GAA: Scoring surge for Eoghan Rua

A stiffish breeze blew straight down the Pairc Eoghain Rua venue and the home side elected to take the advantage of the elements in the first half.

Despite playing with the aid of the wind Eoghan Rua struggled to break down a solid Slaughtmanus defence and could only manage to lead 0-5 to 0-3 after 20 minutes. It was looking ominous for Slaughtmanus at that stage as Barry McGoldrick had landed points from three frees.

However for the rest of the first half Slaughtmanus traded blow for blow with the home side. They shaded the issue around midfield where they picked up more than their fair share of breaking ball but the quality of their finishing let them down.

The home side's forwards were finding it difficult to get any real change out of a tight marking Slaughtmanus defence. The sides traded points by the end of the first quarter before Ryan Barr brought Slaughtmanus to within two points going into the second quarter.

There was a barren scoring spell of almost ten minutes before the sides exchanged points again. Eoghan Rua finished the half strongly as they tacked on three quick points from Sean Leo McGoldrick, Mark McTaggart and a Barry McGoldrick '45', his second of the game to give them a five point cushion, 0-8 to 0-3 at the break.

That lead did not seem too comfortable given the strength of the down field wind. Slaughtmanus could have got off to a dream start inside a minute of the second half when a defensive mix-up gifted Ryan Barr a goal chance but he shot wide from a tight angle with the goal gaping.

After that early scare the home side set about their business much more urgently in the second half. Three points in the space of three minutes set the tone for the entire second period. By the end of the third quarter the Coleraine side had the points all but sealed as they had built up a commanding 0-14 to 0-3 lead.

Barry McGoldrick was deadly from frees while Aidan Mullan and Richard Carey worked very hard in the half forward line. Slaughtmanus enjoyed some quality possession in the closing minutes and they added three more points from Ryan Barr (2) and Ciaran Barr.

Two late goals embellished the winning margin for the home side. For the first Colm McGoldrick got his fist to a ball in from his brother Barry while for the second Stephen Dooley found the net at the second attempt after goalkeeper Connor Thornton made a fine close in save.

The scoring was completed when Ciaran McGoldrick clipped over a tidy point in added time as Eoghan Rua picked their second league win in their last two outings.

Eoghan Rua: Ryan McGeough; Sean McWilliams, Ciaran Mullan, Barry McTaggart; Cormac Trolan, Mark McTaggart, Paul Daly; Barry McGoldrick, Niall Holley; Leo Sweeney, Sean Leo McGoldrick, Aidan Mullan; Richard Carey, Colm McGoldrick, Ciaran McGoldrick.

Subs used; Hugh Casey for L Sweeney,

Eoghan Rua scorers: Barry McGoldrick (0-8, 0-6 frees, 0-2 ‘45s’), Colm McGoldrick (1-0), Stephen Dooley (1-0), Ciaran McGoldrick (0-2), Richard Carey (0-2), Sean Leo McGoldrick (0-1), Leo Sweeney (0-1), Mark McTaggart (0-1).