SEAN MACCUMHAILLS had 15 points to spare as they cruised past Ardara and into the Under-21 Championship quarter-finals.
Sean MacCumhaills 2-19 Ardara 1-7
By Chris McNulty at Sean MacCumhaill Park
Two goals in the space of a minute midway through the second half by Carl Dunnion and Chad McSorley added to an already-lopsided encounter.
Dunnion palmed home in the 46th minute after Padhraic Patton was denied twice, first by the underside of the River End crossbar and then by a goal-line block. Dunnion was quickest to react in the crowd to steer in.
That one had barely been digested when MacCumhaills hit a second goal as McSorley finished from Luke Gavigan’s centre.
The game had become a procession before then with the home side dominating from the off and the winning margin by no means flattered the Twin Towns side, who were sent firmly on their way by Oisin Gallen’s (pictured) handful of first-half points to give them a 0-14 to 1-3 lead at the changeover.
Gallen whizzed over a pair of points inside the opening 85 seconds and the tone was set.
MacCumhaills were 0-6 to no score in front by the tenth minute with Gallen adding another two to his tally before Johnny McHugh came up from corner-back to break the Ardara duck.
The ordeal could have been worse for Ardara with MacCumhaills’ Fintan Griffin and Jamie Keegan both having shots blocked on the goal-line.
With the hosts 0-8 to 0-2 ahead, Joel Bradley-Walsh had another sight of goal but he shot wide of the mark when he should’ve hit the target.
Gallen bent over a delicious point from the ’45 and Gavigan’s monster score came during a flurry of six quick-fire scores that opened up an 11-point deficit.
Deep into added time at the end of the first half, Ardara narrowed the margin when Stefan Boyle smashed home from close-range after Niall McCrossan’s free dropped short.
Bradley-Walsh, with a free and a ’45, kept the board ticking for the hosts after the re-start before the two goals hammered in the nails.
Sean MacCumhaills: Jamie Bell; Jack Burke, Christopher Gallagher, Pete Byrne; Caelum Bonar, Aaron Gillooley, Luke Gavigan (0-1); Chad McSorley (1-0), Padhraic Patton; Carl Dunnion (1-4), Joel Bradley-Walsh (0-5, 2f, 2 ’45), Oisin Gallen (0-6, 2f); Fintan Griffin, Jamie Keegan (0-3), Rory Mulligan. Subs: Austin Duignan, Jack Duffy, Jack McGeehin Ciaran McMenamin.
Ardara: Matthew McGlynn; Charlie Kennedy, Eoin Harkin, Johnny McHugh (0-1); Matthew Sweeney, Shane White, Zach Gallagher; Robbie Adair (0-1), Oisin Brennan (0-1); Daryl Maguire, Stefan Boyle (1-3, 2f), Johnny Sweeney (0-1); Brian White, Niall McCrossan, Callum Malley. Subs: Tony Harkin, Paul Walsh, Emmet Byrne, Gerard McHugh.
Referee: Eugene McHale.
Tags: