ACL Division III

Keady Michael Dwyer’s : 1.10 - St.Paul’s : 2.05

Saturday afternoon saw the league clash between Keady Dwyer’s and St.Paul’s Lurgan, a game that the Keady men were made to battle to the end to secure the win by a score of 1.10 to 2.05. Played in the basking sunshine in McGleenan Park this game was a captivating game of football which either side could have won in the end but Keady did just enough to see off a team that the Dwyer’s had beaten in Lurgan by fourteen points in the reverse fixture.

St Paul’s began with the first point of the game which was then cancelled out a Christopher Courtney effort to bring the scores level and after a period of exchanged wides it wasn’t until the thirteenth minute that the next score came, courtesy of a Paul McCormack point. Keady began to take control of the game as further points from McCormack, Ryan McGale and a fine score from Gerard Enright put the Dwyer’s further in front before McCormack put daylight between the teams when a through ball from Benny Comiskey allowed him the time and space to pick his spot and he calmly slotted the ball past the St. Paul’s ‘keeper for a well-worked goal. The joy was shortlived, however, as the Lurgan men quickly got a goal of their own as a long ball into the Keady box was punched into the net by the St. Paul’s forward who jumped highest and the Dwyer’s lead was reduced to four points going into half-time.

The match re-started at the same intensity of the first and a converted free from Ryan McGale gave the Dwyer’s the first score of the second half but two converted frees from St. Paul’s pegged Keady back. Keady’s failure to convert their dominance into scores was soon punished as a carbon copy of the St.Paul’s  goal in the first half was repeated and the scores were back level after Keady had been the stronger side for most of the game. The Dwyer’s were not too downhearted evidently as another McGale point and an angled drive from Barry Hughes restored Keady’s lead and after the visitors hit a point Ryan Comiskey replied with a fine finish to a sweeping Keady move with around ten minutes remaining. With the game close to the end another St.Paul’s point set up a tense finish to the match with just a point between the teams but the Keady nerves were eased as Paul McCormack produced a fine finish to hit his third point of the game and secure a well deserved win for the Dwyer’s.