Shannon Gaels 1-10 St. Patrick’s 1-7
This was a closely contested affair until the last quarter, then Shannon Gaels pulled away in the semifinal of the Junior A championship.
Meanwhile the Gaels were first on the scoreboard with Eoin Reid splitting the posts. St. Patrick’s dominated the possession stakes, but a medley of wides, turnovers and shots dropped short kept the scoreboard stagnant. Then, on the 10-minute mark Michael Hallissey, their best player and chief scorer, opened their account. In contrast, Shannon Gaels were much more frugal and productive with their possession. A great individual effort saw Fiachra Mathers, the Gaels’ top scorer, slice and dice his way in for a point, though a goal, looked a real possibility. He also latched on another point to his scoring resume as wing back, Kyle Brennan, was the supplier.
At the other end, big midfielders Hallissey and Conway held sway and Dan Enright looked set to rattle the net, but his shot was brilliantly smothered. The Gaels kept inching ahead as sharp-shooter Mathers added another point, plus they were the beneficiaries of a speculative shot that after consultation was deemed a point, to leave the Gaels head by 0-5 to 0-1 with five minutes left in the period. These minutes were the most productive for St. Pats. Midfielder Hallissey began the mini scoring with a fine long range effort, and backed it up with a better one, a two-pointer. Then a great individual effort from speedster Enright left the game all square at the intermission, 0-5 apiece.
Upon resumption St. Pats maintained momentum as Hallissey sent over another long range effort to take the lead. That was extended when he split the posts with a free from the sideline two minutes later. The lead didn’t last long as full forward Eoin Reid was hauled down in the square, resulting in a penalty. The versatile Sean Kelly coolly slotted the spot kick into the corner of the net, for the lead.
Another defense-splitting run by Nicedemo Shannon drew a foul, which Mathers tapped over. St. Pats were still very much in the hunt as a strong run by center back Seamus Keating ended with the defender being hauled to the ground, resulting in a penalty which Michael Hallissey scored to regain the lead. The Gaels looked to have hit back with a major strike, but the goal was ruled “a square ball.” The Shannon squad remained on the offensive, as Kyle Brennan, another attacking defender, sauntered up the field and drew a foul, leaving free-taker Mathers to point the free. Now it was all square with just 10 minutes left on the clock as the excitement reached a crescendo.
Salmir Kolenovic entered the fray and immediately won a free, leaving veteran Sean Kelly to strike it over from an acute angle. Then St. Pats got caught for a “breach”, with too few players in defense, thus giving Gaels a handy free, which Kelly pointed. I understand the rationale for this rule, but the punishment is totally disproportionate to the offense. It can morph into a two-point swing especially if the offending team is on the cusp of scoring.
Now with victory in sight Shannon Gaels battened down the hatches with staunch defending by Brennan, Gunning, Kelly. Larkin and company while Fiachra Mathers put the icing on the cake with the last score and capped a great performance. St. Pats gave it their best shot, but they will rue their wayward shooting and failure to turn their preponderance of possession, especially in the early stanza, into scores. Shannon Gaels will meet Cork next Sunday in the final.
Shannon Gaels: Josh Fitzpatrick, Nicodemo Shannon, Ben Quinn, Oisin Foy, Kyle Brennan, Dylan Gunning, Jack Larkin, Tom McCarthy, Liam O’Rourke, Carl O’Connor, John Collins, Fichra Mathers, Devlin Kenny, Eoin Reid, Sean Kelly. Subs George Sekavec, Eamon Dobey, Daniel Niall Sugrue, Conor Kenny, Michael Fay, Salmir Kolenovic, Shane Dean.
St. Patrick’s: Brendan O’Reilly, Elan Mansfield, Dylan Carroll, John Passero, Kian Larese, Seamus Keating, Jack Feeney, Michael Hallissey, Tom Conway, Seamus Carolan, Dan Enright, Chad Wade, Evan Deegan, Daragh Murphy, Ray Holian. Subs Conor Duffy, Nigel Teelan, Johnny Teelan, Ronan Johnson, Fergal Byrne. Men of the match Fiachra Mathers(Shannon Gaels) and Michael Hallissey(St. Pats), Referee Jeff Farrell.
