GAA: Claudy get off bottom spot with first win of the season

Claudy 2-15 Glenullin 0-10 A rampant scoring display saw Claudy grab their first win of the season and saw them climb off the foot of the table. Larry Strain’s side took a long time to settle into the game, coughing up possession frequently in the early stages. Aaron Kerrigan hit the net in the fourth minute into the game after judging a high ball to perfection. The sides were level after fifteen minutes.  The home team hit scores from Dermot O’Kane and the McNicholls – Neil and Eamon – but failed to put their ascendancy on the scoreboard. Claudy led by the narrowest of margins at the break, on a scoreline of 1-5 to 0-7. The men in blue looked a different team as they blew Glenullin apart in the second half  Claudy got their second goal in the 33rd minute when a Glenullin player turned Oran Armstrong's goal bound effort  into his own goal in an attempt to pick the ball up. James McClay, Aaron Kerrigan and Marty Donaghy knocked over scores before Shane McGahon and Conall White put the icing on the cake with fine efforts. Claudy were reduced to 14 in injury time as Jamie Donaghy was dismissed for two bookings.   In the end it was those in blue who picked up the two crucial league points. Claudy: Aidan McLaughlin, Ross Stevenson, Fionain Smyth, Jamie Brown, Blaine Carlin, Eoin McGahon, Aaron Donaghy, Shane McGahon (0-1), Darrel Devine, Conall White (0-1), Marty Donaghy (0-2, 1f), Oran Armstrong (0-2), James McClay (0-4), Aaron Kerrigan (1-5, 2f), Odhran McCloskey. Subs: Gareth McCloskey, Jamie Donaghy, Conor Johnston, Ryan Brown, Shea Dalton. Glenullin: Pearse McNicholl, Daniel O’Kane, Fearghal McIlvar, Mark O’Kane, James Conway, John O’Kane, Diarmuid McNicholl, Neil McNicholl (0-1), Traglach Bradley, Eamon McNicholl (0-1), Conor Rafferty, Ruairi Bradley (0-3), Niall O’Kane, Dermot O’Kane (0-4f), Leigh Mullan (0-1). Subs: Brian Mullan, Chrissy Dempsey, Caolan McNeill. Glen 0-15 Loup 1-11 An Emmett Bradley inspired Glen came from three points down to win by a point at Loup, keeping the Watties in contention at the top of the table. The home side Loup played with the breeze advantage in the opening half. Loup and Glen exchanged opening points with Glen’s first point coming from Ciaran McFaul. Aidan McAlynn hit the net in the sixth minute with a well-taken goal that saw Glen chasing Loup for much of the game. Glen lost Connor Carville to an early black card however they kicked on to fire over scores from Emmett Bradley, Danny Tallon and a rare point from full back Conor Gallagher. Michael Warnock raced through on goal but his effort was saved by Thomas Mallon.  Points from Paul Young, Paddy Coney and Anthony O’Neill ensured Loup were ahead (1-6 to 0-6) at half-time. Glen enjoyed the majority of possession in the second period with Emmett Bradley kicking some majestic points with other good scores coming from Jack Doherty and the impressive Danny Tallon. Loup kept in touch with pointed frees from Anthony O’Neill. With 15 minutes remaining Glen lost Phillip O’Connell to a second yellow card however the Glen defence remained resolute with substitute Ryan Dougan making an immediate impact after returning from long term injury. Conall Darragh, Conor Convery and Ciaran McFaul kicked further scores to edge in front. In the final minutes Glen were reduced to 13 men when Stevie O’Hara received a black card on top of a previous yellow. Loup pushed hard for an equaliser however Glen held out for a hard earned win. Glen: Callum Mullan-Young, Phillip O’Connell, Conor Gallagher (0-1), Oran McGill, Michael Warnock, Connor Carville, Cahir