Senior Championship
Rathkenny 0-9 Seneschalstown 1-12
There`s no show like a Joe show
MOST entertainment reviewers in Ireland will agree that there is no show like a Joe Show when offering fair comment on Joe Dolan, but Saturday evening in Pairc Tailteann was the Joe Sheridan hour as Seneschalstown defeated Rathkenny.
The win earned the Yellow Furze side an unlikely place in the knock-out stages of the SFC and on Saturday`s evidence they could yet cause considerable problems for those with Keegan Cup aspirations.
Senior Championship
Rathkenny 0-9 Seneschalstown 1-12
There`s no show like a Joe show
MOST entertainment reviewers in Ireland will agree that there is no show like a Joe Show when offering fair comment on Joe Dolan, but Saturday evening in Pairc Tailteann was the Joe Sheridan hour as Seneschalstown defeated Rathkenny.
The win earned the Yellow Furze side an unlikely place in the knock-out stages of the SFC and on Saturday`s evidence they could yet cause considerable problems for those with Keegan Cup aspirations.
There was nothing subtle or complicated about Seneschalstown`s approach or tactics. They worked the ball out of defence where Andrew Collins was superb and when within sight of the goalposts they launched long balls in on top of Sheridan.
Sometimes the quality of the delivery wasn`t great, but Sheridan was magnificent as he won impossible balls, executed some brilliant finishing and claimed 1-6 from play.
It was an impressive performance from Seneschalstown, but they still struggled to put Rathkenny away. With 13 minutes remaining the sides were level, 0-9 each, and it was only in the closing stages after Sheridan netted that Seneschalstown looked comfortable.
Rathkenny squandered a few chances after Sheridan`s goal left them 0-9 to 1-10 adrift. Davy Lyons made great saves to deny Darren Barron and Tony McKeever and Rathkenny also kicked three decent point opportunities wide in a two-minute spell in the closing eight minutes.
John Donegan was magnificent for the previously unbeaten intermediate champions, but with their place in the quarter-finals already secured they could be forgiven for having their eye on the next round. Despite struggling to finish off the opposition, Seneschalstown were the better side. Damien Sheridan and Robert Ruddy had brilliant games and their drive and desire deservedly got them through.
Points from Brian Clarke and Ruddy gave Seneschalstown a two-point cushion inside the opening minute, but Rathkenny settled and edged ahead through frees from John Donegan and Richie Timmons and a fine point from Ivan Lenehan.
It was tit-for-tat for the rest of the opening quarter with Rathkenny almost netting when Brian Meade hit the crossbar before three successive points from Joe Sheridan gave Seneschalstown a 0-7 to 0-5 lead. Timmons closed that gap to 0-6 to 0-7 at the break.
Thomas Rowan and Timmons wasted decent scoring chances early in the second period before David Donegan fisted over an equaliser. However, the remainder was all about Seneschalstown as they out-scored Rathkenny by 1-5 to 0-2 in the final 22 minutes.
It was 0-9 each early in the final quarter, but Joe Sheridan destroyed James Macken to quickly add 1-1 to his side`s tally and from then on the issue was never in doubt despite Rathkenny missing a couple of decent chances.
Seneschalstown – D. Lyons; P. Carey, A. Collins, C. Clarke; G. Sheridan, M. Carey, S. Sheridan; R. Ruddy (0-1), C. Quinn; D. Byrne, B. Sheridan (0-3), D. Sheridan; B. Clarke (0-1), J. Sheridan (1-6), A. McCann. Subs – J. Cowley (0-1) for Quinn, S. Clarke for McCann.
Rathkenny – J. Martin; J. Macken, D. Curtis, M. Reid; M. Macken, T. McKeever, D. Donegan (0-1); J. Donegan (0-1), N. Curtis; M. McBride, B. Meade (0-1), D. McBride; T. Martin (0-1), I. Lenehan (0-1), R. Timmons (0-4). Subs – T. Rowan for Lenehan, D. Barron for N. Curtis.
Referee – David Coldrick (Blackhall Gaels)
