Reserve Cup Round 1
Seneschalstown 1-14 Duleek/Bellewstown 0-09
Seneschalstown advanced to the semi-finals of the Reserve Cup Division 2 with a slightly flattering eight point win over hosts Duleek/Bellewstown in Tony Callaghan Park on Wednesday night. Having being postponed twice already due to an unplayable pitch caused by horrendous weather conditions, it seemed like this game was never going to be played but the dry conditions over the previous 36 hours ensured both sides were able to get game time into many players.
When the game got underway it was Duleek/Bellewstown who opened the scoring with a point from play in the third minute. Seneschalstown had a lot of possession in the early stages but had to wait until the 6th minute to equalise , midfielder Seán Commons converting a 45’ to register his first score of the hour. The same player was responsible for Seneschalstown’s second point when he took aim from a long way back with the outside of his right boot after Seneschalstown were forced to be patient when the hosts had dropped a number of bodies deep inside their half.
A minute later Seneschalstown were two clear when Shane Mulvany swivelled and popped over after being set up by Éamon Finnegan. Duleek/Bellewstown responded in similar fashion as the first quarter drew to a close before there was a stoppage due to an accidental collision between a player from each side. Hopefully the Duleek player makes a quick recovery.
When the action resumed, Joey Moore tapped over the resulting close range free. In the 25th minute, the hosts reduced it to the minimum again, however Seneschalstown kept their noses in front with another superb point from range, this time Liam Dillon the man giving umpires reason to wave the white flag. The score for score nature continued with David Fox clipping over the eventual winners next score from quite a tight angle, and Seneschalstown went into the break a point in front thanks to a beautiful curled effort courtesy of Kyle Hosie, one which was very aesthetically pleasing. At half-time, it was 0-07 to 0-06 in favour of the men in yellow.
As has been the case with the pre-season cup competition, a raft of substitutions were made on both sides and it’s fair to say that both teams took their time to find their feet in the second period.
The home side levelled, and eventually went in front again before the 40 minute mark. Joey Moore evened it up again when excellently working space for himself to shoot from the left of the posts after 41 minutes. Both teams were guilty of bad shot selection and giving the ball away throughout the second half, a period which ended when the excellent Liam Dillon converted a 45’ to edge Seneschalstown in front once more.
Robbie Finnegan, also introduced at half-time, was about to have a decisive say in how the final ten minutes would play out. Firstly, he made a sharp line break through the hosts defence to pop over and increase the lead. 30 seconds later after Seneschalstown won the kickout, Finnegan unleashed a rocket of a shot over the keepers head into the top left corner after being superbly picked out inside by Owen Mullen.
Duleek continued to battle away with another score but Hugh Maguire, once dubbed one of the most accurate men in the club, produced a stunning point with the outside of his right foot to the acclaim of the Seneschalstown dugout. Robbie Finnegan added another two points to his tally with three minutes to go which looked set to seal victory for the Yellow Furze men. The icing was put on the cake when David Fox won a ball near the dugout and took on his man, threw him to the ground like a ragged doll and confidently arrowed the ball between the posts to the delight of one particular member of the Seneschalstown management team… I won’t name names! Fox with a barnstorming run which wouldn’t look out of place in Twickenham this weekend.
The same member of management asked me to highlight some of David Gordon’s kickouts, which to be fair found a man nearly every time, maybe just not always in a yellow jersey! However he put in a commendable display and ensured he and the back six didn’t let Duleek in for any goal chances and kept a clean sheet. A good nights work all round.
Seneschalstown now advance to a home semi-final against Blackhall Gaels in about two weeks with exact fixture details yet to be confirmed.
Seneschalstown: David Gordon, Seán Martin, Ronan Conneely, Peter Tierney, Seán Reilly, Liam Dillon (0-02, 1 ‘45’), Jamie Kirwan, Darren O’Brien, Seán Commons (0-02, 1 ‘45’), Eamon Finnegan, Joey Moore (0-02, 1f), Jack McDonnell, Shane Mulvany (0-01), David Fox (0-03), Hugh Maguire (0-01).
Subs: Kyle Hosie (0-01), Oran Lawlor, Owen Mullen, Danny Waters, Robbie Finnegan (1-03, 1f), Cormac Mullen, Donie Commons, Mark Fox, Josh Keating,
