Curraha 1-7  Moynalvey 1-10 

Curraha welcomed Moynalvey to Joe McDermott Park on Saturday evening the 16th of June for Round 9 of the J. M. Food Services league encounter.

Played in pitch perfect conditions the game was finely poised. Curraha were down a number of key players since their last league encounter 2 weeks prior with the absence of Diarmuid and Conor Moriarty, Matthew Webb, Brian Joyce and Ian Battersby as well as players forced out of the encounter with injuries which made the task even harder for the homeside. Curraha did have the welcomed return of Niall McLarnon after his spell with the Meath hurlers in 2024. Moynalvey won the toss and opted to play into the dressing room end for the first half. 

Moynalvey started the brightest with David McLoughlin converting a free after 50 seconds. Curraha had to wait 10 minutes for their first point of the match but it was a brilliant point which came off the right foot of David Coyle. Gavin Coyle gave Curraha the lead in the 14th minute when he did well to turn his man and kick a fine point off his left foot. Moynalvey hit back almost straight away with a fine point from Craig Gilsenan from a tight angle. The first half was quite a cagey affair with both teams making elementary mistakes. Moynalvey made a great move up the field which resulted in Liam Hogan being called into action to produce a brilliant save to deny Vinny Walsh, The ball fell back into the hands of Walsh who again had a chance of finishing the ball to the net only for Dylan Rowland to make a last second tackle to prevent a Moynalvey goal. Curraha responded with Niall McLarnon going into the clouds and fielding a great catch which resulted in a free and James McEntee converted with 6 minutes remaining in the half. Moynalvey responded with a point from Charlie McCormack to again level the contest. Moynalvey’s best move came in the 29th minute when Michael Brady finished the ball to the back of the net to give Moynalvey a 3 point lead at halftime. 

Half time score: Curraha 0.03 Moynalvey 1.03 

Curraha introduced Jared Roche for Daigh Fitzpatrick at halftime. Moynalvey pushed their lead out to 4 after 30 seconds of the second half with a point from play. Curraha responded though and Niall Murphy converted a brilliant point off his left foot from a tight angle. Curraha brought the deficit back to 2 in the 6th minute when Ronan Flynn scored an unbelievable point from 50 metres out.. Moynalvey got the next 2 points of the game to extend their lead back out to 4. The game had been a fiery contest throughout with hard hits going in. Séamus Hogan responded with a fine point from play with 13 minutes gone in the half. James McEntee got his second point of the game 2 minutes later with a point from play. David McLoughlin extended Moynalvey’s lead with a point from a free in the 17th minute. Curraha introduced Jamie Fewer for Mark Jackson who was forced off through injury. Moynalvey made it a 4 point game in the 25th minute with a point from play. Daigh Fitzpatrick was re-introduced for Ronan Flynn in the 27th minute. Moynalvey extended their lead to 5 with a point from Padraic Harnan. Curraha weren't finished though and they were awarded a penalty when a Curraha player was pulled down inside the square. James McEntee buried the ball to the back of the net to leave 2 between the teams as the game went into injury time. Curraha pushed hard for the remaining minutes but were unable to break down the packed Moynalvey defence. Moynalvey had a chance to again extend their lead and were awarded a free which David McLoughlin converted to leave 3 between the teams to leave the Full time score Curraha 1.07  Moynalvey 1.10

Unfortunately for Curraha they couldn't get another opportunity to try and salvage something from the game late on and will have to regroup and go again. Curraha still sit second in the league table and still have a great opportunity of making a semi final. They will have a chance to get back to winning ways when they take on Trim on Thursday the 27th of June at 8pm in St. Lomans Park, Trim. 

Curraha's second team are in action on Tuesday evening the 18th of June for a league meeting with Longwood in Round 8 of Division 9 league in Joe McDermott Park Curraha with an 8pm throw-in,

Curraha team and scores: Liam Hogan, Séamus Hogan 0.01, Michael John Lavin, Dylan Rowland, Niall Murphy 0.01, Mark Jackson, Oisín Fay, Niall McLarnon, Ronan Flynn 0.01, Seán Ronan, James McEntee 1.02(1.00P)(0.01F) Conor Joyce, Daigh Fitzpatrick, Gavin Coyle 0.01, David Coyle 0.01

Subs used: Jared Roche for Daigh Fitzpatrick, Jamie Fewer for Mark Jackson, Daigh Fitzpatrick for Ronan Flynn 

Report: Ivan Keogh

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