Bundoran made it two home wins in a row with a hard fought victory over fellow promoted side Sean McCumhaills in ideal conditions Friday evening in Gaelic Park. McCumhaills who lined out minus star forward Oisin Gallen were dogged throughout as they played catch-up for most of the game. The home side got the perfect start with Paul Brennan supplying the pass to his namesake Jamie to split the posts with only 20 seconds on the clock. Ronan McMenamin levelled matters before full forward Darren O Leary put the visitors in front for the first and only time in the game. Two further Brennan points started a purple patch that put Bundoran ahead again and Cian McEniff made it 0-4 to 0-2 following a period of wastefulness from both sides.
A fluid Bundoran attack in the 20th min had Alan Russell one on one with Eoin Gallen but when he pulled the trigger the McCumhaills netminder saved brilliantly to deflect the shot over the bar. A Brennan free and Timmy Govorov from play made it 6 on the trot from Bundoran until a Stephen Mulligan free stemmed the flow on 26 mins but the excellent Govorov returned fire almost immediately. Both players then exchanged points for their respective sides as Govorov chose to point what was a clear goal chance. The twin towns’ team, however, finished the half productively with Martin Gallagher pointing and then Ronan McMenamin sending in a long ball for O Leary to get the slightest of touches to palm to Bundoran net. Half-time, Bundoran 0-10 MacCumhaills 1-5.
Déjà vu for the home team who had the scoreboard ticking again in the early seconds of the new half with Michael McEniff calmly finding his range. Another Brennan point doubled the halftime lead but two Mulligan frees kept MacCumhaills in touch. A great fetch from Ciaran McCaughey sent Michael McEniff on his way and he fisted over his second point of the half. As the third quarter ended Johnny Boyle fed Jamie Brennan who finished superbly to the corner of the net. Another Michael McEniff point looked like it had finished the contest as Realt na Mara went seven clear. To their credit MacCumhaill’s rallied hitting the next three points and but for a superb save from Conor Carty could have reduced the gap to the minimum. A pointed free from Cian McEniff steadied Bundoran nerves and proved to be the last score of the day as it ended 1-15 to 1-10.
Realt na Mara Conor Carty, Matthew Duffy, Paul Murphy, Oisin Walsh, Shane McGowan, Peter McGonigle, Brian McHenry. Ciaran McCaughey, Gary Clancy, Paul Brennan, Alan Russell (0-1), Timmy Govorov (0-3), Michael McEniff (0-3) Jamie Brennan (1-6), Cian McEniff (0-2). Subs used Johnny Boyle for Peter McGonigle, Diarmuid Spratt for Jamie Brennan.
Sean McCumhaills Eoin Gallen, Aaron Gilhooley, Martin Gallagher (0-3), Conor Griffin, Luke Gavigan, Gary Dunnion, Martin O Reilly, Stephen O Reilly, Pauric Patton, Gavin Gallagher, Stephen Mulligan (0-5), Gary Wilson, Chad McSorley, Darren O Leary (1-1), Ronan McMenamin (0-1). Subs Aaron Kelly for Conor Griffin, Andrew McCloskey for Chad McSorley, Adam Lynch for Darren O’Leary, Jamie Keegan for Gilhooley, Joe Dunnion for Stephen O’Reilly, Rory Mulligan for Gary Dunnion.
Thanks to Chris Doherty, Sean MacCumhaill’s PRO for the additional photographs
Referee Connie Doherty ( N Conaill )
By Sinéad Breen Donegal PRO Fri 19th Apr
