Douglas push on in second half to beat neighbours Nemo in Division 1 Football League
Douglas' Conor Kingston is tackled by Nemo Rangers' Mark Hill, during their SFL clash at Douglas. Picture: David Keane
A battling Douglas performance saw them overcome Nemo Rangers in a disappointing McCarthy Insurance Division 1 football league clash.
In a game that never ignited a much improved second-half display paved the way for the home side to secure the victory.
The opening exchanges saw both teams play cagey football with scoring chances few and far between before the Douglas full-forward Conor Russell kicked a monstrous point in the fifth minute.
Nemo, just like their opponents played without key players, and were huffing and puffing before Brian Hayes landed a monstrous two-pointer six minutes later. The hosts responded well and consecutive points from Adam Cantwell and Rob Hanley saw them lead by the minimum midway through the half.
Castlesland-born Padraig Lucey showed his kicking skills when he split the posts in the 18th minute for a well-taken two-pointer. Following a Conor Horgan Nemo point, they were held scoreless for 11 minutes but came up with a classy goal against the run of play.
A beautiful solo run by Oisin White saw him produce a magnificent pass to Ronan Dalton, who billowed the back of the net from an acute angle.
Douglas showed they had a long-range shooter when goalkeeper Andrew Cotter finished the half with a free outside the arc to help his team command a 0-7 to 1-3 interval lead.
On the restart, James Burke only took two minutes to increase the Douglas lead and two minutes later Lewis Fogarty raised another white flag that increased their lead to three points.
Nemo were now struggling to gain possession, but a Conor Horgan point seemed to give them a needed boost. Douglas were getting on top though and consecutive points from the energetic Adam Cantwell saw them increase their lead to four points in the 44th minute.
In the closing quarter, Nemo ran out of ideas and with Douglas always likely to score going forward they seldom looked like getting caught.
Despite the loss, the good news for Nemo is that Kieran Histon has returned from Australia and will be available to play in the coming weeks.
R Hanley 0-4 (2 2pt f), P Lucey 0-3 (1 2pt, 0-1 f), A Cantwell 0-3, A Cotter 0-2 (2pt f), C Russell, J Burke, L Fogarty, N Hartnett 0-1 each.
C Horgan 0-4 (0-3 f), B Hayes 0-3 (1 2pt), R Dalton 1-0.
A Cotter; N Lynch, N Walsh, J O’Callaghan-Maher; S Aherne, J Burke, C Kingston; N Hartnett, K Shanahan; P Lucey L Fogarty, B Powter; R Hanley, C Russell, A Cantwell.
C O’Keeffe for C Russell (inj 12), G O’Sullivan for C O’Keeffe (inj19), D McCarthy for R Hanley (54).
C Martin; E Nation, D Quinn, M Hill; C Moore, C Molloy, K Fuliginati; B O’Neill, B Cripps; S O’Dwyer, R Dalton, O White; B Hayes, C O’Donovan, C Horgan.
Robert Whelan (Gleann na Laoi).
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