Richie pickings for John MItchels

JOHN MITCHELS STABANNON PARNELLS 4-7 1-12

FULL-FORWARD Richie McGuinness grabbed a hattrick to help John Mitchels to their first win of the campaign as they proved too strong for Stabannon Parnells.

The Kevin Mullen Shield Group A encounter on Friday night produced five goals and some well-taken points but in the end it was the Mitchels who prevailed thanks in large to an impressive team display.

The first half saw McGuinness find the net along with Barry Kirk as his side built up a 2-5 to 1-4 advantage at the break, with Robert Callaghan raising a green flag for Stabannon to keep the Parnells in touch.

The second period saw Stabannon, led by Colm Giggins and Daniel Bannon, find their range with some good points. However, the Mitchels were not to be denied and McGuinness completed his hat-trick with two further goals to secure the win.

MITCHELS: David Anderson; Connell Keenan, Alan Mackin, Mitchell Keenan; Anthony Coyle, Aaron Kane, Ryan Carroll 0-1; Sean Sweeney, Stephen Coyle; Kevin Gallagher 0-1, Robbie Coyle 0-1, Barry Kirk 1-2; Aaron Keely 0-1, Richie McGuinness 3-0, Brian Coyle. Subs: Rory Durnin for A Mackin, Diarmuid Durnin 0-1 for B Coyle, Emmet Ward for K Gallagher. STABANNON: Anto Byrne; Conor Fanning, Alan Lynch, Conor Lowth; Fintan Martin, Brendan O’Kane, Daniel Bannon 0-5; Niall Cluskey, Colm Giggins 0-3; Niall Fanning, Shane Sweeney, David Cluskey; Robert Callaghan 1-2, Aonghus Giggins 0-2, Dean Lynch.