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Saval form continues despite Black Friday

ROSTREVOR 2-11 – 3-12 SAVAL
DOWN ACFL DIVISION ONE – MATCHDAY TEN

By Kieran McNally

Three black cards in an action-packed first half failed to derail Saval, as they held on in an extremely open league encounter at Pettit Park last Friday night.

Kealan Rice, Daniel McCarthy and Finn McAvoy were all dismissed in the opening thirty minutes, but Saval capitalised on being handed the initiative with a fortuitous sixth minute goal to push on and build a handsome lead to defend in the second half.

rostrevorsavalRostrevor’s initial attempts to impose their will on the game were notable; however, it all counted for little as they were left to chase the game beyond the opening ten minutes after their early dominance was cancelled out.

The Reds started positively and were the only side on the scoreboard in the first five minutes with three unanswered points. Caolan Mooney’s right wing run presented him with a good scoring chance in the 2nd minute; which he took with aplomb, with Damian Magee doubling the lead moments later.

Mooney sent over from a central position on 5 minutes to further emphasise Rostrevor’s good start, but all that work was harshly undone inside the next minute of play.

Daniel McCarthy pointed from the left side to bring Saval into the game before Niall Madine’s dropping point effort somehow found its way past Ciaran Sloan and into the corner of the net.

The Coalpit Road side were quick to further punish Rostrevor with a second goal almost immediately. Oisin McAvoy was the scorer; receiving possession after fine work on the left wing to drive the ball to the right corner of the net.

Points from Pat Havern and Kealan Rice extended the lead to six points by the 10th minute; 2-3 to 0-3.

Saval lost Daniel McCarthy to their first black card of the evening before Rostrevor; who had been playing reasonably well up until that stage, registered their first goal in the 12th minute through Piaras Kane.

The finish was excellent; turning well to race through and drill the ball low to the net. However, Niall Madine’s growing influence and burly strength in the final third was starting to turn the general tide in Saval’s favour.

Pat Havern’s brace put Saval into a five-point lead, before Madine broke the ball down for the same man to pierce a shot into the bottom left corner. Rostrevor were less clinical at the other end; with Conor Doyle having a shot well saved and Conor Magee blazing an effort wide after a fine run into the Saval defence.

They did reduce arrears before the break though, as Saval’s disrupting black cards to Finn McAvoy and Kealan Rice allowing the Reds to outscore their visitors; three to one, in the closing stages of the half.

Two frees from Caolan Mooney and a good point from Damian Magee for Rostrevor with Ryan Rice providing Saval’s response, as they carried a six-point advantage at the interval.

HALF TIME – ROSTREVOR 1-06 – 3-06 SAVAL

Shaun Parr narrowed the gap instantly with a smart turn and finish with Pat Havern free restoring the lead for Saval. Rostrevor were made to rue their missed chances on the night with Conor Doyle seeing a goal chance tipped fantastically onto the post in the 34th minute, but Saval were unlucky also; Ronan Digney pulling an effort wide when well placed.

Piaras Kane and Daniel Hughes traded points, but any chance that Rostrevor had of winning the contest were fading away with time, as they could only break even in the third quarter.

Corey McCullough sent over a high point for Saval to bring a seven-point lead with Niall Madine’s double ensuring a very comfortable lead entering the final five minutes; 3-11 to 1-8.

Stefan White’s Reds were very competitive until the final minute though, and they managed to stage a late revival to leave themselves in with a shout at the very end.

Shaun Parr, Adrian Mackin and John Fegan all registered points before the 60th minute to bring the gap down to six points, with Piaras Kane pulling on a breaking ball to crash in an injury time goal to close the deficit further.

However, the kickout went to Saval and Calum Lennon sent over the insurance point with the final kick to ensure that Saval kept their impressive season on track with another win.

Rostrevor’s road to the finish is now filled with a battery of must-win fixtures with the vitally important visit to Glenn after the season break giving the side an opportunity to rise out of the play-off spot, and that fixture has the making of a cracker given Glenn’s exploits since their return to the top flight last season.

ROSTREVOR SCORERS; Piaras Kane (2-1), Caolan Mooney (0-4 2f), Shaun Parr, (0-2), Damian Magee (0-2), John Fegan and Adrian Mackin (0-1 each).

SAVAL SCORERS; Pat Havern (1-4 3f), Niall Madine (1-2), Oisin McAvoy (1-0), Ryan Rice, Corey McCullagh, Calum Lennon, Daniel McCarthy, Kealan Rice and Daniel Hughes (0-1 each).

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Posted by on Jul 7 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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