Gaeil Fhánada edge past Buncrana to seal first league win of the season

There was no quarter asked or given on Sunday afternoon as Gaeil Fhánada got their first victory of this year’s Division 2 league campaign after a feisty encounter with Buncrana.  

The decisive blows were two first-half goals from Brandon McClafferty and James Kerr, but a late flurry of scores from the hosts left it far from comfortable for Finbar O’Neill’s side who withstood almost eight minutes of added time to clinch victory by a single point.  

Buncrana were two points to the good after five minutes with Dylan Mulholland hitting over from play and John Campbell scoring from a placed ball, but an early Fanad goal, palmed to the net by Brandon Mc Clafferty after an incisive Conor Heraghty run gave the visitors confidence.  

A free kick into the breeze from Liam McGrenaghan extended their lead, but Buncrana using the elements to their advantage dominated possession for the majority of the remainder of the half and were level by the 20-minute mark with a Mulholland point from play and a Sean McLaughlin free bringing the teams’ level.  

McLaughlin added another free to edge them ahead in the 24th minute but they would rue a lot of missed opportunities, as James Kerr had the final say of the opening period rifling the ball to the net two minutes into added time to leave the visitors two points to the good at the break. 

The second half was a battle, but there was a smattering of high-quality scores from both sides. 

James Kerr got the visitors off to a bright start in the first minute, but that score was soon cancelled out by Buncrana captain William Mc Laughlin who made his way forward to finish a decent team move.  

Gaeil Fhánada dominated the middle part of the second half, landing the next three points on the bounce. Liam Mc Grenaghan struck a 45, Darren Mc Elwaine added a free, and then struck a fine score from an acute angle in the 48th minute.  

John Campbell and Darren McElwaine traded further scores leaving it Gaeil Fhánada 2.06 to Buncrana 0:07 after 55 minutes. The hosts really dug in from that stage on and were rewarded with two McLaughlin points from play as the clock ticked into overtime.  

Campbell added a free and Mulholland struck his third of the afternoon three minutes into injury time, but the elusive equaliser didn’t come as the Fanad men prevailed by a single point.  

Scorers - Gaeil Fhánada: James Kerr 1-1; Darren Mc Elwaine 0-3; Brandon Mc Clafferty 1-0; Liam Mc Grenaghan 0-2. Buncrana: Sean Mc Laughlin 0-4; Dylan Mulholland and John Campbell 0-3 each; William Mc Laughlin 0-1. 

Gaeil Fhánada: Mark Mc Conigley; Paddy Heraghty, Jimmy Coyle, Oisín Mc Fadden; Calum McAteer, Shaun Kerr, Conor Heraghty; Paddy Carr, Liam Mc Grenaghan; Brandon McClafferty, Mark Mc Ateer, Darren Mc Elwaine; Mark Friel, James Kerr, Paul Coyle. Subs: Eoghan Carr for Coyle.  

Buncrana: Adam Harrigan; William McLaughlin, Aedán Stokes, Evan Mc Callion; Andrew Davison, JP Mc Kenna, Oisín Crawford; Peter Mc Laughlin, Darragh Corry; Aaron Cleary, Sean McLaughlin, Michael Bernard Mc Laughlin; Dylan Mulholland, John Campbell, Oisín O’Flaherty. Subs: Adrian Mc Colgan for O’Flaherty, Liam Jordan for Cleary. 

Referee: Pat Barrett (Baile na nGallóglach)