Carndonagh just about see off rivals Moville in cagey Division 3 affair

Anticipation was high for this Division 3 Inishowen derby, with both teams going well in the League and favourites Carn unbeaten so far this season. 

However, expectations were never really fulfilled as a low-scoring affair, littered with wides, saw neither side really giving a good account of themselves. 

It didn’t always look that way though, with Moville twice through on the Carn goal in the first five minutes and looking sharper in the opening exchanges. 

First, Christy Hegarty seized on a powerful turnover from Michael Leech to blaze wide in the second minute, and then Leech himself ran straight and hard at the Carn defence – only to see his goal-bound shot blocked by some last-ditch defending. 

From that point on Carn settled themselves and opened the scoring with three points coming without reply before Dylan Doherty finally got Moville on the board with a free on fifteen minutes after good work from Danny Murphy through the middle. 

By this stage the game had settled into a pattern of Carn enjoying the lion’s share of possession and territory, but forced into shooting right at the edge of the scoring zone – racking up a series of wides as a result. 

There were still chances in the game though, as first Dylan Doherty saved bravely in the Moville goal, and then good work again from Leech, supported by debutant Caillou O’Kane, saw Danny Murphy denied by the Carn keeper. 

Further wides followed from both sides, before Carn scores saw them into a 0-5 to 0-1 lead at the break – a scoreline that that really didn’t reflect the chances in the game but said it all about the quality of the finishing. 

The second half saw a clear improvement from Moville in terms of possession and territory, as they got Declan Diver and Oisin McElhinney driving forward with purpose from half back, but the accuracy just wasn’t there for either side as the wides racked up. 

Moville’s only point from play saw Daithi Peto breaking from corner back to feed Nigel McMonagle, who moved the ball fast for Danny Murphy to put it over the bar. 

Other than that, it was a case of frees and 45s, with Dylan Doherty and Danny both finding composure at key times to land scores, but ultimately leaving it too late to really threaten Carn’s lead, despite restricting them to two scores in the second half. 

With each side hitting around a dozen wides apiece, the result really could have gone either way, but Carn did enough in the first half to hold off an improved Moville after the break, but Pat McLaughlin’s men will ultimately feel that there was more in this game for them. 

Moville scorers: Danny Murphy 0-2, 1f; Dylan Doherty 0-3, 2 ’45, 1f.

Moville: Dylan Doherty, Brendan McClenaghan; Enda Faulkner; Dáithí Peto; Oisin McElhinney; Declan Diver; Caillou O’Kane; Michael Leech; Padhraic Skelly; Michael Barr; Joshua Lafferty; Evan Hudner; Danny Murphy; Christy Hegarty; Nigel McMonagle 

Subs: Josh McDermott for E Hudner; Stephen Teles for N McMonagle; R McDermott for C Hegarty