Desertmartin 1-8 Rockcorry 1-7

After a couple of months away from the buzz of competitive football our seniors returned to action last Sunday when they travelled to Derry to play Desertmartin in the first round of the Ulster league competition. The game was played in very wet and slippery conditions and will certainly prove a big test for Daz washing powder to get the jersey’s whiter than white again! Desertmartin had the better of the opening exchanges and were first to register a score when they pointed on the 4^th minute. They doubled their lead two minutes later when they notched over another point. Mark Daly opened our scoring on the 8^th minute with a fine point following good work by John Greenan and a couple of minutes later Noel Carroll collected a pass from Mark Daly and he fired over a sweet point to draw the side’s level. As the game progressed Desertmartin started to apply pressure and dominated the next ten minutes and opened up a four point lead. We closed the deficit back to a single point after Conor McGeough won possession in the square and blasted the ball past the Desertmartin goalkeeper but this was quickly cancelled out as Desertmartin broke down the field at pace and fired the ball low and hard past Anthony to leave the half-time score Desertmartin 1-6 Rockcorry 1-2. When play resumed we slotted over the first score on the 12^th minute but Desertmartin respond swiftly and extended their advantage when they pointed from free-kicks on the 14^th and 18^th minutes to open up a five point gap. Colin Quinn scored a lovely point on the 24^th minute and Mark Daly closed the deficit when he slotted over two peaches on the 27^th and 28^th minutes to leave two points separating the sides. Mark Daly converted a free-kick on the 29^th minute following good harassment by Noel Carroll and while we applied all the pressure during the final stages we could not make the ultimate breakthrough as an attempt from Lorcan Smyth was partially blocked and unfortunately just went the wrong side of the upright to leave the final score Desertmartin 1-8 Rockcorry 1-7. On reflection, it was a good competitive game of football where the lads produced a gutsy, hardworking performance in what were very difficult playing conditions. Overall the team management will be quite pleased with the level of performance and the commitment shown by all players.