Daly goal proves decisive in dull opening round affair

Mountbellew-Moylough 1-6

St. James’ 0-8

A Michael Daly goal early in the second half was enough to drag Mountbellew-Moylough over the line last Saturday in a match that failed to really get going. The sides were level on 0-2 a piece at the interval and a goal was always going to be decisive in such a low-scoring encounter.

With the calibre of some of the players on show, those in attendance might have hoped for a better spectacle but the first half in particular was laden with mistakes and poor shooting which were only compounded by the wet conditions.

In the early stages, it looked like we might be in for a cracker as both sides came close to bagging goals in the opening five minutes. There were barely 40 seconds on the clock when Mountbellew-Moylough’s Michael Daly worked a great chance for himself only to hit his shot straight at Peter Healy, deputising for the injured John Egan in goal. Eoin Concannon then had an ambitious effort of his own, going for goal from over 20m out but seeing his effort whistle the wrong side of the right upright.

As it turned out, the misses were more of a sign of things to come rather than signifying an open, attacking game. The sides registered 14 poor wides in the opening 30 minutes, with Mountbellew-Moylough contributing eight of those.

Daly opened the scoring in the sixth minute with an effort from 35m. Paul Conroy responded with a free 60 seconds later but the game went a further ten minutes before seeing another score. St. James’ were doing an effective job in containing the opposition forwards, their inside-line especially, and while James Foran moved Joe Bergin into the full-forward position to mix things up, the move didn’t have much effect.

A super point, on the turn, from Barry McHugh put Mountbellew back in the lead midway through the half but the same player was guilty of missing an easy free just minutes later, striking the upright from all of 25m and summing up much of the football in the opening half. St. James’ midfielder Aaron Connolly had a busy evening and he was on-hand to draw the city side back level just before the break.

The second half started just like the first with Michael Daly bearing down on goal but Peter Healy could do nothing this time to prevent the Mountbellew-Moylough centre-forward from scoring. With Joe Bergin and Eoin Finnerty involved in the build-up, Daly jinked past his man before racing in to beat Healy with a low finish just 30 seconds after the restart.

Another free from Barry McHugh gave Mountbellew-Moylough a four point lead before St. James’ came back into the game. A mix-up in defence between Colm Mannion and Colm Colleran gave Paul Conroy the opportunity to successfully convert a ’45 before Eoin Concannon opened his account with a free from the right-hand side of the pitch.

For more, read this week’s Connacht Tribune.