Araglin withstand late Mallow revival to claim points
Araglin 1-8 Mallow 0-8
Having lost their opening game to Clyda Rovers, Araglin got their Cavanagh’s of Fermoy Div 2 FL campaign back on track on Sunday in Mallow when they were forced to withstand a late surge by the home side before taking the points at stake. Played in wintry conditions Mallow started brightly having early points by Kevin Taylor and Peter Attridge by the fifth minute. Aided by the strong wind in this half Araglin quickly settled with Ben Carey, Jack Kearney, Paul Hynes, Conor Twomey, Brendan Allen and Aaron Hegarty making inroads. They were level at 0-2 apiece before the winners hit the front in the 10th minute when a good pass by Aaron Hegarty was gathered by Conor Twomey who soloed through the heart of the Mallow defence to punch over.
Aaron Hegarty followed with a free before Brendan Allen struck for the only goal of the game in the 14th minute when he was first to react to finish a delivery by Ben Carey to the net as they moved 1-4 to 0-2 in front. Mallow regrouped from this setback with Andy Hourigan and Kevin Taylor having a point each by the end of the first quarter. Scores were at a premium for the remainder of the half with both sets of defences having the upper hand. Paul Hynes and Eoin Leddy linked up well to set up Conor Twomey for a point while Aaron Hegarty also added a brace of points which helped Araglin hold a 1-7 to 0-4 interval lead.
On the resumption Mallow with the aid of the elements were expected to do very well but some poor shooting in front of the Araglin goal proved very costly. Araglin also found it hard to make headway, adding just a single point by Conor Twomey. At the three quarter stage Peter Attridge with two frees closed the deficit to 1-8 to 0-6. In the 53rd minute a good pass by Richie McAuliffe set up Kevin Fitzpatrick for a point. In the closing moments both teams missed a goal scoring opportunity. Araglin’s Niall O’Sullivan was narrowly wide while at the other end the Araglin keeper Tom Feeney certainly came to his side’s rescue when he denied Ronan Casey a certain goal at the expense of a point as Araglin held out for a close win in the end.
Scorers for Araglin: Aaron Hegarty 0-4 (0-1f), Brendan Allen 1-1, Conor Twomey 0-3. Mallow: Peter Attridge 0-3 (0-1f), Kevin Taylor 0-2 (0-1f), Andy Hourigan 0-1, Kevin Fitzpatrick 0-1, Ronan Casey 0-1.
Araglin: Tom Feeney, Sean Motherway, Fionnán Hickey, Jason Hynes, Diarmuid Allen, Jack Kearney, Oisín Hogan, Ben Carey, Paul Hynes, Conor Twomey, Jake Buckley, Eoin Leddy, Aaron Hegarty, Brendan Allen, Kieran O’Donovan. Subs: Niall O’Sullivan for Kieran O’Donovan, Shane Keane for Jason Hynes, Dave Browne for Jake Buckley, Shane Murray for Brendan Allen.
Mallow: Josh Murphy, Robbie Kelleher, Adam Roche, Eoin Murphy, David Duane, Stephen Coughlan, Kevin O’Connell, Daniel O’Sullivan, Kevin Fitzpatrick, Andy Hourigan, Kevin Taylor, Jack Roche, Peter Attridge, Sean Glynn, Darragh Merritt. Subs: Conal Smith for Darragh Merritt, Jack Kiely for Peter Attridge, Charlie Cunningham for Kevin O’Connell, Ronan Casey for Sean Glynn, Fionn Roche for Daniel O’Sullivan, Richie McAuliffe for Andy Hourigan.
Referee: PJ Aherne (Fermoy).