Impressive Moville get the job done against Naomh Colmcille 

When you score a late goal it’s always tempting to think that the scoreboard might have a flattering look to it, but the truth is that Moville were good value here for their All-County League Division 3 win here. 

The game was scrappy enough but gave plenty of entertainment to the large crowd at Carrick Field on Friday night, with Moville in control for most part despite some poor wides, and Naomh Colmcille taking their chances in front of goal. 

The early exchanges saw Moville start well, with Joshie Lafferty stroking after a free on two minutes, followed by another from Michael Leech and then a fine Dylan Doherty score from out on the right – with the big keeper enjoying his run out in the forward line for most of the game. 

Further Moville pressure saw Lafferty draw a fine save from the Newtown netminder to prevent an early goal. 

But that was soon followed by a penalty for the men in red on one of their first forays into the scoring zone, with Moville adjudged to have brought their forward down. 

With the penalty converted, Naomh Colmcille were energised, but a Christy Hegarty point was followed by two excellent scores from Eoghan McLaughlin in quick succession, as he ran hard and direct from the left with defenders in his wake both times before slotting the ball over the bar. 

A Newtown point was then followed by Moville getting a goal of their own. Good work from Cormac Gormley off the kickout saw him feed Declan Diver who turned on the gas through the middle of the pitch before feeding Michael Leech to bury the ball in the back of the net. 

A long delay for a serious injury to Eoghan McLaughlin saw Josh McDermott on as replacement and a series of wides followed from Moville, interspersed with a point from Newtown and their second goal, as a slip in the Moville defence saw a man free onto a long ball to take his score.  

Moville responded with a fine point on the turn from Christy Hegarty, and another couple of wides, to leave them with a two-point lead at the halfway point. 

The second half again saw Moville on top for the most part, but more wides - and a collector’s item from Danny Murphy that managed to hit both posts before bouncing out – meant that the scoreboard moved slowly. 

Murphy did land a couple of frees, alongside points from Ryan McDermott and Joshie Lafferty, before Christy Hegarty smashed in a goal off the Newtown kickout in injury time to give Moville a safe cushion to see out the match. 

It was a solid performance from Moville but they will be punished on other days for their lack of accuracy.

Declan Diver and Enda Faulkner drove the team on from the back, with Pauric Skelly and Michael Leech again having dominant performances in the middle of the field -  Leech in particular adding some real physicality to his game this year. 

Oisin McElhinney brought some useful pace and energy from the bench and Eoghan McLaughlin looked to be playing some of his best football before he was injured.

Moville Scorers: Christy Hegarty 1-2; Michael Leech 1-1; Eoghan McLaughlin 0-2; Joshie Lafferty 0-2; Danny Murphy 0-3; Dylan Doherty 0-1; Ryan McDermott 0-1.

Moville: Stephen Teles; Brendan McClenaghan, Enda Faulkner, Daithi Peto; Ronan Farren, Declan Diver, Cormac Gormley; Michael Leech, Padhraic Skelly; Joshua Lafferty, Danny Murphy, Evan Hudner; Christy Hegarty, Dylan Doherty, Eoghan McLaughlin.

Subs: Josh McDermott for Eoghan McLaughlin (17),  Oisin McElhinney for Evan Hudner (36),  R McDermott for S Teles (53), Ben Doherty for Declan Diver (64)