IN THE END, it was a decent run out for both teams and nobody left Rosses Park in Dungloe overly upset.
Dungloe 1-10 Naomh Columba 1-9
Tony Boyle’s Dungloe held onto win by a single point and Brendan Doherty – the Naomh Columba manager – would’ve been content enough with the fight shown by his team.
Photo caption: The Dungloe team that welcomed Dungloe in the Comórtas Peile na Gaeltachta this afternoon
Whilst travelling north, the headcount from Glencolmcille of those not featuring for one reason or another was eight.
Boyle had a lot of men out too but it was his team who started the best, knocking over the first three points of the day, with Gerard Walsh, Shaun Sharkey and Noel McBride posting their first scores of the new campaign.
Naomh Columba took a little while to get going but by half-time were just a point down, 0-5 to 0-4, with Ryan Jones knocking over the first two points of a personal haul that would conclude at six for the day.
Philip McNern might’ve put the visitors in front just after half-time, only for Brian O’Donnell – who was only on the pitch two minutes – to make an excellent block. The Dungloe substitute was penalised moments later for touching the ball on the ground and Jones tied up the scores at 0-5 to 0-5.
The Naomh Columba side that took on Dungloe this afternoon in the Comórtas Peile na Gaeltachta
Luke Neely scored a somewhat fortuitous goal a minute later. Clearly shooting for a point, the ball fell short but Naomh Columba goalkeeper Pauric O’Donnell was caught under the flight of it and couldn’t prevent it from nestling in his net.
A further two points from Matthew Ward and Barry Curran pushed out Dungloe’s advantage to 1-7 to 0-5 but Naomh Columba wouldn’t go away.
On 42 minutes, full-back Ciaran McBrearty joined the attack and punched past Ciaran Sharkey following a crossfield pass from Martin Cunningham. Another free from Jones meant that the away team were just one down, 1-7 to 1-6.
But the way Dungloe grasped the initiative was, ultimately, the difference between them winning and losing. Neely and an effort from substitute Adrian Sweeney pushed their advantage out to three again.
Late on, Jones scored two more and Philip Doherty pointed from play but Sweeney’s second point following his introduction, a great score on the turn turned out to be the winner in the end.
Dungloe: Ciaran Sharkey; Mark Curran, Raymond Sweeney, Owen Scally; Martin Redmond, Gavin Ward, Matthew Ward (0-1); Noel McBride (0-1), Darren Curran; Ryan Connors (0-1), Shaun Sharkey (0-1), Gerard Walsh (0-1); Barry Curran (0-1), Luke Neely (1-1), Ryan Greene (0-1, 1f). Subs: Brian O’Donnell and Adrian Sweeney (0-2) for M Curran and Connors (half-time), Hugh Foy for Sharkey (41).
Naomh Columba: Pauric O’Donnell; Barry Carr, Ciaran McBrearty (1-0), Conor Carr; Philip Doherty (0-1), Jamie J McGinley, Stephen Jones; Ryan Jones (0-6, 5f), Declan Maguire (0-1); Gavin McGinley, Pauric Cunningham (0-1), Paul Doherty; Martin Cunningham, Philip McNern, Ryan McNern. Subs: Conor Kennedy for S Jones (39), S Jones for C Carr (41).
Referee: Robbie O’Donnell (Naomh Muire).
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