ACHL DIVISION TWO
St Galls 0-11
Cushendan 1-11
At Milltown

ST GALLS lived to rue some first half chances as they fell to a three-point defeat at the hands of title favourites Cushendun in a low-scoring Division Two opener on Sunday afternoon.

A second-half goal for the North Coast men would split the difference in the end as defender Thomas Scally found space inside the area and blasted home his effort beyond Sean McAreavey in the St Gall's net.

Despite the first glimpses of spring rearing its head at the Bog Meadows, it was accompanied by a firm gust which caused issue and hampered the scoring ability of both sides. 

The hosts had the wind at their backs in the first half, but the ferocious gusts really saw them struggle to get to grips with the conditions but eventually they would settle to gain control of the scoring in the opening period.

Tomás Ó Ciarain got the Milltown men up and running with back to back scores after managing to evade the scrum-like battles in midfield with the ball and the forward managed to use the aid of the wind to fizz two terrific scores in quick succession and grant his side an early lead.

St Gall's did have chances to extend their lead when Mark Napier narrowly fired wide from tight angles and before long eventually Cushendun would begin to gather small pockets of momentum to draw themselves back within their opposition once more.

Connlaoth McNeil eventually got his side on the scoreboard after some struggles in the opening minutes and rectified his earlier wides with his first of seven on the afternoon when he drilled into the wind and overpowered it to send it for a white flag.

The hosts replied with a tally of their own from the free when Mark Napier made sure  and he followed it up with a carbon copy strike to further extend his side's lead to three points.

The conditions held up and made sure it was a tough battle and that any errors would certainly give chance to punishment by either side as tempers began to flare.

Cushendun relied once more on McNeil to find his shooting range and he did so twice with great conviction as the half ended with St Gall's leading by just the single score and momentum beginning to shift.

The North Coast men began to motor with a bit more class as the second-half restarted. Archie McSparran's off the shoulder strike after retaining the ball after a battle in the wing allowed his side to level the game, before their fatal strike in the tie would be had on the oncoming puck-out.

St Gall's failed to retain McAreavey's puckout and it fell to the hands of the Glensmen once more who took their opportunity to attack when they had the numbers advantage, and after almost clearing their lines the Milltown men did not get so lucky as Thomas Scally picked up a loose ball and drilled it low and beyond the net-minder to flip the scoreboard with Cushendun now in front.

St Gall's roared back rather than succumbing to a heavy defeat and showed strong spirit and fight with Fergus Donnelly collecting the ball and making good use of his short-stick as he powered over the bar.

Ewan Rush also clipped an effort between the posts levelling the game once more with St Gall's looking to re-establish their lead from the break.

Scores from Sharkey, McKeegan and Bannon ensured that three would remain the difference between the sides as Cushendun rallied during the closing stages of the game.

Cushendun saw out the victory, but if not for the late heroics of Donal O'Hare, who deflected a last-minute goal-bound free from Mark Napier, the story could have been very much a different one.

This bout goes to the greens but no doubt St Gall's will take huge confidence from their performance on Sunday afternoon.

ST GALL'S: Sean McAreavey; Gregory McGreevy, Dan Churchill, Eoghan McCurdy; Gaireach Adams, Paddy Friel, Michael Marlow; Jack Hopkins, Ewan Rush 0-1; Oran McIlhatton, Jackson McGreevy, Fergus Donnelly; Mark Napier 0-5 (0-4f), Tomás O'Ciarain 0-2, Ronan Crossan

Subs: Tom Ghee, Emmet Loughran, Michael McMullan

CUSHENDUN: John Morgan: Thomas Scally 1-0, Mark McSparran, Paddy Morgan; Andrew Breslin, Donal O'Hara, Jack McKay; Matthew McCartan, Calum Kilgore; Conor McHugh, Archie McSparran 0-1, Dominic Sharkey 0-1; Conor Barron, Connlaoth McNeill 0-7 (0-7F), Pierce Bannon 0-1

Subs: Colm McKeegan 0-1, Conrad McDonnell, Liam Magee, Sean Hamilton

Referee: Fintann McCoitter (Sarsfields)