Crilly ignites Castlewellan

Crilly ignites Castlewellan

12 August 2015

CASTLEWELLAN eased through to the next round of the Senior Football Championship with the minimum of fuss at Pairc Tomas Ruiseil on Sunday afternoon.

Tougher challenges lie ahead, but the Town have enough flair and creativity to cause problems for the big hitters and they will be looking for an extended run in the competition.

Malachy Magee opened the scoring for Clann na Banna in the first minute before the Banbridge side lost centre half back Patrick Feeney to a black card.

Castlewellan took full advantage and consecutive points from Cahal Crilly, Donal McKibben and Sean Dornan handed The Town a 0-3 to 0-1 lead by the 11th minute.

A game Clann side picked up a second point through a Niall Scullion free as the wides started to mount for Castlewellan, but a goal from Dornan in the 15th minute after good work from Davy Gilmore put a different complexion on the scoreboard.

Ruairi Gillen and Scullion pointed for Clann na Banna to leave two points in it by the 22nd minute, but Castlewellan finished the first half in a hurry and unanswered points from Dornan (2), Conall Corrigan (2) and Danny Morgan gave The Town a 1-8 to 0-4 interval lead.

Castlewellan continued to probe for scores after the break and Crilly and Gillen exchanged points before Crilly lofted over another point from play to give his side a 1-10 to 0-5 lead after 46 minutes.

Aidy Burns then pointed with his first touch after replacing Aidy Brogan and Crilly tagged on another score as Castlewellan went into a 1-12 to 0-5 lead.

A point from Gillen in the 48th minute kept Clann na Banna interested, but this was to be their last score as Castlewellan closed the game out in style.

Points from Burns (2) and 1-1 from Crilly stretched Castlewellan's lead as Clann na Banna were pulled all over the place. The Town showed a ruthless streak as they kept going to the final whistle and points from Donal McKibben, Crilly and Burns gave them a comprehensive victory.

Castlewellan: G Keown, F Toner, R McArdle, S Hardy, D Morgan (0-1), K Duffin, B Travers, R Burns, C Corrigan (0-2), L McKibben, D McKibben (0-2), D Gilmore, A Brogan, S Dornan (1-3), C Crilly (1-6). Subs: A Burns (0-4) for Brogan, D McGrady for Dornan, C Brogan for McArdle. 

Clann na Banna: M. McAllister, P. O'Keefe, M. Loughlin, S. Nelson, S. McGarry, P. Feeney, D. Lennon, C. Ryan, T. Fox, E. Monaghan, M. Magee (0-1), R. Hill, N. Scullion (0-2), R. Gillen (0-3), S. Lenaghan. Subs: M Fairbairn for Feeney (black card), M Mallon for Monaghan, E Monaghan for Fairbairn.

Castlewellan 2-18

Clann na Banna 0-6

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