Longford SFC: Abbeylara produce strong finish to conquer Carrickedmond
Peter Hanley Motors Senior Football Championship Group 2 - Round 1
Abbeylara . . . 1-10 Carrickedmond . . . 1-4
Abbeylara led from start to finish but the final scoreline does not portray the reality of what was a very competitive fixture until the closing stages.
Ryan Plunkett's side led by 5 at the break (1-3 to 0-1) despite playing against the breeze with Cathal Gilligan scoring the early goal but Carrickedmond - thanks to a goal from Enda Farrell - reduced the gap to a single point inside 10 minutes of the second half before failing to capitalise on numerous scoring chances.
Even in the end, Aidan McGuire fired over a free to leave two between the sides approaching additional time but Abbeylara showed their wealth of experience to produce a strong finish that yielded three points to see out a tough but deserved win.
ABBEYLARA: Gavin Kelly; Mel Brady, Bryan Masterson, Cian O’Reilly; Colm P Smyth, Michael McHugh, Russell Brady; Fergal Battrim, Ciaran Scanlon; Reece Reilly, Bernard Crawford, Cian Brady (0-1); Robbie Smyth (0-5, 3f), Caolan Lynch, Cathal Gilligan (1-2, 1m).
Subs:- Kevin Smyth for C Lynch (half-time); Jason Kelly (0-2, 1f) for B Crawford (43 mins); Cormac Smyth for R Brady (52 mins).
CARRICKEDMOND: Garret Higgins; Conor Mulvey, Padraig McGrath, John Gerety; Fionn Morgan, Diarmuid Kelly, Ross Doherty; Barry O’Farrell, Enda Farrell (1-0); Brian Mulvey, Shane McGoey, Liam Glennon; Aidan McGuire (0-2, 1f), John O’ Shea (0-1), Conor Kelly.
Subs:- Shaun McGrath (0-1) for F Morgan (injured, 15 mins); Jack Dempsey for S McGoey (injured, 24 mins); Kyle Kenny for John Gerety (injured 32 mins); Sean Kelly for C Kelly (45 mins); Paddy Farrell for B Mulvey (45 mins).
Referee: John Cullen (Mostrim).