Naomh Colmcille CLG – Donegal

Naomh Colmcille followed on from their recent victory against Glenswilly to record an excellent win against St Eunan’s at O’Donnell park this evening. A ruthless display in the first half gave the visitors a comfortable lead and they saw out the second half to run out deserving winners.

Naomh Colmcille had a couple of chances the open the scoring in the early stages, but it was St Eunan’s who registered the first score of the game against the run of play. The visitors responded immediately with Barry O’Donnell finding the net after great work in midfield from Thomas McKinlay.

Another goal followed in quick succession for Naomh Colmcille, with the defence breaking down a St Eunan’s attack, Ryan McErlean breaking with pace on the right and feeding Seamus Sharkey, who slotted past the keeper to make it 0-1 to 2-0.

Naomh Colmcille proceeded to dominate all over the pitch for the remainder of the half. The defence worked tirelessly and limited St Eunan’s to just one more point in the first half. Both Ryan McErlean and Thomas McKinlay scored 3 points, with Barry O’Donnell adding to his goal to leave the half time score at 1-2 to 2-7.

With such an impressive lead from the first half, the second half performance from Naomh Colmcille was more workman-like. Oisin McGettigan came on to replace Ray Devenney and was unlucky to see a shot on goal drift wide.

St Eunan’s had more success in the second half and managed to get a foothold in the game with some good periods of pressure. Gerard Devenny had to pull off a great save with his legs to prevent a goal. But the defence held firm and further points from Thomas McKinlay, Paul Friel, and Seamus Sharkey were enough to keep Naomh Colmcille well in front.

The last score for the visitors was a free from the left, struck by Thomas McKinlay, that dipped under the bar for a goal, and this was the icing on the cake that took the pressure off for the remaining few minutes of the game.

Overall, this was a true team performance, with every player showing total committment and determination that resulted in top quality football and a well deserved victory.

Naomh Colmcille team:
Gerard Devenny, Gerard McGee, Donal Gillespie, Luke Hassett, Ciaran McBrearty, Alex Devenney, Shaun McGee, Thomas McKinlay, Joseph Doardem, Paul Friel, Ryan McErlean, Seamus Sharkey, Ray Devenney, Mark Dowds, Barry O’Donnell, Oisin McMenamin.