Moynalvey overcame the stern challenge of visitors Cortown in this round 9 back fixture of the All County Div. 2 A League on a 1-16 to 1-11 score line at Kilmore Park on Monday evening 6th July.
Moynalvey 1-16 Cortown 1-11
With both sides sitting at the bottom of the Division 2 table it was Senior side Moynalvey who picked up the much needed win, only their second of the campaign leapfrogging them above Oldcastle in the League table, while condemning Cortown to their 10th straight A League defeat.
Little separated the sides any stage of this contest as the sides were level at half time, it wasn’t until the final 7/8 minutes Moynalvey pulled away to claim the badly needed two points. But for the woodwork denying Moynalvey on several occasions the winning margin may have been greater.
Moynalvey were ahead as early as the 40th second when David McLoughlin sent over from a free after he was fouled. The home side’s lead was doubled in the third minute when wing back Darragh Branigan raided forward for the first of his two points.
Cortown stalwart Glen Loughran opened the visitor’s account in the 4th minute from a free and drew parity between the sides four minutes later when converting a second free. Moynalvey were unlucky not to have goaled in between these Loughran frees as within a few seconds of each other both James Weldon & William Harnan saw attempts at goal rebound off the cross bar.
A lapse in concentration in the Moynalvey defence when in possession allowed Cortown corner forward David Rispin the chance to put the visitors ahead for the 1st time in the 9th minute leaving it 0-3 to 0-2.
Moynalvey corner forward James O’Neill brought the sides level in the 10th minute and sixty seconds later Moynalvey were once again denied the opportunity to regain the lead by the crossbar, this time David McLoughlin seeing his rasping effort come back off the crossbar.
The 12th minute did see Moynalvey regain the lead when McLoughlin pointed his second point of the game, this one his first effort from play. A quick free from Ciaran Ennis set up James Weldon to point leaving two between the sides midway through the half, 0-5 to 0-3.
The first goal of the game arrived in the 17th minute when a David Rispin point attempt fell short and was punched to the back of Moynalvey goalkeeper Paul Conneely’s net by Brian Casserly, handing the lead back to Cortown for a second time.
Two Moynalvey points from Ciaran Ennis and Darragh Branigan in the 18th and 19th minutes were countered by Cortown’s Brian Smith in the 20th minute leaving the score tied at 1-4 to 0-7.
William Harnan broke a high ball in from Fearghal McCabe to James O’Neill who popped the ball over the black spot for his second point of the evening. Cortown’s Thomas Smith levelled matters again when pointing in the 23rd minute.
The score of the half came in the 25th minute when David McLoughlin converted a free kick with the outside of the right boot 40 yards out on the right wing. Cortown’s Ryan O’Rourke converted a free two minutes later to draw the side’s level for a 5th time, leaving the half time score 1-6 to 0-9.
The first two scores of the second half went Cortown’s way, with Moynalvey’s William Harnan once again being denied by the woodwork, this time a point attempt coming back off the upright. A David Donoghue point and a David McLoughlin point curled over from the right wing left it level again, 1-8 to 0-11.
The two Cortown corner forwards David Rispin and Glen Loughran handed the lead back to the visitors with points in the 7th and 12th minutes. Some off the ball handbags caught the Cortown defence off guard with a quickly taken free which resulted in Moynalvey substitute Darren Brennan finding the Cortown net for the game’s second goal.
Within the final ten minutes the home side were unlucky not to score another goal as the cross bar once again denied Moynalvey, this time a David McLoughlin effort at goal. The final 10 minutes saw Moynalvey finish strongly outscoring their opponent’s 0-5 to 0-1 with Cortown’s point being the final score of the game.
Moynalvey’s five points came from James Weldon, McLoughlin (2) and Fearghal McCabe, the first of McCabe’s points being from the most acute of angles along the end line after good work from Donal Smith to keep the ball in play.
A relieved Moynalvey sees the win move them out of the relegation zone with four league games remaining with a tough assignment ahead away to Ratoath Wednesday of next week.
Best for the winners were Robert Lawless, Darragh Branigan, Brian Harnan & Donal Smith.
Moynalvey: Paul Conneely, Cathal McCabe, Robert Lawless, Robbie Kiernan, Darragh Branigan (0-2), Brian Harnan, Fearghal McCabe (0-2), Donal Smith, Eamon Walsh, James Weldon (0-2), Ciaran Ennis (0-1), David Donoghue (0-1), David McLoughlin (0-6, 3f), William Harnan, James O’Neill (0-2).
Subs: Darren Brennan (1-0) for Ennis, Sean Duggan for Donoghue, Anthony Brien for Kiernan, James Kelly for O’Neill, Shaun Deering for Walsh.
