Moynalty 0-15 St Marys 0-15 

In a weekend of draws in the JBFC, the big two went head to head in Castletown on Friday night, and they didn’t disappoint. It was championship intensity at its best, with both sides showing grit and determination right to the final whistle. In the end, it is St Mary’s who top the group thanks to their superior scoring average, and they will now face Cortown in two weeks’ time. Moynalty, who take the runners-up spot, will meet neighbours Kilmainhamwood in a clash that many in the area will relish. 

Moynalty started much sharper than in their previous two outings, enjoying plenty of early possession and opening the scoring with a monster two-pointer from the ever-reliable Johnny Lynch. Mary’s responded in style with four unanswered scores and looked lively, moving the ball quickly with plenty of support running off the shoulder. Niall O’Connor hit back with a fine effort after a driving run through the middle, before Pauric O’Connor added another from close range. The evergreen Paul Lynch then levelled matters in the 18th minute. 

Possession was key throughout, and while Moynalty defended reasonably well, St Mary’s did carve out two excellent goal chances only to be firmly denied by Johnny Lynch in the Moynalty goal. Mary’s did stretch the gap again with three more points, one of them a real belter of a two-pointer from distance. 

Jude Gilsenan, who worked himself into the ground all evening, narrowed the margin, but Mary’s maintained their edge as both sides exchanged scores approaching half-time. Pauric O’Connor, increasingly a real handful for the Mary’s defence, chipped in with another to close the gap. 

Half-time: Moynalty 0-7, St Mary’s 0-10. 

Despite losing Dylan Farrelly to injury at half-time, Moynalty hit the ground running after the restart. Paddy Byrne opened his account with a well-taken point, quickly followed by another from Jude Gilsenan to reduce the deficit to the bare minimum. Both sides continued to exchange scores, with Pauric O’Connor steadily growing in influence as the game progressed. Recognising the threat, St Mary’s dropped their midfielder into the full-back line to shackle the Moynalty frontman. The tactical switch worked initially, with the stand-in full back winning three key duels in succession, and Mary’s capitalised by adding two more points to stretch their advantage once again. 

But Moynalty dug in. Paul Lynch landed another score before the tireless Gilsenan added his third of the evening. At this stage, both teams were out on their feet. Mary’s freshened things up with more youth from the bench, but Moynalty refused to buckle, winning key exchanges around midfield. Paddy Byrne, Adam Reilly, John Brogan and Ronan Lynch led the charge, driving forward and piling pressure onto the Mary’s defence. With the margin back to a single point, Byrne was fouled some 30 yards from goal. Up stepped Johnny Lynch, who calmly struck a beautifully executed two-pointer from outside the arc to fire Moynalty into the lead for the first time since the opening minutes. 

The intensity increased, and neither side held back in their commitment. Just when it seemed Moynalty might hang on, Mary’s were awarded a “soft” free close to goal. They kept their composure and slotted it over to level the game once more. Seconds later, the final whistle sounded. 

Both sides had laid down a marker, and if this clash is anything to go by, there could be plenty more drama to come, Full-time: Moynalty 0-15, St Mary’s 0-15. 

Moynalty Scorers: Johnny Lynch 0-04, Pauric O Connor 0-03, Jude Gilsenan 0-03, Paul Lynch 0-02, Paddy Byrne 0-01, Niall O Connor 0-01, Ollie Sheridan 0-01 

Moynalty Team: Johnny Lynch, Ronan Lynch, Liam Brogan, Richie Gilsenan. Dylan Farrelly, Adam Reilly (Capt.) Joey Gilsenan, Niall O’Connor, Paddy Byrne, John Brogan, Paul Lynch, Sean McMahon, Jude Gilsenan, Pauric O’Connor, Ollie Sheridan. 

Subs Used: Cathal Donohue, Jake Smyth & Cormac Kearney 

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