Skryne made it two wins from as many starts in Group B of the SFC by inflicting a minimum margin (0-8 to 0-7) defeat on a previously unbeaten Navan O'Mahony's side at Seneschalstown on Saturday evening. Skryne …………………..…… 0-8 Navan O'Mahony's …………. 0-7 After commencing their campaign with a comfortable victory over a limited Kilmainhamwood side, Skryne stepped up on that form and showed admirable battling qualities in the final quarter to churn out an unlikely success over a bitterly disappointing O'Mahonys outfit. The introduction of Felim O'Rourke after 42 minutes proved to be an inspired move by the Skryne management team as the substitute made no mistake from three rough frees before sending a pinpoint crossfield pass into the path of Trevor Giles for what turned out to be the winning score of the game with five minutes remaining. That score propelled Skryne into a 0-8 to 0-5 advantage and although Henry Finnegan and David Bray did cut the deficit back to the minimum, the Brews Hill side could not concoct an equalizer in the three minutes of added time. Without the services of Stephen Bray due to suspension, O'Mahonys found scores hard to come by and they only managed to register two points in the opening half through Paul Quinn and Paddy Smyth. Skryne weren't much better either but they were more clinical than their opponents in the final third of the pitch and Mick O'Dowd posted a trio of points in the opening half to insure that they were in the driving seat at the interval, leading 0-4 to 0-2. Brian Smyth was the only other Skryne player to register a score in that period and it was the performance of their defensive unit that formed the foundations for victory as David Rogan, Mark Harrington and John Quinn were all outstanding in that department. O'Mahonys had the majority of possession in the opening period, mainly due to the dominance of Mark Ward at midfield, but they failed to find that killer pace into their two-man full-forward line of Kevin Reilly and Tommy Loughran and many promising moves failed to yield a score. They began the second half in more clinical fashion as Finnegan, Reilly and Bray all pointed in the third quarter to edge O'Mahony's in front, 0-5 to 0-4, before Skryne, aided by the introduction of O'Rourke, pulled out that little bit extra when needed to maintain their unbeaten start. Skryne - P. O'Rourke; A. Curry, M. Harrington, D. Rogan; J. Gibbons, J. Quinn, J. Looby; D. McGoldrick, K. Mulvaney; B. Byrne, T. Giles (0-1), V. O'Reilly; B. Smyth (0-1), M. O'Dowd (0-3, 2 frees), M. Mulvaney. Subs - F. O'Rourke (0-3, 3 frees) for Smyth (42 mins), D. Lynch for O'Reilly (46 mins), Smyth for Byrne (59 mins). Navan O'Mahony's - M. Brennan; L. Russell, N. McKeigue, I. Matthews; P. Quinn (0-1), R. Hogan, C. McGuinness; S. MacGabhann, M. Ward; D. Bray (0-2, 2 frees), P. Smyth (0-1), H. Finnegan (0-2); D. Murtagh, K. Reilly (0-1), T. Loughran. Subs - S. Keating for Murtagh (half-time), N. Dunne for Hogan (35 mins). Referee - J. Curley (Moynalty). Tweet

Most Read Stories