TITLE DEFENCE IS VERY MUCH ALIVE!

CLONTIBRET 4-15
INNISKEEN 0-10
COLM SHALVEY reports
Clontibret began their defence of the Senior Football Championship title with a comprehensive win over Inniskeen in Ballybay last Saturday.
After taking their time to get going, Clontibret quickly went through the gears, scoring 3-4 in the space of 12 minutes to take complete control. After letting Inniskeen back into it before half-time, Clontibret took over once again from ten minutes into the second half, as they reeled off 11 unanswered points to firmly kill the game off, backing up their status as 1/16 favourites with the bookies. Clontibret’s John Paul Mone was the unlikely top scorer of the weekend’s SFC games, hitting 3-1 from full-forward before moving to his more familiar role at midfield, where he added another point.
Clontibret had eight scorers, including all six starting forwards, with Mone, Paul McGuigan, Conor McManus, Colum Greenan and a fit-again Vincent Corey leading the way in the absence of suspended Dessie Mone. Paul and Ronan Meegan, Matthew McKenna and Trevor Hilliard worked hard for Inniskeen, who had just one wide in the game but were undone by conceding four goals to the O’Neills for the second time this year.

MEEGAN POINT
Ronan Meegan got the first point of the game for Inniskeen after he took a pass from Michael Lennon, but Clontibret got off the mark on ten minutes when Conor McManus converted a 30-metre free after Niall Lennon had touched the ball on the ground.
The county champions took control with two goals in the space of a minute, both from John Paul Mone. The first came when Mone applied the finishing touch to a flowing move which involved Rodney Gorman, McManus and Paul McGuigan and he quickly followed it up after Vincent Corey beat Gerard McArdle in the race to reach a McManus pass.
Paul Meegan won and scored a 40-metre free for Inniskeen, but a loose pass by McArdle allowed McManus to race through and fist over. Clontibret made another goal chance when Corey released John Paul Mone, who this time opted to fist over the bar.
Corey was almost in on goal in the 17th minute but he was fouled, allowing McManus to tap over a 13-metre free, before a clever flick-on from Corey released Rodney Gorman, only for his shot to be blocked by McArdle.
Clontibret continued to break through with ease and when Eoin Greenan linked up with his brother Colum and launched a high ball in on John Paul Mone, it broke for Fergal Mone to add goal number three. Inniskeen rallied in the final five minutes of the half, though, scoring five points without reply – the first from a 30-metre free by Paul Meegan after a foul on Matthew McKenna.
They almost got a goal back when Ronan Meegan made a good catch from a McKenna free, but his shot was blocked by Colin Duffy, although Niall Lennon managed a point from the rebound. Inniskeen’s best move of the game, involving Gavin Dooley and Ronan and Paul Meegan created a point for McKenna, before Paul Meegan converted two close-range frees for fouls on McKenna and Ronan Meegan to close the gap to six at half-time: Clontibret 3-4 Inniskeen 0-7.
Full report in The Northern Standard