For the second game in succession Moynalvey let a final quarter lead slip to draw with their opponents in Division 2 of the A League. This time the opponents were Nobber on a 0-11 to 1-8 score line.
Nobber 0-11 Moynalvey 1-8
With both Nobber and Moynalvey drawn in group A of the Hoganstand.com senior championship, both teams got to know a little about each other in this A league round 3 clash. With the original venue of Nobber deemed unplayable early Saturday afternoon, the game was switched to Grangegodden for a 4pm throw in.
Nobber opened the scoring as early as the 3rd minute, when midfielder Jamie Owens sent over a free. Moynalvey’s response was immediate, with Ciaran Ennis firing to the back of the Nobber net from distance to score the only goal of the game. Nobber’s centre half back Niall Farrell converted two placed balls to leave the side’s level, 0-3 to 1-0 after 12 minutes. Ennis converted a free after Darren Brennan was fouled close to goal in the 26th minute, only for Nobber’s Gavin Farrelly to draw the side’s level once again two minutes later. Two late first half points from Ray Ryan and Ciaran Ennis put Moynalvey two points to the good at the interval on a 1-3 to 0-4 score line.
Six minutes into the second half Farrelly struck for his second point of the afternoon, leaving the minimum between the sides. John Donoghue pointed for Moynalvey in the 43rd minute, before a serious collision between Moynalvey’s Padariag Donoghue and Nobber’s Gavin Farrelly required both men to leave the field with concussion. Donoghue’s replacement Ciaran Collins fired over on the three quarter mark leaving the goal between the sides. Two quick fire frees for Nobber courtesy of Carl Casserley and Niall Farrell left just a point between the teams after 50 minutes of play. Within 60 seconds of Farrell’s free Moynalvey’s Darren Brennan split the posts, before the one point margin was restored with a Nobber point in the 53rd minute. The next point of the game from the boot of Moynalvey’s William Harnan was possibly the score of the game, as he curled the ball over the black spot from an acute angle near the endline. A Ciaran Ennis free in the 58th minute left the goal between the sides again, 0-8 to 1-8. But just as in the previous round against Gaeil Colmcille, Moynalvey failed to kill off the game and were once again found napping in the final few minutes. Three Nobber points in the last five minutes resulted in both sides taking a point apiece from the result.
Best for Moynalvey were Barry O’Keeffe, Darren Brennan and William Harnan.
Moynalvey: O. Regan, R. Kiernan, P. Harnan, B. O’Keeffe, B. Dixon, A. Forde, D. Branigan, D. Smith, J. Donoghue (0-1), J. Weldon, P. Donoghue, D. Brennan (0-1), R. Ryan (0-1), C. Ennis (1-3, 3f), , L. Duffy. Subs used: W. Harnan (0-1), C. Collins (0-1), B. Conneely, F. McCabe, D. Durkan.
