Easkey qualify for final

Easkey 1-11 Calry/St Joseph’s 1-5

Cathal Mullaney

A strong finish from Easkey ensured they qualified for the Division Two final of the Minor League courtesy of this hard-fought win over Calry/St Joseph’s at Castletown, Easkey last Thursday evening.

The west Sligo men, managed by former county star Dessie Sloyan, showed composure to finish strong – they scored 1-3 without reply in the final four minutes – and in truth, they were much the better side for most of the hour.

Calry/St Joseph’s were heavily reliant on Darragh Cummins in the middle third, and lacked the firepower up front to cause Easkey any real problems.

In contrast, the home side had a focal point in Mikey Gordon at centre-back who conducted much of their play, while the Joe McHugh and Hayden Gilroy were always a threat in front of goal.

Initially, however, Easkey struggled. Mere seconds after throw-in, Calry/St Joseph’s found the net through Ryan McCarrick after sloppy defending, and the home side looked rattled following this early concession.

It took them six minutes to register a score, with Joe McHugh rifling over their first point, but Hayden Gilroy followed with two more to draw the sides level midway through the opening half.

Darragh Cummins restored Calry/St Joseph’s advantage with an 18^th minute free, and although they would add one more point through Ryan Dykes, it was Easkey who finished the half stronger.

Joe McHugh pointed three times, with Hayden Gilroy also on target, meaning that the home side held a two-point half-time advantage, 0-7 to 1-2.

Calry/St Joseph’s, however, restored parity in the second period after they outscored Easkey 0-3 to 0-1 over the first 20 minutes of the second half with Bryan Cox, Ryan McCarrick and Darragh Cummins all finding the target. One of Easkey’s better performers, Hayden Gilroy, grabbed their solitary score in this period, but the closing stages would see the home side spark into life.

Kick-started by the conversion of a 57^th minute penalty, with Mikey Gordon executing a low shot to the bottom right-hand corner, Easkey fired over three late points to finally assert their dominance on the scoreboard – Gordon and the McHugh brothers, Joe and Rory with the final three scores, to send the Sea Blues into the Division Two decider.

Easkey: S Kilglallon; A Scott, D Feeney; E Moylan, M Gordon (1-1, 1f), I Barrett; J Kelly, D Sloyan; C McGuinness, H Gilroy(0-4), R McHugh (0-1); J McHugh (0-5), E Brennan.

Calry/St Joseph’s: R O’Hanlon; G Davey, C McGovern; C Gray, A Cummins, M McGovern; D Cummins (0-2, 2f), J Ballyntyne; C Tuohy, R McCarrick (1-1), N Gray; B Cox (0-2), R Dykes.

Referee: MI Duffy