Cork prove pundits wrong
Cork 1-11 O’Donovan Rossa 0-8.
In the quarter final it was expected that Cavan had the measure of the Rebels, until the Breffni Blues self-sabotaged, and paved the way for Cork into the second Junior A semifinal. In this encounter the pundits were predicting that O’Donovan Rossa would advance to the final. According to the aficionados, the Rebels were an ageing outfit, well past their prime and play by date and jocularly labelled “blasts from the pasts” and even “Dads army”. Well the pundits were all wrong as the Rebels came out best in this bruising and bone crushing battle. As Paul O’Connor, the veteran fullback, modestly summed up their performance noting, “it’s like cycling, you never lose the skill”.
Meanwhile Alan Raftery threw down a marker right away as he pointed on their opening attack. At the other end O’Donovan Rossa quickly hit over two points courtesy of Arthur Wall, plus they had a goal-bound effort deflected out. The Rebels dominated the opening quarter as midfielders Raftery and McCullagh held sway. Raftery sandwiched in a point between a brace from Eoghan O’Dwyer. Shaun McNamee, operating industriously on the “forty” , hit over with Gary Lowney acting as supplier. Midway ODR reined the Rebels back with a fine brace of points from Lorcan McParland.
When play switched to the other end goal poacher Mikey Lenaghan had a powerful shot rebound off the crossbar after he latched on to a long delivery from Gary Lowney. Then just before the interval Rian Hilliard soloed deep from defense to set up Donal Casey for a score to leave Cork ahead by 0-6 to 0-4 at the break. Upon resumption, ODR unleashed their best movement as a four man sweep set the scene for a McParland point. Dissent quickly negated that score as O’Dwyer punished at the other end, plus he also capitalized on a crossbar rebound for a point. An incisive run by the speedster Kevin Barry looked destined for the net but was deflected out for a “45”, but Shaun Saul settled for a point.
Midway John Conefrey joined the attack and delivered a timely pass to O’Dwyer for him to score to leave the tally at 0-9 to 0-6, with a quarter to play and plenty of excitement to come. There was a scramble on the Cork goal line as the ball went hither and tither before being sent over the bar. Mickey Lenaghan scored a splendid point from close to the corner flag. Then the breach issue surfaced again, adding a point to Cork’s advantage as free-taker O’Dwyer slotted over for the indiscretion. Then it was Cork’s opportunity to be punished for breaching the breach rule.
Next came the score that ensured Cork were through to the final, a goal from Mikey Lenaghan, he had threatened on a number of occasions, but finally he rattled the net with a blistering shot. However kudos to Ger McCullagh, who didn’t spare himself brushing by tenacious tackles to set Lenaghan up for the major strike and last score of the game. This was a tough battle, definitely no place for the faint-hearted or weak-willed, and both sides gave it their all. So now it’s on to the final, with the well-seasoned Rebels taking on the Shannon Gaels, the more youthful kids on the block.
Cork: Brian Corcoran, Donnacha McCarthy, Paul O’Connor, Enda Lowney, Fintan McGourty, John Conefrey, Rian Hilliard, Alan Raftery, Ger McCullagh, Donal Casey, Shaun McNamee, Eoghan O’Dwyer, Mickey Lenaghan, Gary Lowney, Declan Reilly. Subs Tadgh Foley, Patrick Harrington, Derek Courtney, Adrian Croston.
O’Donovan Rossa: James Greene, Maurice Sweeney, Michael King, Patrick Kerrigan, Arthur Wall, Kieran Slavin, Phelim O’Hagan, Michael Greed, Cormac Burke, Shaun Sauk, Lorcan McParland, Seamus King, Kevin Barry, Jason Darby, Eoin Martin. Man of Match Alan Raftery, Referee Peter McCormac.
