Latton 1-11, Ballybay 1-7.
An Aaron Mulligan inspired Latton proved just too potent for Ballybay as they deservedly clinched the reserve football league division 1B title in this entertaining contest that was played in good conditions in McKeown Park, Drumhowan, on Wednesday evening last. Mulligan scored nine points out of Latton’s total of eleven, seven of those coming from frees and his tally could have been greater as he also failed to convert a second-half penalty, but it was also his positional sense, his vision, his ability to carry the ball at speed into the opposition defence that always kept Latton on the offensive, while Ballybay relied almost exclusively on the accuracy of Aaron Toner, who scored six of their seven points, four of those from frees. Latton led at half-time by 1-7 to 0-5 and went on to open a seven points lead approaching the end of the third quarter but they faced a difficult final quarter as Ballybay, were reinvigorated with a goal and Latton were reduced to 14 players with some nine minutes of normal time remaining, but they held out for what was overall a deserved victory.
Teams and Scorers: Latton: Darren Quinn, Conor Corrigan, Owen Hillis, Kevin Farrelly, Shane Duffy, Padraig Hughes, Jason Nixon, Stephen McElroy, Dylan Quinn, Aaron Mulligan 0-9 (7f), David Hughes 1-0, Enda McPhillips, Shane Coyle 0-1, Mark Duffy, Cathal Lennon 0-1. Subs: Paul Fitzpatrick for J Nixon.
Ballybay: Sean Gorman, Ciaran McKearney, Evan Rutledge, Matthew Ward, Abraham Dixon, Mark McArdle, Tiernan McSkean, Ashley White, Aaron Toner 0-6 (5f), James Kerr, Shane Monaghan 1-0, Danny Gorman, Patrick O’Neill, James Allister 0-1, Darragh Drury. Subs: Cillian McAviney for J Allister, Cathal Mooney for D Gorman. Referee: Hugh McKenna (Monaghan Harps).
