P1MFC: Eire Og lose out to a better balanced Douglas side in competitive game in Ovens

Eire Og 0-10 

Douglas 1-16 

A solid Douglas performance was good enough to see off Eire Og in a competitive Premier 1 Minor football championship round two clash at Ovens on Tuesday night.

In the opening round games Eire Og were demolished by Bishopstown with Douglas finishing all square with Ballincollig.

To be fair, the better movement of Douglas paved the way for their win as Eire Og lacked the finishing touch when possessing decent ball going forward particularly in the first half.

This was an encouraging display from Douglas from Douglas who were led in the scoring charts by Jamie O’Brien who finished with a seven point tally.

Douglas only took one minute to register the opening score courtesy of a placed ball from the boot of Jamie O’Brien.

Credit to both teams they were moving the ball at pace and despite the home side getting three good opportunities in front of goal their shooting was off target.

The home side after putting serious pressure on the Douglas defence and they were eventually rewarded in the 11th minute when Sean Murphy kicked a magnificent point.

Ironically Douglas responded with a point on their next possession from another placed ball as opportunities in the opening quarter were sparse at both ends.

Credit to Douglas they kept their shape and they were rewarded in the 18 minute when a sweeping move from defence saw captain and full back Brian O’Hehir finding the net with a superb finish.

The city side added two more points from Donnacha Reddington and Padraig McGrath and suddenly their lead had extended to five points 1-5 to 0-3.

To be fair the home team had their moments but they lacked cutting edge on the shooting front with Douglas using their possession in front of goal a little bit better.

In the closing minutes Eire Og reduced the deficit to four points when Oisin McLoughlin broke through their defence before splitting the posts before Jamie O’Brien kicked his fourth point for the visitors.

In the final possession Douglas missed a golden goal opportunity when Jimmy Harte  was left with a one on one with the Eire Og goalkeeper but somehow he dragged his shot wide of the right post.

Trailing 1-7 to 0-4 at the break Eire Og needed to a good start but it only took Marc O’Brien two minutes to open the Douglas scoring.

Douglas had a chance to put the game to bed in 38th minute but after Jimmy Harte  was hauled down inside the square the resultant penalty was missed by Jamie O’Brien.

Credit to both teams they continued to battle hard but Douglas extended their led to nine points six minutes into the second half.

Eire Og were always chasing the game as Douglas never relinquished control.

Scorers for Eire Og: J Galvin 0-4 (0-3f), O McLoughlin 0-2, S Murphy 0-2, D Clifford, S Hurley (0-1 each).

Douglas: J O’Brien 0-7 (0-5f), B O’Hehir 1-0, D Reddington 0-2, Jack O’Brien 0-2, P McGrath 0-2, J Harte, R Dooley, O Barry (0-1 each).

Eire Og: B Lenihan; D O’Regan, S O’Callaghan, C Murphy; M Sheehan, O McLoughlin, P Dineen; J O’Connell, D Clifford; D McCarthy, S Murphy, D Foley; S Hurley, J Galvin, J McCarthy.

Subs: B O’Neill for J O’Connell (40), D O’Riordan for P Dineen (59).

Douglas: L O’Flaherty, J Mouret, B O’Hehir, L Kelleher; O Barry, D Reddington, R Dooley; J O’Brien, C Hallahan; C Kilbride, J Harte, J O’Brien; M O’Brien, S Sheedy, P McGrath.

Subs: R Long for R Sweeney (39, O McAdoo for C Kilbride (50), F Gallagher for C Hallahan (55), T Lucas for Marc O’Brien (59).

Referee: Alan O’Connor (Ballygarvan).