ACL Division 3 - Clonmore V. Keady Michael Dwyers

Clonmore - 1.08 : 1.13 - Keady Michael Dwyers

 

The Dwyers travelled to Clonmore on Saturday to contest their third match of the new ACL Division 3 season as they attempt to bounce back to Division 2 at the first attempt. Keady were made to work hard to defeat an aggressive Clonmore side and in the end were full value for the five point win with a number of players putting in a full shift.

The match started at a high tempo with both sides determined to gain a foothold in the game and it was five minutes before the first score of the game came after a quick Keady move allowed Barry Toal to find Mark Hughes in space and Hughes slotted over his first point of the game. Hughes doubled the Dwyers’ lead minutes later as he won the ball himself and hit the ball over the bar from the right. The lead was reduced soon after as a soft free was given away in the Keady half and Clonmore scored their first point of the game after ten minutes. The wide pitch suited the way Keady were trying to play and were looking the more likely to secure the win and Keady began a period of good play, beginning with a point from Chrissy Woods after solid defensive work from the impressive Christopher Courtney and Stevey Murray broke down a Clonmore attack and started one for Keady.

Keady scored again as the kickout was caught by Eugene McDonnell in midfield who played a one-two with Ryan McGale and pointed from distance. The next attack allowed the Dwyers to put daylight between the teams as Chrissy Woods was abruptly stopped in his tracks en route to goal and the referee awarded a penalty, which was duly converted into the bottom right hand corner by Mark Hughes. Just after the twenty minute mark Clonmore got their second score, again coming from a free and any threat the home team offered was quickly snuffed out by the solid Keady defence. Keady again played themselves in on goal as Barry Toal played a fantastic ball down the line for Woods who turned his man and sprinted into the box but opted for a point as the Clonmore ‘keeper narrowed the angle. The second half ended with another Keady score, with Hughes again the scorer to put Keady into half time with a seven point lead at 1.06 – 0.02.

The second half started at a similar tempo and Keady were again first to score as Richie Brennan received the ball direct from the Clonmore kickout the beat his man and put the ball over the bar. Ryan McGale was next to score for Keady as he conver