Derrylin 0-08 Kinawley 0-10

Kinawley took the derby plaudits on Friday night as they edged out Derrylin by two points in a competitive tussle at O’Connell Park.

The Brian Borus enjoyed the better of the exchanges in the first half as they opened up a 0-06 to 0-03 advantage by the interval.

However, they got it far from easy in the second half as Derrylin rallied but Kinawley were just able to keep their noses in front to seal a slender win.

The result keeps Kinawley firmly in the mix at the top end of the table while Derrylin remain just a point above the drop zone with three games to play.

Kinawley manager Dom Corrigan expected a tough game going into the tie and that was exactly the way it played out.

“It is never an easy place to go and we knew it was going to be tough as it always is against Derrylin,” he said.

“I thought we were the better team in the first half but Derrylin were the better team in the second half and we were just pleased to get the win.”

Corrigan does believe though that with with Kinawley now safe in the division, they can start to look up the table with a tight battle looking likely for league final spots.

“Those two points have cemented our place in Division One and that is always the first goal. Now, instead of looking over our shoulder we can look up altough we will need to improve,” he added.

The Brian Borus face a struggling Irvinestown side away next but Corrigan is anticipating another big test for his side.

“We have always found it tough in Irvinestown and no doubt it will be the same again on Friday night,” he said.

In a cagey opening to the game Tomás Corrigan opened the scoring for Kinawley only for Conaill Boyle to level matters up after 12 minutes.

Kinawley though began to take the upperhand after this and points from Eoghan McManus, Tomás Corrigan and Niall Bogue quickly moved them into a three point advantage.

When Tomás Corrigan then converted a free it put the Brian Borus into a 0-05 to 0-01 lead.

Mark Murphy and Boyle did knock over points for the home side, sandwiching an Eoghan McManus point for Kinawley as the Borus went in with a three point lead at the break, 0-06 to 0-03.

The lead was back out to four on the resumption as Corrigan again fired over from a free but Boyle answered this soon after for Derrylin.

James Dolan and Corrigan then exchanged scores but the O’Connells were to enjoy a better second half and they started to claw their way back into contention as two Murphy points left a single point dividing the sides while Kinawley goalkeeper Owen Melanaphy had to be out quickly to deny Cathair Leonard.

Liam Owens and Corrigan though gave Kinawley much needed breathing space and although Murphy did have a late point for Derrylin, it was not enough as Kinawley held on to claim the spoils.

Next up for Derrylin is an away game against Erne Gaels while they then face Belnaleck and St Pat’s in their final two games as they look to secure their place in Division One for another year.