Dungannon Academy dimiss weak threat from St,Marys of Magherafelt
The freezing conditions didn’t make for the greatest spectacle of football, but Dungannon possessed enough quality to see off a Magherafelt side which will be very disappointed with this performance.
Academy captain Fintan McClure opened the account after two minutes with a free kick, as St Mary’s played against the breeze in the first half, and they found it very difficult to break through a well-organised Academy defence. Despite doing well to work the ball up into scoring areas, they spurned numerous attacks with sloppy passes and poor decisions.
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Hide AdAs Magherafelt moves broke down time and again, the Academy were able to sweep up loose ball and mount their attacks. Centre back Stephen Corr coming through adding a second point for the Dungannon men after nine minutes and, although they had two missed goal opportunities in what was a dour opening quarter, St Patrick’s Academy led 1-6 to 0-0 at halftime.
Magherafelt knew they needed a drastic change to avoid an exit from the competition, and began the second half slightly brighter, finally getting their first score on the board with a long range point from Conor Small. but they crashed out after a disappointing display, whilst St Patrick’s Dungannon can progress to the quarter-finals feeling satisfied with this comfortable win.
St Patrick’s Dungannon scorers: Fintan McClure 1-3, Michael McKernan 1-1, Ryan Coleman 0-3, Liam Rafferty 1-0, Daniel Kerr 0-1, Stephen Corr 0-1
St Mary’s Magherafelt scorers: Dean Teague 0-2, Conor Small 0-1, Ciaran Scullion 0-1