Heston Gaels 0-8
Moindearg 0-7
AS the scoreline suggests this was a particularly hard fought Cara Stationery Division 2 clash as Heston Gaels just did enough to maintain their unbeaten run in the competition at Ruislip last Thursday.
Heston landed the decisive blows in the second half before surviving a late Moindearg rally to claim the spoils from a match that was high on perspiration.
Chances were manufactured throughout the match, but the conversion rate was a worry as both teams squandered gilt edged goal opportunities during the contest. That meant the issue was delicately poised, but Heston were able to secure a bit more primary possession which enabled them to get the ball into the red zone more frequently.
A finishing total of eight from 22 attempts proved to be sufficient on this occasion to eke out a valuable victory - an evening when Heston demonstrated commendable character to keep plugging away. In the first half despite dominating it just wasn’t happening for them in front of goal as they departed level at the break, 0-4 each.
Moindearg’s spirit and resilience was certainly a factor as three points on the spin from John Lynch, Gary Conroy, and Paul Mullins actually edged them ahead before Anthony Donelan restored parity.
After the restart Cian McBrien clipped a fine score to give Heston a lead they never subsequently relinquished. Two excellent Conan O’Brien points gave Heston a 0-8 to 0-5 advantage, and then Moindearg came swinging once more. The gap was reduced to the minimum in stoppage time, but Heston bravely held out.
Scorers for Heston Gaels: C O’Brien 0-3, J Lally 0-2 (1f), A Donelan 0-1, C McBrien 0-1, P Lavelle 0-1 (f).
Scorers for Moindearg: C Conneely 0-3 (3fs), G Conroy 0-1, J Lynch 0-1, P Mullins 0-1, B McGinley 0-1.
Heston Gaels: G Hegney; S Scanlan, C O’Doherty, R Morris; M O’Briain, M Keane, M Devaney; M Sullivan, A Mathews; C O’Brien, T Moriarty, C McBrien; J Lally, P Downey, A Donelan. Subs used: P Lavelle, O Hayes.
Moindearg: M Ferry; C Scullion, P Mullins, S Longworth; T Murphy, J Lynch, S Kelly; B McGinley, S McGowan; B O’Malley, C Conneely, G Conroy; N O’Shea, L Hands, L Philbin. Subs used: P Philbin, R Garvey, N Gallagher.
Referee: D Flanagan.
