Gavigan and Corcoran lead the charge for Malachy's
A third intermediate championship outing for Castledaly with a victory yet to be garnered as St Malachy's ran out comfortable winners at Joe Fox Memorial Park last Sunday.
Despite a more spirited performance in Tang, Castledaly were no match for a well drilled St Malachy's team who dominated proceedings to keep their championship ambitions on track.
St Malachy's had a faster flow to their play over the game's duration, while Castledaly seemed unsure when in possession, often taking the wrong decision much to their detriment.
In Morgan Gavigan, St Malachy's had one of the game's most prominent players and he set the tone for the winners when kicking a two-point free on two minutes. Justin Coughlan responded with a free for Castledaly on seven minutes before Dylan Corrigan extended the St Malachy's lead when pointing from play.
Alan Stone, who started the game for Castledaly in a full forward role, hit his first point of the contest on nine minutes and when Lorcan Dolan then levelled proceedings, it appeared that an evenly match game would ensue.
Liam Fitzpatrick put Castledaly into the lead for their one and only time in the game when pointing just inside the arc before the contest's first goal arrived on 18 minutes. Picking up possession on the left wing, St Malachy's Shane Corcoran evaded the clutches of numerous Castledaly defenders before finding the net for a well worked solo goal.
The green flag was the impetus St Malachy's they desired who added three more points before the shrill of Brendan Keena's half-time whistle. The impressive Peter Murphy pointed following a foray from his wing back berth on 23 minutes and this score was swiftly followed by a Johnny Bermingham point from distance as St Malachy's finished the opening half in determined fashion.
Castledaly custodian Cathal Dolan was called into action to save a Warric Kirby effort before Gavigan's second two-pointer in stoppage time put the gloss on a fine closing quarter from the Castletown Geoghegan based team.
With a six-point deficit to retrieve, Castledaly started the second half in a positive light when Aaron Sheerin broke clear of the St Malachy's defence to point. Gavigan added to his scoring collection on 33 minutes when pointing a free before Adam Cassidy had his first point of the afternoon when striking over a placed ball after 35 minutes.
St Malachy's were asserting their authority at this stage of the game and consecutive scores from Corcoran (a two-pointer), Gavigan, Dylan Corrigan and Bermingham saw the eventual winners' lead extend to twelve points.
Castledaly finally replied with their first score after 16 minutes when Nugent had his second point of the game, but Murphy quickly cancelled out this score.
Castledaly's plight was worsened after 49 minutes when Nugent was shown a second yellow card and St Malachy's added to the Kilcleagh outfit's woes moments later when Corcoran majestically pointed. Kirby popped over a point on 52 minutes as St Malachy's continued to add gloss to the scoreboard.
Two successive scores from Stone, one a two-pointer from a free, drew muted applause from the Castledaly supporters before Kirby emphasised St Malachy's dominance with an emphatic finish to the net with three minutes remaining.
Stone clipped another free as the game reached its conclusion, but there were was still time for two further goals. Firstly, John Warburton blasted to the net to add some respectability to the Castledaly scoreline, but not to be outdone in the green flag stakes, St Malachy's eye-catching wing forward Gavigan fired to the net when well placed by Dylan Corrigan right on full-time.
Scorers - St Malachy's: M Gavigan 1-6 (1tp, 1tpf); S Corcoran 1-3; W Kirby 1-1; D Corrigan, P Murphy and J Bermingham 0-2 each; A Cassidy 0-1. Castledaly: A Stone 0-5 (1tpf); J Warburton 1-0; A Sheerin, L Fitzpatrick, L Dolan, A Sheerin and J Coughlan 0-1 each.
St Malachy's - Eoin Glennon; Killian Jackson, Aaron Glennon, Eoin Carey; Peter Murphy, David Lynch, Sean Jackson; Johnny Bermingham, Dylan Corrigan; Adam Cassidy, Jack Gallagher, Morgan Gavigan; Mick Heeney, Warric Kirby, Shane Corcoran. Subs: Aaron Jackson for Cassidy, Neal Kirby for W Kirby, Paul O'Sullivan for Murphy, Fergal O'Brien for Heeney, Ryan Boyne for Corrigan.
Castledaly - Cathal Dolan; John Warburton, Liam Fitzpatrick, David Dolan; Shane Dolan, Lorcan Dolan, Jack Kearney; Alan Stone, Paul Costello; Shane Fitzpatrick, Adam Turley, Aaron Sheerin; Justin Coughlan, Michael Lynch, Aaron Nugent. Subs: Shaun Kerrigan for Coughlan, Tom Martin for Costello, Damien Stone for Kearney, Jamie Anders for Lynch.
Referee - Brendan Keena (Ballynacargy).