Raphoe 1st XI started their Premier League campaign against a tough Belfast Harlequins side.
Raphoe 0 Belfast Harlequins 5
Before the game a minutes silence was held as a mark of respect for Philip Duke who sadly passed away last weekend.
The game got underway with both teams attacking the goal from the first whistle. After 30 minutes of deadlock the Belfast side won there first short corner and opened the scoring with a fine drag flick right in the bottom corner leaving keeper David Moore with no chance of saving it. Raphoe then tried to push on for an equaliser but some sloppy play upfront saw possession change hands and harlequins where allowed to counter attack down the right hand side and scored their second goal before the half way mark.
From the restart the Raphoe defence were under constant pressure with keeper Moore clearing the lines to keep the Donegal side in contention. These efforts went undone as Belfast harlequins scored their third 15 minutes after the restart.
Raphoe heads didn’t drop however and saw the young side create several chances but tge vital final touch was missing from Jonny Long and school boy Tommy Orr. Raphoe conceded a 4th goal again after several bad tackles led to another short corner which harlequins tucked away.
Raphoe again did their best to pull a goal back, Simon Goudie with the best opportunity from a short corner and chances from forwards Long, Orr and James Wilson all coming close.
With five minutes left in the game Raphoe again conceded allowing harlequins to score their fifth and final goal, again from another short corner.
Raphoe: David Moore, Tom Eaton, Simon Goudie, Evan Lyttle, Mark Rutherford, Keith Meehan, Ian Mcgonagle, Jordan Devenny, Jonny Long, Tommy Orr, James Wilson, Steven Cleverly and Zack West.
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