Crust & Crumb Senior Football League Div 2
Maguiresbridge 2-16 Aghadrumsee 1-18
CONOR Mulligan and Ciaran Corrigan put in starring performances for Maguirebridge as they picked up their first win of the league with a one-point victory over Aghadrumsee on Friday night.
Played at St Mary’s Park, Maguiresbridge dominated the 60 minutes, proving to be the more clinical of the two sides as they maintained a lead right throughout the game.
The St Mary’s men made a strong start to the game. Ryan Hyde won the throw in and he played Conor Mulligan inside who pointed for his first of six scores.
Mulligan was proving impossible for Aghadrumsee to curtail and he quickly added three further points, before Damien McCarville pulled a score back for the St Macartan’s.
With eight minutes played the hosts hit their first goal. Ciaran Corrigan, who has just returned home from Australia, finished off a fleeting counter attack to the net with aplomb.
Dominating possession, Maguiresbridge hit back-to-back two-point efforts from Ryan Hannigan and Corrigan to stretch well ahead.
Aghadrumsee began to rally in the second quarter with Gerry Beggan, Tommy O’Hara, Enda McCabe and Paul Boyle kicking over scores, before Darren Kearns converted a fine two-pointer.
On the stroke of half-time, Aghadrumsee angled the ball high into the Maguirebridge square and Dale Crudden scrambled the ball home to reduce the St Mary’s interval lead to two points.
Aodhan Durnien and Eugene Kearns scored after the restart to level the game, but Maguiresbridge again stretched ahead with a flurry of scores from Mulligan (2), Goodwin and Ryan Hanningan.
Maguiresbridge were in total control of the middle third and Hanningan and Hyde then added further scores to increase their advantage to six points.
With 10 minutes left to play, the St Mary’s men struck for their second goal, Tommy McGrory palming the ball to the Aghadrumsee net after a weighted fist past across the square from Hyde.
Aghadrumsee threw everything at Maguiresbridge and they cut their advantage down to four with a two-point effort from Damien McCarville and scores from O’Hara, Daniel Crudden and Kearns.
The St Macartan’s men pushed forward in search of goal, but they couldn’t break down the Maguiresbridge defence.
Aghadrumsee managed to reduce the deficit to one score after they hit two two-point efforts with Courtney and Durnien striking over with long range scores for Jason O’Connor’s charges.
The St Macartan’s pressed high on the final kickout of the game, needing one score to level the game, but Maguirebridge star Corrigan won possession of the ball as the final whistle sounded.
On Friday night, Aghadrumsee host Lisnaksea at St Macartan’s Park. Maguiresbridge, meanwhile, are away to Coa.