Muirhevnamor falter as they’re held by Harps
NORTH EAST FOOTBALL LEAGUE
BOYNE HARPS MUIRHEVNAMOR 1 1
THE holders and champions of three years ago met on Thursday night at United Park in a top of the table clash. But it was somewhat academic for Boyne in third place with their challenge having come up short.
For Muirhevnamor above them only a win was good enough to sustain their challenge.
They closed within a point of the leaders Trim with the draw but with three more games played.
So barring a major collapse the race has been narrowed down to two teams, with Newfoundwell entering the weekend with three games less played, full points from which would propel them to the top, the only other live contenders now for the title.
The champions hadn’t played in over a month, and it showed in the first-half as Harps started very brightly. They hit the front after just seven minutes when Kevin Walsh latched on to a Stephen Carter cross to head him home brilliantly into the bottom corner of Muirhevnamor net.
Despite more pressure from Harps, Muirhevnamor survived until the break at 1-0 and made radical changes five minutes into the second-half, bringing on four players, Tiarnan Mulvenna, Gary Clarke, Brian Begley and Jimmy Cooney to replace Brendan Hughes, Philip Duffy, Colin Hoey and Niall Hearty.
The shake up had the desired effect, injecting a lot more energy into the visitors play, and yielded an equaliser. Gary Clarke whipped a ball to the back post where Billy Smith’s header back across goal produced a cracking save by the Boyne goalkeeper but a defender was penalised for handball.
Smith took the responsibility to take the spot kick which he drove low and hard to the net.
The home custodian made a couple of important and really good saves, and the champions hopes of securing the victory they needed vanished when Mulvenna struck an upright and the ball ran across the goal line with Brian Muirhevnamor’s Adrian Rafferty and Boyne Harp’s Mickey Leech. Begley agonisingly close to turning it into the net with ten minutes remaining.
Boyne immediately broke up the field and but for a smashing save by Michael Cooney would have collected all three points.
BOYNE HARPS: Bryan Smith, Darren McCann, Austin McCann, Luke McDonnell, James Traynor (Carl Dowling), Gavin Brennan, Manny Smith, Stephen Carter, Kevin Walsh, Mickey Leech (Tom Reilly), Guy Bates.
MUIRHEVNAMOR: Michael Cooney, Paul Mallon, Niall Hearty, Adrian Rafferty, Chris Caulfield, Colin Hoey, Thomas McShane, Philip Duffy, Brendan Hughes, Nathan Murphy, Billy Smith. Subs Brian Begley, Tiarnan Mulvenna, Gary Clarke, Jimmy Cooney.