RANK underdogs Mullahoran caused a surprise in the opening round of the Cavan SFC, narrowly defeating a favoured Cavan Gaels side at Kingspan Breffni (0-14 to 0-11).
Mullahoran led the 2017 champions for most of the game, with county panelist Cormac O’Reilly leading the scoresheet and helping the designated winners build a 0-6 to 0-4 half-time lead.
However, it was clear from the start that the game would remain exciting until the end, and in the second half the teams equalised for the second time (0-10) when Gaels keeper Ciaran Flynn hit the posts with a 45-yard shot.
What was crucial was that Mullahoran scored the next three points without conceding a goal and then managed to keep the team from the district town at a distance.
Killygarry scored the winning goal 2-1 in injury time (4:12 to 2:8) and thus mastered the tough competition from Castlerahan.
Former County star Martin Reilly scored the first goal for the winners in the 10th minute, giving his team a 1-1 to 0-3 lead. However, a goal from Ciaran Caldwell (28′) helped Castlerahan to equalise at half-time at 1-6.
Killygarry had their first lucky break just after half-time when they scored to make it 3-1 and kept a clean sheet, but Rory Smith’s goal for Castlerahan in the 45th minute reduced his side’s deficit to two points, 2-7 to 2-9.
Current county star Oisín Brady (Killygarry) was shown the red card (48′), as was Euan Henry (Castlerahan) in the 57th minute. Killygarry finished the game on a high note, with a goal each for Darragh Noonan and Darragh Lovett as the icing on the cake.
Even at headquarters, Paul Smith’s converted penalty after half an hour was not enough to prevent Laragh Utd from losing (1-9 to 0-14) to an optimistic Ballinagh team.
Ballinagh were clearly the better team, but when Smith’s teammate Jake Mills scored a point seconds after the break to equalise (1-6 to 0-9), Laragh were looking at an unlikely victory.
However, Ballinagh continued to play with confidence and thanks to the skilful free kick technique of experienced campaigner Niall McDermott, they took the lead and held on to it.
Elsewhere, 2020 winners Crosserlough left Lavey with a 4-14 to 1-6 defeat.
Lavey were the most competitive in the first half, but an opportunistic goal (27′) from County player Dara McVeety helped the ‘Lough to a 1-4 to 0-3 half-time lead.
The second half, however, was one-sided: Lavey was caught cold by a double from strong midfielder Peter Smith in the first four minutes of the second half.
Crosserlough then turned the knife with a beautiful goal from Matthew Costello in the 47th minute, making it a 16-point game (4-8 to 0-4) and Aaron McCabe’s converted penalty (49th) adding the consolation stamp.
In the final game of the weekend, Adam O’Connell’s 62nd-minute goal helped favourites Ramor Utd to a 1-13 to 0-13 victory over 2023 IFC winners Ballyhaise.
In a game notable for its lack of goalscoring opportunities, Lorcan Lynch’s brilliant goal-scoring block (19) prevented a Ballyhaise goal as the teams played out a 5-0 draw.
Ballyhaise suffered a setback in the 22nd minute when Eoin Clarke was black-carded, but 11 minutes later his opposite number Eoin Somerville was also black-carded.
After an hour, Matthew Smith converted a Ramor free kick to give them a one-point lead, but it was O’Connell’s big strike that sealed the deal for the Virginia team.
Round one
Gowna 1-16 Kingscourt 2-13
Killygarry 4-12 – Castlerahan 2-8
Ballinagh 0:14 Laragh Utd 1:9
Crosserlough 4:14 Lavey 1:6
: Mullahoran – Cavan Gaels 0:14
Ballyhaise – Ramor Utd 0:13
Round two (dates to be announced)
Mullahoran vs Ramor Utd
Gowna vs Ballyhaise
Laragh vs Crosserlough
Ballinagh vs Cavan Gaels
Castlerahan vs Lavey
Kingscourt vs Killygarry
