Mattock Rangers take control of their group following decisive victory

CTI BUSINESS SOLUTIONS INTERMEDIATE CHAMPIONSHIP

GROUP 2 ROUND 2

Mattock Rangers 0-12 O’Raghallaighs 1-7

Mattock Rangers gained the upper hand in Group 2 of the Intermediate Championship, as they saw off the O’Raghallaighs on a two-point margin to put themselves firmly in the driving seat to secure their IFC quarter final place as group winners.

O’Raghallaighs, who saw off St Kevins last week, went into this game minus key forward and goalscoring hero from that victory, Kyle McElroy, due to injury, with Ronan Phillips’ side struggling to make inroads in the final third without their Louth U20 star.

In all honesty, both sides struggled in the final third, with Mattock Rangers only converting eight scores from 18 shots in open play over the hour, with their counterparts only managing five scores from 13 shots from play.

Three white flags from Flynn, including two from play, and an effort from Aaron O’Brien had the 2019 Intermediate winners 0-4 to 0-0 ahead inside 11 minutes.

O’Brien was another player who oozed class, in a hugely influential outing which saw him have 36 possessions over the hour, with Cathal Fleming and Shane Hickey also seeing plenty of possession, with 26 touches each.

Kicking five wides themselves in that time, O’Raghallaighs undoubtedly missed the scoring prowess of Kyle McElroy, having taken 22 minutes to land their first score.

That score from Danny Morgan seemed to ignite a purple patch for the Drogheda side, as despite two further Mattock efforts from Flynn and Cathal Fleming which gave them a five-point lead with five minutes until the break, O’Raghallaighs gained the upper hand.

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That was thanks mainly to a goal from Danny Reilly who was first to react, after Rangers’ keeper Stephen Smith had denied Danny Morgan.

Mattock custodian Smith had to also deny Danny Reilly moments earlier from close range, with O’Raghallaighs finishing the half the stronger, aided by the first half breeze.

Alan Doyle levelled things up from play, before Ewan Sweeney collected an accurate Ruairi Moore kick pass to leave the O’Raghallaighs ahead at 1-4 to 0-6 at the break.

Following the resumption, both sides continued to battle and scrap in a match which did lack quality for the most part.

Ronán Kilbane did make clever use of the breeze to curl an effort over the bar inside the first minute of the second half to level things up.

Following several wides as they continued to dominate possession, two Liam Flynn frees gave them a two-point buffer at 0-9 to 1-4 heading towards the final quarter.

Cathal Fleming increased that lead, while Shane Hickey finally managed to get his name on the scoresheet following some earlier misses. It was a score that the industrious Hickey’s overall performance merited.

Mattock were 0-11 to 1-4 ahead, approaching the final 10 minutes, as the O’Raghallaighs lived off scraps, having only had nine forays into the Collon half in that second period, facing into a swirling wind.

A hattrick of frees from Ben Rogan closed the gap to a single point, with the O’Raghallaighs knowing that score difference may become key factor in deciding this group’s outcome.

Mattock Rangers: Stephen Smith; Daire Englishby, Cillian Hickey, Shane Maguire; Caolan McNulty, Ryan Leneghan, Ronán Kilbane (0-1); Ben McKenna, Aaron O’Brien (0-1); Rob Holmes, Cathal Fleming (0-2), Shane Hickey (0-1); Oisin McKenna, Ruairi Hickey, Liam Flynn (0-7, 0-4 frees).  Subs: Brian Corcoran for McKenna (HT), Pauric Bannon for Englishby (42), Alan Carraher for Ruairi Hickey (43), Jack Thompson for Holmes (47). 

O’Raghallaighs: Joe Flanagan; Emmett King, Alan Doyle (0-1), Eseosa Omoregbe; Ewan Sweeney (0-1), Stephen Murphy, Danny Morgan (0-1); Ben Sweeney, Ruairi Moore; Cillian Curran, Eoin Moore, Chris Smith; Ben Rogan (0-4, 0-3 frees), Danny Reilly (1-0), James Moonan. Subs: Scott Byrne for Morgan (42), Joe Meehan for Moonan (48), James Smith for Reilly (53).

Referee: Paul Kneel.