McCabe, Conor McDevitt, Ciaran McFaul (0-2), Conall Darragh (0-1), Emmett Bradley (0-6, 3f), Conor Convery (0-1), Danny Tallon (0-3, 2f), Stevie O’Hara, Jack Doherty (0-1). Subs: Declan McCusker, Ryan Dougan, Eunan Mulholland. Loup: Thomas Mallon, Padraic McCrory, Dominic McVey, Gary Doyle, Sean Rocks, Paddy Coney (0-1), Jason Rocks, Craig O’Kane, Aidan McAlynn (1-0), Brian Doyle (0-1), Gavin Mallon (0-1), Paul young (0-1), Anthony O’Neill (0-7, 6f), Ciaran Devlin, Michael McVey. Coleraine 0-15 Lavey 0-8 Reigning champions Coleraine eased to their fourth win from their five opening league games with a controlled 0-15 to 0-7 victory away to Lavey. Eoghan Rua pulled away to lead 0-5 to 0-1 by the end of the first quarter, Gavan McWilliams with four of those points, Devlin Donnelly adding another. Coleraine went on to lead 0-8 to 0-3 by half-time. Playing with the wind in the first-half, Lavey left six shots short into Coleraine goalkeeper Ryan McGeough, something they would rue by the finish. Lavey never really threatened to get close enough to the Coleraine men to put real pressure on them. Four points adrift a couple of times was as good as it got. Eoghan Rua was always able to tack on a point or two when the hosts threatened to get within real touching distance. Lavey did not help their own cause having three men sent off in the second half, Aidan Toner picked up a black card in the 32nd minute.  Late on Liam Murphy (second booking) and Colm Murphy (straight red) three minutes from the end. However it was far from a tough affair with hardly a hefty hit from either side throughout an otherwise low key game. Coleraine used the stiffish breeze to better effect in the second-half with Niall Holly landing three huge points in the last ten minutes to push them clear. Points from Thomas Donnelly and Liam Murphy, early in the second-half, reduced the gap to four at 0-9 t 0-5 .  Donnelly replied midway through the half to keep Lavey within touching distance. However three Coleraine points in a row pushed them seven clear with five minutes left.  Lavey’s only response was a Shane McGill effort. The home side did lose their way in the closing stages being reduced to 13 men and were never going to recover after that. Coleraine: Ryan McGeough; Ciaran Lagan, Liam McGoldrick, Barry Daly; Ciaran Mullan (0-1), Barry McGoldrick, Ciaran Lenehan; Niall Holly (0-4), Paul Daly; Devlin Donnelly (0-1), Sean Leo McGoldrick, Gavan McWilliams (0-6, 4f); Mark McTaggart, Colm McGoldrick (0-2), Ciaran McGoldrick (0-1). Subs: Eamon Conneely. Lavey: Ciaron O’Boyle; Aidan Toner, Shane Lagan, Kevin Toner; Nathan Scullion, Shea Downey, Eamon McGill; Michael Drumm, Brendan Laverty; Colm Murphy (0-1), Ryan Farren, Shane McGill (0-1); Liam Murphy (0-3), Anthony McGurk, Thomas Donnelly (0-2f). Subs: Colm Dillon, Peter Rafferty, Caolan McGurk. Magherafelt 1-11 Ballinderry 0-12 A late goal from Cormac Murphy helped 2016 champions Magherafelt to victory over Ballinderry at Rossa Park. In an evenly contested opening half, Magherafelt made better use of their chances.  Two points each for John Young and Emmett McGuckin, were added to by three scores from the league’s top scorer Shane Heavron. Ballinderry kept themselves in it with James Conway, Daniel McKinless, Eoin Devlin and Dermot McGuckin tagging nice points from play and Conleith Gilligan’s accuracy on frees left the Shamrocks going in 0-7 to 0-5 in arrears. The second-half again was an even contest with both teams taking good scores notably Connor Wilkinson and Dylan Fitzpatrick from play for the Shamrocks. However, the vital score for Magherafelt came with five minutes