Rising Reds lower the Banna: Rostrevor 1-15 – 1-05 Clann na Banna | Latest Newry News, Newry Sport and Newry Business for Newry City

Rising Reds lower the Banna: Rostrevor 1-15 – 1-05 Clann na Banna

DOWN ACFL DIVISION ONE – MATCHDAY EIGHT
ROSTREVOR 1-15 – 1-05 CLANN NA BANNA

By Kieran McNally

Rostrevor continued their recent upsurge in form with a facile victory over struggling Clann na Banna at Petit Park on Friday evening.

rostrevor19Following a start to the season which brought little reward for positive impressions, the Reds have been able to place together back-to-back wins in recent weeks and push themselves into the top ten.

Caolan Mooney fired in Rostrevor’s goal in the early stages of the second half, but the game was fading away from the Banbridge side long before that, as the hosts raced clear in an extremely one-sided opening half.

Indeed, the margin of victory would have been much greater, if Rostrevor; who were amusingly sporting an impromptu inside-out jersey, had taken a battery of other chances on the night. However, the two league points are all important.

The Reds started with real urgency and should have raised a green flag inside the opening minute, as Clann na Banna’s defence struggled with the movement of Rostrevor’s inside men.

Conor Fegan dragged a shot wide of Michael McAllister’s post, but was soon on target as he added a good point to Caolan Mooney’s rangy effort to open up an early two-point lead.

John Fegan saw his goal-bound effort splendidly tipped wide, as Rostrevor’s initial attempts to pull away were often thwarted by a mixture of lax finishing and top class shot-stopping.

Despite this though, they were able to tag on points to back up their unquestionable supremacy and Tomas Mulholland’s point earned a three-point cushion by the 8th minute.

In fairness to Clann na Banna, their insistence on playing a quick passing game was heartening to see and they did not come to Rostrevor to sit back and defend. This often left them very open to swathes of Rostrevor offence, but Ruairi Gillen’s free did bring them some respite in the 11 minute.

The remainder of the first half belonged to the hosts, as the ease with which the Reds were able to mount attacks finally beared consistent fruit. Conor Fegan fired over his second point of the evening with Richard Reynolds’ free extending the lead to four points; 0-5 to 0-1.

Jordan Fegan stretched the advantage with a well-taken score before Reynolds tagged on his second free to put Rostrevor in charge on the scoreboard; opening up a six-point lead approaching the break.

Damian Magee’s left-sided point and John Fegan’s effort ensured a comfortable gap was between the sides as they entered half-time and at that stage it was apparent that there was only going to be one winner in this contest.

HALF TIME – ROSTREVOR 0-09 – 0-01 CLANN NA BANNA

Richard Reynolds pushed the lead to nine points from the dead ball in the 33rd minute before Rostrevor put the game conclusively to rest, five minutes into the second half.

It was mostly down to the pace and persistence of Caolan Mooney, as he latched onto the breaking ball with his blistering speed getting him there before the outrushing Michael McAllister to finish to the net and open up a 1-10 to 0-1 lead.

Conor Doyle entered the fray to send over a point from range, before Malachy Magee brought an end to Clann na Banna’s continued woe; applying the finishing touches to point after a patient build up.

That score appeared to give the Scarva Road men some confidence and they were able to add to their tally with some more conviction in the closing stages.

In fact, they were given a huge boost in the 42nd minute with Rory Hill slamming a low effort past Jonathan Parr after finding himself in a rare pocket of space.

It is also worth commenting on the impressive exploits of Jonathan Parr between the Rostrevor posts, as he rose to prevent certain points in either half, as it seemed that gravity was also on the side of the hosts on this occasion.

Declan Magee and Richard Reynolds sent over points to keep the Rostrevor scoreboard ticking over with Dean Lennon weighing in with a point for the Banbridge club.

Piaras Kane pointed via the woodwork, as the sides traded scores in the closing minutes with Jordan Fegan also on target for the Reds, as Clann na Banna never gave in with two further points adding weight to their tally.

The full-time whistle arrived with Rostrevor comfortable ten-point winners and surging into 9th place in the league standings for the time being at least.

The Reds visit to Clonduff will be keenly contested; one would imagine, as both sides strive for two more points to push them further away from the sizeable relegation picture.

Clann na Banna will hope to draw on some home comforts for their must win game against in-form Ballyholland, as their new place in the top flight becomes increasingly precarious.

ROSTREVOR SCORERS; Caolan Mooney (1-1), Richard Reynolds (0-4 3f), Conor Fegan (0-2), Jordan Fegan (0-2), John Fegan, Tomas Mulholland, Conor Doyle, Declan Magee, Damian Magee and Piaras Kane (0-1 each).

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Posted by on Jun 15 2015. Filed under Community, Sport. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0. You can leave a response or trackback to this entry

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