Ranelagh Gaels 1-8 Naomh Mearnog 1-8

RANELAGH Gaels earned a battling draw against a gritty Naomh Mearnog side in Wednesday night’s Dublin Junior C Football Championship first round clash.

Man of the Match Johnny Conlon showed his nerve to fire over a far from straightforward free a minute from time to tie up the game and earn the visitors a replay.

It was a game Ranelagh could have won, but they left Portmarnock delighted with the second chance.

The visitors had to play against a strong breeze in the first half and struggled to work the ball past the halfway line.

But the defence held firm and the fullback line of Martin Egan, James Galvin and Denis Creehan in front of stand-in goalkeeper Shane Minahane were absolutely outstanding.

Mearnog had most of the possession and held the advantage in terms of territory, but they were unable to get their shots away accurately due to the pressure they were under.

Gaels trailed by 0-6 to 0-3 at the break and given the way the game had gone manager Liam O’Hagan was more than happy to be just three down.

The job got tougher just seconds after the restart however when Mearnog, who had a team built on experience and physical presence, punched home a scrappy goal.

From here on in Ranelagh fought hard to get themselves back into contention, though at times the swirling wind was difficult to read and this caused problems.

As the minutes ticked away it was clear that they would need a goal to rescue the situation and up popped Conlon with a brilliant solo effort.

He cut in off the left wing, beat a string of defenders and fired home with his left foot. Not long afterwards substitute David O’Connor popped over a point to put the Gaels one up.

From here they could have, and probably should have won the game, but two late points against the run of play from Mearnog left them facing a desperate scramble.

In the dying minutes captain Brian Regan was hauled down 35 yards from goals on the left wing and up stepped Conlon to ensure the replay in Bushy Park.