ACFL Division One
All Saints 0-12
St. Gall’s 2-13
THE Antrim club scene returned this weekend with St Gall's taking the honours in the proverbial game of two halves when they overcame the challenge of All Saints in Ballymena on Sunday afternoon.
Despite both sides missing their county stars ahead of the seasons recommencement, Sunday's fixture did not lack the quality of a great game with both sides giving a strong account in either half, but eventually the Falls Road side prevailed.
Shaun O’Callaghan pulled up with an injury to be replaced by Harry Connon after only nine minutes and with a strong wind at their backs the Milltown side looked to have it wrapped up at the interval after they led with a convincing 13-point half-time score line.
When All Saints kicked the first five scores of the second half, including a brace of two-pointers from James McDonnell, the gap closed to within five with only nine minutes gone.
It looked like the home side were on their way to a remarkable comeback but they failed to sustain that early commitment throughout the second 30-minutes as St Gall’s got to grips with that early onslaught and began to play the possession game to great effect.
All Saints did have a great opportunity to close the gap further with limited time remaining but Chris Kerr got down to save James McDonnell’s spot kick which effectively ended the game as a contest.
The Ballymena side coped well during the opening exchanges and trailed by only two after the opening quarter after Daniel Quinn was poised from a free for two points and Dubhaltach MacLiam also was on target for the visitors.
Ballymena eventually got themselves up and running when Conall Lemon opened the home side’s account with a good point.
St Gall's enjoyed an opening day victory over Ballymena 
Both keepers had their work cut out for them in this affair, with veteran keeper Chris Kerr firmly standing out for the Milltown men after the shot-stopper pulled off a great save denying Sean McVeigh. At the other end Ryan Stewart made an even better stop at the expense of a Niall Fallon point to deny what looked a certain goal for the Belfast men.
Points from Patrick Ferris and a Benny McDonnell free kept the home side in touch but St Gall’s began to take control as the impressive Daniel Quinn struck three on the bounce, one of them a terrific two-pointer.
Stewart was doing all in his power to keep his side in the game as he pulled off another spectacular save but the big Ballymena keeper fluffed a kick-out and Pádraig Ó Muirigh placed his shot left and low to the corner.
Stewart denied the same player at the expense of a point before Daniel Quinn got through for his side’s second goal to leave St Gall’s 13 in front at the break.
It was going to take something special to get All Saints back into contention in the second half and for a period it looked like materialising. The superb James McDonnell saw two orange flags raised before adding another score and when Patrick Ferris and Benny McDonnell added a few points the hosts looked like they could be on the verge of something special.
Fortunately for the Milltown side, that would be as close as they got after Manus McCrossan fisted over at the other end whilst Daniel Quinn added another despite Connell Lemon's reply for the hosts.
The controlled possession that the former All-Ireland winners showed helped them shield off any real worries of losing grip of the game, and when the ever reliable Kerr got down to deny James McDonnell from the penalty spot, hopes of All Saints recovery were virtually killed off in that moment.
St Gall's kickstart their season with a victory over a side who won the reverse in the league last season, and now face newly promoted Sarsfields in a West Belfast derby game next Sunday.
Ballymena All Saints: Ryan Stewart; Oliver O’Rawe, James McDonnell, James Gillan; Patrick Ferris, Michael Read, Peter McNicholl; Emmet Killough, Sean O’Brien; Shaun O’Callaghan, Conall Lemon, Brendan McDonnell; Sean McVeigh, Darach Bradley, Harry Connon
Subs: Charlie Metrustry
St Gall’s: Chris Kerr; Christopher Hale, Aidan McDonagh, Eoghan McCurdy; Conaill Murray, Dubhaltach MacLiam, Liam Lynn; Aodhan Gallagher, Manus McCrossan; Aaron Mackle, Daniel Quinn, Martin Murray; Niall Fallon, Callum Walsh, Padraig Óg Murray
Subs: Ethan Walsh, Barra McCaffrey, Gerard O'Neill
