Moygonwagh (WP)

 Moygownagh 1-11

Burrishoole 2-24

Moygownagh 

Eoin Horkan

Moygownagh were left to rue a difficult opening spell as Burrishoole made the most of their chances to claim victory in this opening round junior championship clash.

Playing their first junior championship game in two years, Moygownagh started brightly and registered the opening score when Adam Rehill found the target from play.

The home side responded quickly at the clubhouse end, with Barry Gaughan splitting the posts from a long-range free to take the lead.

Burrishoole then began to take control, pushing forward with greater purpose. Fintan McManamon came close to finding the net when his effort struck the post, but the visitors were soon rewarded for their pressure.

Caolan Moran produced an excellent score from out on the wing to put Burrishoole back in front before midfielder Joseph McLoughlin added the game's second  goal five minutes in, sliding the ball past the Moygownagh defence and into the net.

The visitors continued to dominate as the half progressed, with Moran and Rehill both adding to their tallies.

Moygownagh worked hard to stay in touch and were rewarded when John McDonnell and Kevin Murray both got on the scoresheet.

Burrishoole goalkeeper Sean Hanley then showed his composure from placed balls, converting a forty-five  to add another score to the visitors' growing advantage.

There was an intriguing battle developing around midfield, where Patrick Chambers and Gaughan were closely matched and worked tirelessly to influence proceedings and cancelled each other out on the scoreboard.

Burrishoole, however, finished the half strongly. Their full-forward line continued to pose problems for the Moygownagh defence, with Jay Ryder and James McManamon finding the target before the interval.

The visitors therefore headed into the break with the upper hand after a first half in which their attacking threat and ability to punish Moygownagh's mistakes proved decisive.

The opening five minutes after the restart belonged entirely to Rehill as the away sides forward continued to torment the  defence. He added two frees to his tally before producing an excellent score from play, confidently striking over off his unfavoured right foot to keep the scoreboard ticking over.

With the aid of the breeze, the Newport-based side began to make their advantage count and the orange flags were soon raised again. Both McManamons were involved, with each landing a dead ball inside the opening quarter of the second half as Newport continued to press forward and put pressure on the home defence.

The home side, however, refused to let the game slip away from them. Gaughan remained a constant threat and was proving particularly difficult to contain. He added another two-pointer from a free before following it up with a fine score from play, ensuring that the gap remained within reach and setting up an intriguing final quarter.

The final ten minutes developed into a fascinating shootout between Gaughan and Rehill, with both men seemingly taking responsibility for keeping their respective sides in the contest. Rehill struck a superb effort to further add to his impressive haul, but Gaughan responded in kind as the battle continued right to the finish.

The final two orange flags of an entertaining tie were shared between the two outstanding performers, with both Gaughan and Rehill finding the target as neither was willing to give an inch. It made for an exciting conclusion to a game in which the pair had played such influential roles.

Burrishoole:Sean Hanley(0-1 45);Charlie Browne,Patrick Cannon,Gary Wallace;Aaron McDermot,Dillon Coughlan,Diarmuid McNulty;Joseph McLoughlin(1-0),Patrick Chambers(0-1);Liam McNulty, Adam Redhill(0-10) 3 2pf 3fs),Caolan Moran(0-3);Jay Ryder (0-1) James McManamon(0-5 2fs 1 2pf)), Fintan McManamon(1-3 1f 1 2pf)

Subs Used:Shea Daly for Liam McNulty,Finn Hanley,Fintan McManamon,Eoin McNulty for James McManamon,Ciaran McManamon for Patrick Chambers,James Keane for Dillon Coughlan

Moygownagh:Rory Staunton;Brian Dyra,Darragh McDonnell,Iarla Gallagher;Mark Vaughan,Oran Gallagher,Kevin Murray(0-1);Barry Gaughan(1-8 3 2pf),Brendan Birrane;Oisin Carolan,John McDonnel(0-1)Cormac Blehin:Ciaran Traynor,Tiernan Gallagher,Alan Gallagher(0-1)

Subs Used:Thomas Birrane for Ciaran Traynor, Ronan Finnerty for Tiernan Gallagher,Brian Murphy for Alan Gallagher,Ollie Birrane for Iarla Gallagher.

Referee:Walter Doherty