ARDARA MADE NO MISTAKE this time around as they saw off Cloughaneely in a relegation play-off replay at Rosses Park.
Ardara 3-09 Cloughaneely 0-06
Ryan Malley’s brace of goals and an own goal by the unfortunate Leigh O’Brien saw John McConnell’s men see off brave Cloughaneely, who must now take on Killybegs to see who falls through the trapdoor and into the Intermediate Championship for next year.
Two weeks ago, Ardara let a nine-point lead slip away in Glenswilly as Cloughaneely snatched a draw to earn another bite at survival.
The Pearse Park men were in no mood to let them back this time around and Malley’s goal after just three minutes put them into a lead they wouldn’t let go of for the duration.
Cloughaneely played with the wind in the first half, but were struggling to make the ball stick inside.
Ardara struck an early blow to John Paul Gallagher’s side. Paddy McGrath applied the assist and Malley did the rest, rounding Shaun McClafferty to fire home a goal.
Stefan Boyle drilled over a free after Darren Ferry and Shaun McGarvey got Cloughaneely off the mark.
Ardara might have been out of sight at the interval, but Cloughaneely remained in the hunt.
Peter Oliver McNelis’s dropping ball looked to be going over the bar, but it fell in the goalmouth and Cloughaneely survived while Boyle’s hooked effort at a point crashed off the bar.
At the other end, Darren McGeever was denied a goal by a block from Nicholas Maguire.
McGarvey and Boyle swapped points from placed balls and Ardara went in ahead, 1-2 to 0-3.
Ardara buzzed to life at the start of the second half with McGrath, Boyle and CJ Molloy stretching the lead before a superb save by Declan Gallagher, their goalkeeper, denied John Fitzgerald a goal after he found space.
Fitzgerald had another opportunity, but fisted wide after McGarvey created the chance.
Fitzgerald and Ferry kept the score ticking for Cloughaneely, but Ardara got in for goal number two in the 52nd minute as Malley slapped home from McGrath’s centre after a rampaging run down the right by the Donegal defender.
For good measure, they got a third when O’Brien flicked into his own net from Tomas Boyle’s ’45 and Ardara closed out well with Martin Shovlin and Brendan Boyle (2) on target.
Ardara: Declan Gallagher; Oisin O’Donnell, Declan Gavigan, Nicholas Maguire; Paddy McGrath (0-1), Conor Classon, John Ross Molloy; Brendan Boyle (0-2, 1f), Kenneth Doherty; Peter Oliver McNelis, CJ Molloy (0-1), Kieran Breslin (0-1); Ryan Malley (2-0), Stefan Boyle (0-3, 2f), Martin Shovlin (0-1). Subs: Gareth Concarr for Molloy (43), Tomas Boyle for S.Boyle (45), Kevin Herron for O’Donnell (51), Kevin White for McNelis (53), Jimmy O’Connell for Doherty (57), Kevin Breslin for K.Breslin (59),
Cloughaneely: Shaun McClafferty; Martin Ferry, John Harley, Ciaran McGeady; Leigh O’Brien (1-0, own goal), Paddy Cannon, Cian McFadden; Ciaran Scanlon, Darren McGeever; Darren Ferry (0-2), Shaun McGarvey (0-2, 1 ‘45), Eugene Maguire; Killian Gallagher, Sean Maguire, Declan McGarvey. Subs: John Fitzgerald (0-2, 2f) for Gallagher (29), Kevin Mulhern for E.Maguire (40), Kevin McFadden for S.McGarvey (40), Paul Sweeney for S.Maguire (43), Sean Gallagher for Ferry (57).
Referee: Jimmy White (Killybegs).
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