Daly brothers rattle the net in a comfortable group win

Mountbellew-Moylough 2-10

St Michael’s 0-9

Gerard Mulreaney at Pearse Stadium

ON the opening weekend of the county senior football championship, last year’s beaten finalists Mountbellew-Moylough got off to the perfect start with a win over St Michael’s at Pearse Stadium on Sunday.

Val Daly’s charges are warm favourites to reach the quarter finals. They beat Killannin in the recent league final, and they continued that progression with a battling display to beat a very spirited city side.

Mountbellew-Moylough took their opportunities when they were presented. Similar to their league final win over Killannin, they got their goals at the right time. Their decision making was very good at times, and eventually they got rewarded for it.

Just six minutes in, St Michael’s midfielder Frank Daly came off the worst in a challenge with Colin Ryan and he had to be replaced by Darragh O’Malley. Barry McHugh tapped over the resulting free kick to open the scoring.

There was a very cagey start to the game, as both teams tried to gain the upper hand in the opening exchanges and some intense defending from Mountbellew-Moylough resulted in a turnover. A quick free by McHugh set up Michael Daly to score with a left-footed effort.

St Michael’s were very well organised defensively, putting a lot of players behind the ball trying to frustrate Mountbellew-Moylough. Their patience was rewarded, when after a long spell of possession Eoin Finnerty guided his shot over the bar on 15 minutes.

For more, read this week’s Connacht Tribune.

Connacht Tribune Digital Edition App

Download the Connacht Tribune Digital Edition App to access to Galway’s best-selling newspaper.

Click HERE to download it for iPhone and iPad from Apple’s App Store, or HERE to get the Android Version from Google Play.

Or purchase the Digital Edition for PC, Mac or Laptop from Pagesuite  HERE.

Get the Connacht Tribune Live app
The Connacht Tribune Live app is the home of everything that is happening in Galway City and county. It’s completely FREE and features all the latest news, sport and information on what’s on in your area. Click HERE to download it for iPhone and iPad from Apple’s App Store, or HERE to get the Android Version from Google Play.