Moynalvey went down to the 2015 SFC Champions Navan O’Mahony’s by six points on a score line of 1-13 to 1-7 in this 2016 Hoganstand.com SFC Group C opening round played at Trim on Sunday afternoon April 10^th.

Navan O'Mahony's 1-13 Moynalvey 1-7 

As the cliché goes, this game was literally “a game of two halves”, with a strong wind deciding which team would dominate each half. The wind restricted both sides to just two points when playing against it, Moynalvey in the opening period and O’Mahony’s in the second.

By the time David McLoughlin opened Moynalvey’s account in the 20th minute the Keegan Cup holders had nine points scored. Five minutes later O’Mahony’s scorer in chief Ruari O’Coileain finished brilliantly to the back of Moynalvey ‘keeper Conor Egan’s net, which was quickly followed by a David Bray free, leaving the score board bleakly reading 1-11 to 0-1 after 27 minutes. A superb second from McLoughlin curled in from the left wing with the aid of the wind in the second minute of added time meant Moynalvey trailed the champions by twelve points at the break, 1-11 to 0-2.

The half time introduction of substitute James Weldon paid immediate dividends as he pointed within 15 seconds of the restart. The Moynalvey revival was well and truly on when a Mark O’Sullivan free along with a second Weldon point was followed by a Shane Lenehan goal, with Cillian O’Sullivan providing the assist for Lenehan to palm the ball into Marcas Brennan’s net seven minutes after the restart.

Just as O’Mahony’s had dominated the 1^st period, it was Moynalvey who took control of the second. A third point from substitute James Weldon and a McLoughlin free in the 47^th & 50^th minutes respectively cut the deficit to five points, 1-12 to 1-7. Another O’Mahony’s point in the 52^nd minute put six between the sides again. Despite dominating possession throughout the second half, a series of second half wides from the men in maroon and white meant six points would remain between the sides at the final whistle.

Best for Moynalvey were Eamonn Walsh, Stephen Donoghue, Cillian O’Sullivan & James Weldon.

Moynalvey: Conor Egan, Robert Lawless, Cathal McCabe, Darren Brennan, Eamonn Walsh, Stephen Donoghue, Fearghal McCabe, Padraic Harnan, Donal Smith, Brian Harnan, Mark O’Sullivan (0-1f), Shane Lenehan (1-0), David MCloughlin (0-3, 1f), Cillian O’Sullivan, James Kelly.
Subs: James Weldon (0-3) for Kelly, David Reilly for Lenehan, James O’Neill for Smith, Conor Harnan for F. McCabe.

MATCH REPORT FROM HOGANSTAND.COM/MEATH