Irvinestown 1-09 Kinawley 3-20

St. Pat’s got their season under way with a comfortable win in Irvinestown, winning by a scoreline of 3-20 to 1-09 in Group 1A in the Club Players’ Competition.

Darragh O’Reilly starred for the away side as he netted a hat-trick in the first half to give his side a strong lead for the majority of the game.

Competitive football

St. Pat’s manager Paul Hasson was pleased to see his side get off to a strong start as he begins his third year in charge.

Hasson said: “It was just nice to get a competitive game under our belts, as you can play all the challenge matches you want but nothing really compares to competitive football.

“I think there were mistakes from both sides but that’s to be expected in the first game out.

“We probably got the rub of the green with the goals as they came at the right time and that let us be more comfortable for the rest of the game, having that cushion to rely on.”

It didn’t take long for Darragh O’Reilly to find the back of the net when he finished off a strong St. Pat’s attack.

Mark Montgomery added a couple of points as did Tiarnan Wray before O’Reilly bagged another two goals.

Gary Maguire added two points in the first half for Irvinestown alongside a well-taken score from Ronan Ormsby before Maguire’s 45’ dropped under the crossbar and slipped through the hands of the St. Pat’s defender to leave the score at 3-08 to 1-03 in favour of the away side.

Maguire was at the forefront of the Irvinestown attack in the second half as he added on another two points, with three more scores coming from Ormsby and one from forward Caolan Ward.

Montgomery led the St. Pat’s scoring in the second half as he finished off the game with five points, Ray finishing with four.

Next up for St Pat’s is a tricky test on Sunday week in the form of Belnaleck, who will be high on confidence following their victory over Derrygonnelly.

Manager Hasson said he will be looking forward to the challenge: “Belnaleck had a good result with a new manager so they will be trying out a lot of new things, I’m sure.

“And it will be a massive step up – no disrespect to Irvinestown, but we will look forward to it.”

Irvinestown are not out again until Friday, May 12 when they face an away game against Derrygonnelly.