remaining. Murphy’s goal after some nice build up play – put Magherafelt three points ahead Conleith Gilligan tagged another free going into injury time but Magherafelt held on to win. Magherafelt: Odhrán Lynch, Conor McCluskey, Darren O'Neill, Paul O‘Kane, Fergal Duffin, Joe Keenan, Michael McEvoy, Jared Monaghan, John Young (0-2), Lewis Davey, Emmett McGuckin (0-3), Niall Higgins (0-1), Anton McElhone, Shane Heavron (0-4, 3f), Conor Kearns (0-1), Sub: Cormac Murphy (1-0). Ballinderry: Ben McKinless, Connor Wilkinson (0-1), Connor Nevin, Declan Bell, Dylan Fitzpatrick (0-1), Oisin Duffin, Raymond Wilson, James Conway (0-2), Kevin McGuckin, Darren Lawn, Dermot McGuckin (0-1), Eoin Devlin (0-1), Conleith Gilligan (0-4f), Daniel McKinless (0-2), Ryan Bell. Subs: Aaron Mullan, Caolan Mallaghan, Matt Quinn Bellaghy 1-14 Ballinascreen 1-11 After two defeats at the start of the season, Joe Cassidy’s Bellaghy have got their season on track. Corner-back Marc McClenaghan’s 15^th minute goal, his first ever score at senior level, got Bellaghy on course to victory against Ballinascreen at Dean McGlinchey Park ‘Screen began the game with points from Barry Grant, Brendan Herron and Kieran Conway.  The home side lost Grant to an injury for the second week in a row. Then midway through Eoghan Brown and Ruairi McElwee combined, with McClenaghan taking the ball on the run to fire past Niall McGlade. Before half-time a Shane Mulgrew reverse pass found Kieran Conway for Ballinasceen’s goal.  Ruairi McElwee tagged on frees for a 1-7 to 1-4 Bellaghy lead at the break. The second-half was a tight affair.  Bellaghy, who amassed 10 wides over the hour, began to misfire.  Carlus McWilliams came off the bench to add two points on his return from injury. The Tones survived a late scare when Dermot McBride had a half chance for a goal but volleyed over but Bellaghy held on for the win. Bellaghy: Benny Diamond, Mark McClenghan (1-0), Gerard O’Neill, Jack McErlean, Conleth McShane, Declan Brown, Ryan McNally, Karl McCallion, Chris McAfee (0-1), Declan Cassidy (0-1), Peter Cassidy (0-2), Conor Quinn, Odhran Quinn (0-1), Eoghan Brown (0-4, 2f), Ruairi McElwee (0-4, 1f). Subs: Ryan McElwee (0-1), Lorcan Spiers, Conan Brown. Ballinascreen: Niall McGlade, Phillip McGlade, Michael McShane, Aaron Bradley, Eoghan Gilmore, Dermot McBride (0-1), Ronan Devlin, Sean Woods, Phillip Bradley, Martin Bradley, Brendan Herron (0-1) Kieran Conway (1-1), Barry Grant (0-1f), Paul Cleary (0-1), Shane Mulgrew (0-4f). Subs: Emmet Duggan, Anton Kelly, Carlus McWilliams (0-2), Cathal Donnelly, Gary Conway. Dungiven 1-9 Greenlough 0-11 Ciaran Mackle’s second goal of the season was the key score as Dungiven won their third successive game in a tight finish against Greenlough. The defender slotted to the net with two minutes remaining to settle a game that was level on six occasions. Conor Murphy (2), Marty Burke, Donal McGilligan and Mark Craig were on target for Dungiven in the first-half. Greenlough against the wind managed to take a point lead into the break (0-6 to 0-5), but the sides were level mid-way through the second-half. Despite being down to 14 men after a double yellow for Niall Bradley, Greenlough looked like they would hold out for a possible win as they kept edging ahead as the game entered the closing stages. With Greenlough a point up, and two minutes left of normal time, Mackle’s effort squirmed into the back of the St Oliver Plunkett's net. There was still time for Enda Lynn to close the gap to a point in the first minute of extra-time with a free. There was still two minutes of injury time, but Greenlough failed to turn their