sullivan brothers combined to raise the game’s 1st green flag within 15 seconds of the restart, with Cillian placing Mark through on goal who dispatched to the Walterstown net from close range. Before the 1st minute of the second half had expired Moynalvey had a second goal when a point attempt from Mark O’Sullivan fell short, with his brother Cillian working hard to win possession along the end line, before hand passing across the goal for Shane Lenehan to be left with the simplest of tasks of palming home the ball.
Another point from Mark O’Sullivan before Walterstown scored their 1st point of the half in the 9th minute left it 2-7 to 0-5 in favour of Moynalvey. By the time the Blacks would score again in the 50th minute, a goal of their own, Moynalvey had put the game firmly to bed adding a further 1-4, courtesy of points from Cillian O’Sullivan, James Kelly, Mark O’Sullivan, Darragh Branigan and a goal from substitute David Reilly who fired home after winning the ball directly from the kick out, leaving it 3-11 to 1-5.Cillian O’Sullivan responded to a Walterstown point in the 54th minute before James Weldon put the final nail in the coffin with a 4th goal, volleying home from close range after a couple of goal attempts were blocked by Walterstown defenders/uprights.
Darren Brennan clipped over a superb point in the 58th minute to become the second member of the Moynalvey full back line to score. Darren’s point was followed by further scores from substitutes Anthony Brien after being set up by a surging run down the middle from Padraic Harnan and a Sean Duggan point deep into injury time, leaving it 4-15 to 1-10 in favour of the men in maroon and white at the full time whistle.
Moynalvey: Ciaran Ennis, Darren Brennan (0-1), Cathal McCabe, Darragh Branigan (0-2), Robert Lawless, Stephen Donoghue, Eamonn Walsh, Donal Smith (0-1), Padraic Harnan, James Kelly (0-1), Cillian O’Sullivan (0-3, 1f),Fearghal McCabe, James O’Neill, Mark O’Sullivan (1-5, 2f), Shane Lenehan (1-0).
Subs: Shane Browne for Lawless, David Reilly (1-0) for F. McCabe, James Weldon (1-0) for O’Neill, Sean Duggan (0-1) for Kelly, Anthony Brien (0-1) for C. O’Sullivan, Shaun Deering for M. O’Sullivan.
