Stepehn Maguire of Belcoo playing the ball forward
Ardara………………………………3-5
Belcoo……………………………….1-9
A narrow defeat for Belcoo at the Donegal venue, a third goal which was conceded some eight minutes from time proving to be the killer blow for the visitor’s chances of snatching an away win.
It was goals which in the end undid the robust Belcoo challenge for the scores conceded at sporadic intervals ensured that , despite some enterprising passages of play, the O’Rahilly’s were never able to shrug off the chase from the Donegal team.
Belcoo despite the fact that they faced into the wind in the first half made the sharper start and eased two in front but then coughed up the first goal on eight minutes but still would have been satisfied enough with the interval scoreline which saw them handily placed on level terms on a scoreline of 0-5 to 1-2.
With the breeze to assist them on the resumption Belcoo’ s prospects of carving out a victory looked bright but they made things difficult for themselves by losing a second goal just on the restart and they had leeway to make up.
This they duly did with what was their most profitable spell of the game, a goal a number of points collected but they were also to see a couple of shots spin back from the uprights and they were then to be overhauled by the third goal for Ardara.
Belcoo made a feisty bid to recover the lost ground over a taut final seven to eight minutes but could only manage a single point , this from Ciaran Flaherty and they slipped to their first defeat of the campaign.
Two early points for Belcoo came from Ciaran Flaherty and Gavin Leonard before they were undone by Ardara’s first score this a penalty goal from Gareth Concarr.
This signalled a flurry of rapidly taken scores, Peter McNelis and Conor Concarr for the Donegal side, sandwiched between these a point from Stephen Maguire.
There was then a slackening of the scoring rate before Belcoo rounded off the half in breezy style with two late points from Ronan Ferguson and Niall Leonard and the visitors appeared to be in good shape for the second half.
But they were to ship a blow on the restart as Gareth Concarr strode downfield on a determined run which he finished off with a cracking shot to the net.
The riposte from Belcoo was heartening as they stepped up to the plate and they had the better of matters for some time thereafter. Their effort was boosted by a neat goal from Gavin Leonard and points were tagged on by Stephen Maguire and John Carrigan, these long shots from play but both players were unfortunate to see two other similar efforts spill down from the upright.
Heading into the final quarter and it was still anyone’s game but Belcoo were then to concede what in the end proved to be the killer third goal.
A shot was blocked down by an Ardara defender and the counter attack caught Belcoo flatfooted with a swift raid and this was suitably finished off by Peter McNelis who rammed his shot home.
Still time for Belcoo to undo the damage and they worked manfully to do so but defensively Ardara now were more assured and a lone Ciaran Flaherty point four minutes from time was to be Belcoo’s lone reward.
For the winners, the introduction of Donegal panellist Paddy McGrath spurred their cause as he claimed good possession in the middle of the park and up front for them Gareth Concarre was an influential figure.
For Belcoo, Ryan McGovern was a very effective corner back , Stephen Maguire and John Carrigan worked hard in midfield and Ciaran Leonard was a willing figure in the attack.