Yellow warning for sluggish Reds: Clonduff 1-10 – 0-8 Rostrevor | Latest Newry News, Newry Sport and Newry Business for Newry City

Yellow warning for sluggish Reds: Clonduff 1-10 – 0-8 Rostrevor

DOWN ACFL DIVISION ONE – MATCHDAY NINE
CLONDUFF 1-10 – 0-08 ROSTREVOR

By Kieran McNally

Clonduff were always in control, as they took firm control of their division one status with a five-point win over Rostrevor at a wet Pairc Cluain Daimh on Friday night.

stbronaghs1Geairoid Adams’ Yellas were able to capitalise on an impressive start to keep the travelling Reds on the back foot for the duration of the contest, with Stephen McConville’s 42nd minute goal putting the contest beyond all doubt.

As far as Clonduff performed without their county players, Rostrevor were poor and seemed to struggle with the unpleasant conditions; providing their most disappointing display of the season.

The hosts; sitting reasonably comfortably in the top half, were able to gather momentum without much resistance in the opening quarter and showed the greater clinical edge from the beginning.

Stephen McConville raced through for the game’s opening point on 3 minutes and that was an early sign of things to come. Barry O’Hagan’s quality in the attack was evident throughout and he was always on point to receive possession and carry his threat to the Reds’ defence.

He posted a high point before converting a free to extend the Clonduff lead to three points. Stephen McConville tagged on the Yellas’ fourth unanswered point, before a shot-shy Rostrevor opened their account through Damian Magee.

Rostrevor were finding it difficult to retain possession and were often guilty of poor handling, as they struggled to cater for the wet surface.

Jordan Fegan came closest to making a real impression for the visitors on the scoreboard and could count himself rather unlucky to see his close-range attempt scrambled wide.

Finbar McConville sent over an excellent score to re-establish Clonduff’s four-point lead with Barry O’Hagan tucking over from the right side to stretch the advantage further; 0-6 to 0-1.

The Reds were in need of some inspiration and a brace of rangy efforts from Declan Magee and Jonathan Parr did bring some hope, but Shane O’Hagan’s fine point ensured the Clonduff were well in control at the turnaround with a four-point gap between the sides.

HALF TIME – CLONDUFF 0-07 – 0-03 ROSTREVOR

The nature of the game insisted that a goal on either side would have a major bearing on the outcome and as long as Rostrevor remained within sight, they still had a chance of grinding out a result.

Conor Doyle pointed from a free in the opening minute of the second half to close the gap, but it was Clonduff that found the vital scores. Barry O’Hagan restored the lead and had Jonathan Parr to curse for thwarting himself and Stephen McConville from finding the net on 39 minutes with the Reds keeper making a superb double save.

However, Rostrevor gifted the latter with a goal moments later to put Clonduff clear. McConville received possession after some slack defending to drive the ball to the top left corner; putting the hosts into a commanding 1-8 to 0-4 lead.

Jonathan Parr narrowed the deficit with his second long-range kick of the night with Rian Brannigan fisting over a response from Clonduff. The Reds were able to link together three points without reply through Conor Doyle, Anthony Donnan and John Fegan to give them a reason to send in the hopeful long balls in the closing stages, but there was no real substance to their punts as Clonduff eased home.

Stephen McConville capped an excellent night in the final minute with another score to seal a five-point win for the Yellas. Rostrevor will be disappointed to have fallen short of their recent standards; particularly up front, with this meek performance just placing some added impetus into their home encounter with Saval at the start of July.

The further the season advances, the more games will fall into the must-win category, but sitting in tenth position; just clear of the automatic relegation spots, the pressure cooker hasn’t been turned on quite yet for the Reds.

Although, failure to add to seven league points as the season enters its final third would certainly turn up the heat.

CLONDUFF SCORERS; Stephen McConville (1-3), Barry O’Hagan (0-4 3f), Shane O’Hagan, Finbar McConville and Rian Brannigan (0-1 each).

ROSTREVOR SCORERS; Conor Doyle (0-2 2f), Jonathan Parr (0-2 2f), John Fegan, Damian Magee, Declan Magee and Anthony Donnan (0-1 each).

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Posted by on Jun 23 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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