attack into a score that would have earned a point. Dungiven: Sean McNicholl, Ciaran Mackle (1-0), Paddy Kelly, Sean McKeever, Stiofan Tracey, Kevin Johnston, James McNicholl, Daniel Mullan, Mark Craig (0-1), Conor Kelly, Marty Burke (0-1), Seamus Higgins, Conor Murphy (0-4, 2f), Donal McGilligan (0-1), Feargal Higgins. Subs: John Mullan (0-1), Richie Mullan (0-1). Greenlough: Michael J Henry, Christopher Lagan, Paul Quinn (0-1), Mark Tohill, Damien McTeague, Brian McCallion (0-1), Joe Kearney, Enda McNally (0-1), Niall Bradley, Connor Madden, Enda Lynn (0-6 4f), Stefan Lynn, Christopher Kearney, Caolan Diamond (0-1f), Matthew Bradley (0-1). Subs: Cormac O'Neill, Michael McDonnell. Newbridge 0-12 Swatragh 0-10 After their defeat to Loup, Newbridge returned to winning ways with a two point win over Swatragh at Davitt Park. After their opening round win over Ballinderry, Michael O’Kane’s side have lost five times on the bounce, all by small margins.  A five point defeat to Magherafelt was the widest gap. Newbridge led (0-3 to 0-2) after a first-half littered with wides.  Swatragh had a penalty in the 17^th minute, but Michael O’Neill made a brilliant save. With Jude Diamond accurate from frees, Newbridge were 0-9 to 0-4 ahead after 43 minutes, but there was more drama to follow. With eight minutes remaining Padraig McGrogan had a goal chance blocked by the Swatragh goalkeeper Ruairi McGurk.  And right at the end Swatragh were pushing for a game saving goal but Odhrán Scott made a last ditch block on the line to ensure a win for the ‘Bridge. Swatragh now face second-placed Glen on Sunday. Newbridge: Michael O’Neill, Declan McKeever, Odhrán Scott, Conor McGrogan, Ciaran Brooks, Michael Bateson, Caolan McGrogan, Conor Doherty (0-2), Paudie McGrogan (0-1), Mark McGrogan, Danny Mulholland (0-2, 1f) Eamon Burke, Dessie McColgan, Odhran McGlone (0-1), J Diamond (0-5f). Subs: Paddy McGuigan (0-1), PJ O’Neill. Swatragh: Ruairi McGurk, Sean Francis Quinn (0-2), Diarmuid Dillon, Cathal Qiunn, Niall Coyle, Liam Kearney (0-1), Paul McAtamney, Michael Friel, Conor McAtamney, Francis Kearney (0-1), Patrick Kearney (0-2), Eugene McGuckin, Niall McAtamney, Anton Tohill (0-2), James Kearney (0-2). Slaughtneil 1-22 Kilrea 0-9 The Emmet’s had little difficulty in securing another two points, with a convincing win over Kilrea. Key attacker Shane McGuigan bagged 1-7 as Terence McWilliams led Slaughtneil to victory over his home club. McGuigan led the inside, alongside his brother Mark and ‘Sammy’ Bradley. Kilrea were missing the influential Charlie Kielt through suspension and relied on his brother James for scores. Youngster Daithi McLaughlin posed a threat but Slaughtneil’s defence closed up shop and with a 1-18 tally from play, eased their way to victory. Slaughtneil: Antóin McMullan, Paul McNeill, Brendan Rogers, Karl McKaigue (0-1), Barry McGuigan, Chrissy McKaigue, Francis McEldowney, Patsy Bradley, Paudie McGuigan, Ronan Bradley (0-1), Padraig Cassidy, Brendan McEldowney (0-2), Shane McGuigan (1-7, 1f), Mark McGuigan (0-2), Christopher Bradley (0-6, 2f). Subs: Fionnbharr McGuigan (0-1), Gerald Bradley, James McCloskey, Brian Óg Corbett, Fergal Bradley (0-2), Jerome McGuigan. Kilrea: James Kielt (0-6), Enda McAleese, Eoghan Rogers and Eamon Darragh (0-1 each). TOP SCORERS UPDATE Shane Heavron Magherafelt 3-35 Shane McGuigan Slaughtneil 2-33 Enda Lynn Greenlough 1-35 Anthony O'Neill Loup 3-28 Conleith Gilligan Ballinderry 0-33 Dermot O'Kane Glenullin 1-28 James Kielt Kilrea 0-28 Conor Murphy Dungiven 1-23 Jude Diamond Newbridge 0-25 Aaron Kerrigan Claudy 3-16 Emmett Bradley Glen 1-21 Danny Tallon Glen 2-16