Demons give Moycullen nightmares | Kevin Galvin

UCC Demons 96Moycullen 66During his pre-match thoughts, Demons coach Paul Kelleher stressed his side’s need to “take another step up” for last Friday night’s game against Moycullen. And they did just that with a sublime performance over a physical Moycullen outfit which saw the home team extend their winning run to eight and justify their table-topping position.The visiting side arrived in good form, having won the last two. That being said, it was the Demons who went into the game favourites, having not lost so far and beaten Moycullen on the opening day of the season. As a matter of fact, Kelleher’s side have already beaten every single team in the league and went into last Friday’s game with a 3 point-gap between themselves and second placed UL EaglesAs the game tipped off in front of an expectant home crowd, both sides looked rather edgy. Errors were commonplace and the first points weren’t scored until three minutes into the match, Ciarán O’Sullivan hitting a beautiful three to start the home side off. It was a messy game early on and both sides were playing it physical; O’Sullivan got a smack in the eye for his troubles while a battle for possession on the floor between Demons’ Luke O’Mahony and Moycullen’s Stephen Tumman turned into a skirmish as the pair stood up.Apart from the nastiness, the home side were playing some smooth basketball and Kenton Walker was mopping up in the paint, with a number of defensive rebounds and nine points to his name as Demons finished the first quarter 26-13 to the good.The second quarter saw a game of basketball recommence, and Shane Coughlan draining two three pointers to add to his other one, late in the first. Daniel O’Sullivan chipped in with two of his own and Kenton Walker was adding to his game-leading total. At the other end Moycullen captain Salva Camps managed to hit a three and draw a foul which he drained. The quarter was the Demons’ though, as they stretched their lead to 24 by the end of the half, 58 to 34.It was much of the same in the third quarter, the home side protecting their lead against a far inferior Moycullen outfit without building up too much of a sweat. It was clear that Coughlan’s men took their foot slightly off the gas at the beginning of the quarter, and the Galwegians’ best player Sullivan was doing his best to salvage his side’s pride, but it was only a dent on a huge difference. Shane Coughlan was leading by example, adding six more points and bringing his total to 21, while Daniel O’Sullivan added 7 of his own. This left Demons in a commanding 27 point lead at the end of the third quarter.The away side clearly tried to up their intensity in the last period and spark a very unlikely comeback. Alas too many individual errors meant possession was lost cheaply, and the Galway side only added their first points of the quarter after three minutes through Sullivan. Walker delighted the crowd by slamming down a rebound soon after, which was just a microcosm of the home team’s dominance. The lead gave Demons coach Paul Kelleher a chance to blood young guns Ryan Murphy and Liam Kearney, who played good cameo roles.Speaking after the game, Demons head coach Kelleher said that his side showed the away side the respect they deserved and also praised captain Shane Coughlan’s performance, as well as that by the younger players. This interview, as well as one with Salva Camps, is available on UCCExpress.net.