A double second half strike from leading goal scorer Eamon Murray was enough to see off the stubborn resistance of Roe Valley and consolidate the home side’s strong position in the League.
The performance from Celtic was not one of their best, certainly not compared to what has been seen in recent weeks, but while Valley enjoyed good possession especially in the first half, Eoin Mc Nicholl, in Celtic’s goal, was rarely troubled throughout the game.
It was the visitors who began well with Brady and Doran giving the Celtic defence a busy time in the opening ten minutes though in this period both Murray and Quinn had the first efforts on goal, neither of which troubled Valley’s keeper, Cahir Mullan. As the half wore on, despite not being at their best, Draperstown created further half chances which fell to Quinn who headed over under pressure, and also to Eamon Murray whose turn and shot on the half hour mark was wide of the mark. Colin Murray should have put the home side in the lead on 41 minutes when he broke past Cooke but Mullan made a good save with his outstretched leg, diverting the ball for a corner from which Davin McSorley headed narrowly over.
The second half began at a higher tempo from the home side. Eamon Burns went on a surging run on the right, his cross being put behind for a corner by Ciaran Moore with Murray ready to strike. On 48 minutes it was Murray again, this time forcing a good save from Mullan. It was certainly Draperstown who were exerting the majority of the pressure now and they almost took a deserved lead on 52 minutes when McSorley crashed a header against the bar from Seamus Bradley’s corner, which a relieved Roe Valley defence were able to clear.
Declan Graffin again forced Valley’s keeper into making a great save when he met Colin Murray’s cross with a powerful header which the young keeper did well to parry away to safety. It seemed that it could be one of those days where not taking the chances created could have proved costly and just to prove the point, Billy Doran had a great chance to put Roe Valley into the lead right against the run of play. With Celtic claiming offside, the centre forward had only McNicholl to beat but he pulled his shot well wide.
That was to prove costly for the visitors as one minute later, Draperstown took the lead. Again it was from a dangerous Bradley corner and Eamon Murray rose highest to head firmly past Mullan after 58 minutes. Murray almost doubled the lead two minutes later when his header from McSorley’s free beat the keeper but was also just over the bar. However he made amends on 62 minutes when he was again in the right place to latch onto a loose ball in the Roe Valley penalty area and place his shot past Mullan.
While Roe Valley certainly never looked like caving in, they did not put the home defence under any sustained pressure in the last half hour and it was Eamon Murray who should have added to his season’s tally when firstly heading McSorley’s cross just wide and in the last minute side footing wide from close range.
Not the best Draperstown Celtic performance, especially in the first half but a much improved second 45 minutes brought about the desired result, and with it, their fourth straight league win in a row.
