Peadar Byrne was outstanding for Ballinlough in their 2-10 1-11 victory over local rivals Oldcastle in the IFC Round 3 clash in Moylagh on Sunday.

Ballinlough 2-10  Oldcastle 1-11

The 'Lough started well with captain Michael Gereghty and Byrne (2) pointing to give the Reds a 3-1 lead after 15 minutes.

Oldcastle rattled 1-5 without reply in the next 10 minutes with the goal coming from a mix-up in the Ballinlough goalmouth. The ball dropped kindly for Ronan Maguire to tap it into an empty net.

The town side went in at half-time ahead 1-6 to 0-3, with Robert Farrelly kicking 4 first half points.

Whatever was said in the dressing room had a desired effect as Ballinlough looked a different team in the second half.

Straight from the throw-in they halfed the deficit with man-of-the-match Byrne blasting the ball into the corner of the net.

Oldcastle replyed with scores from Peter Monaghan, Ronan Maguire and Farrelly (free).

Ex-Meath goalkeeper Conor McHugh kept his team in the game with excellent saves from Simon Deevey and Mark McCullen.

After the introduction of Gary Reilly, the men in red started to dominate the middle third. Byrne scored his second goal after a lovely move. The scoreline read 2-6 1-9 mid-way through the half.

Johnny Reilly sent over a point for the pre-game underdogs but Farrelly kept the Division 2 champions in it.

However, Peadar Byrne was relentless, sending over 3 more points to put the game to bed. He finished the contest with 2-8 to his name in what was a memorable performance.

Substitute Jason Scully kicked a free late on for Oldcastle but it wasn't enough as Ballinlough ran out victors on a scoreline of 2-10 1-11.

This win leaves Brian Donoghue's men on 2 wins from 3 in the IFC with Duleek-Bellewstown up next in Round 4, while Oldcastle will go into their meeting with Castletown knowing they must win after losing 2 of their 3 games in the Championship.

Ballinlough: Dereck Muldoon; Robbie Farrell, Podge Muldoon, Mattie Farrell; James Baugh, Emmet Smith, Johnny Reilly (0-1); Tommy McCullen, Lorcan Maguire; Michael Gereghty (0-1), Sean Gereghty, Mark McCullen; Benji Smith, Simon Deevey, Peadar Byrne (2-8, 2f, 2 45s). Subs used: Gary Reilly.

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