St. Michaels 1-9 Drumbaragh 0-10.

St. Michaels recovered from their previous defeat to Nobber to bag two hard earned points over a determined Drumbaragh side in Drumbaragh on Wednesday evening last. This win keeps them in joint 4th place in the league after 4 wins from 7 played. The game was held up from the 5th to the 15th minute when an injury to St. Michaels J.B. O'Reilly necessitated an ambulance, however the stoppage didn't interrupt the pattern of scoring as neither side had found the target and it wasn't until the 18th minute of actual play that a score was registered and it came from a free from Johnny Reilly which came off the upright for the opening point of the game. Drumbaragh added two on the trot on 22 and 25 minutes to edge in front but Ciaran Lynch brought the sides level a minute later and Reilly and Oran Meehan found the target once more to edge two in front before Drumbaragh added the final point of the half in the 39th minute to trail by one at the interval 0-3 to 0-4.                  

Thankfully for the large attendance the second half was a more intense affair and for periods Drumbaragh enjoyed a lot of possession and territorial supremacy, but St. Michaels industry and wholehearted endeavors ensured that they coped with Drumbaragh's offensive surges especially throughout a final frantic 10 minutes, during which they had to dig deep and defend in numbers to survive. St. Michaels started the half strongly with Ciaran Lynch firing over two from play to go three in front, however the home side rallied and in a three minute spell were on level terms. They hit the front two minutes later and on 43 minutes found the back of the net only for referee Joe Curley to disallow it for an earlier foul. St. Michaels celebrated their good fortune with a point at the other end from Felim O'Reilly to level the match for the 4th time. Ronan Lynch gave his side a foothold on the scoreboard once more on 50 minutes but it was even stephen once more a minute later as Drumbaragh found the target and they built on that with two more points in as many minutes to go two in front, another Meehan point reduced the deficit to one point and this was followed on 26 minutes with the only goal of the match when substitute Kevin Cassidy pounced on a loose ball in the Drumbaragh square to send it to the back of the net. Neither side scored again but the resolute rearguard of Jamie Reilly, Mark Stafford, Matthew Halpin, Philip Rogers, Peter O'Connell and Davy Lynch effected a few vital and timely interceptions as Drumbaragh parked their bus in the visitors half as proceedings drew to a close and St. Michaels held on for a deserved win.

St. Michaels team and scorers: Paul McCormack, Mark Stafford, Jamie Reilly, Ronan Cassidy, Matthew Halpin, Philip Rogers, John Stafford, J.B. O'Reilly, Felim O'Reilly 0-1, David Lynch, Peter O'Connell, Oran Meehan 0-2, Johnny Reilly 0-2, Ciaran Lynch 0-3, Ronan Lynch 0-1.        

Subs: Christopher Drew for J.B. O'Reilly, Kevin Cassidy 1-0 for Ronan Cassidy, Robbie Briody for John Stafford.                                                                                      

Referee: Joe Curley.                                                                                                      

Report and photo Pascal Reilly.

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