Senior Championship
Fri 28th May Cortown 3-7 Seneschalstown 1-10
Gordon Codd contributed a remarkable 3-6 as Cortown continued their impressive recent record at Pairc Tailteann by putting one over on understrength Seneschalstown side in this Navan Shopping Centre SFC clash on Friday 28th May.
Codd managed 1-5 from placed balls and his goal from an expertly taken penalty two minutes after the restart restored his side’s advantage on a 2-3 to 1-5 scoreline and they were never subsequently reeled in.
Senior Championship
Fri 28th May Cortown 3-7 Seneschalstown 1-10
Gordon Codd contributed a remarkable 3-6 as Cortown continued their impressive recent record at Pairc Tailteann by putting one over on understrength Seneschalstown side in this Navan Shopping Centre SFC clash on Friday 28th May.
Codd managed 1-5 from placed balls and his goal from an expertly taken penalty two minutes after the restart restored his side’s advantage on a 2-3 to 1-5 scoreline and they were never subsequently reeled in.
There was a good case for awarding a free out instead of a penalty as Codd appeared to be trying to walk the ball into the net and should have scored a goal before Seneschalstown defenders Colin Gleeson and Gavin McGovern got back to try and avert the danger.
His scoring exploits apart, Codd wasn’t overly impressive in general play and with his right thigh heavily strapped clearly wasn’t fully fit.
Even though they were on the back foot for much of the hour particularly in the first and final quarters the result was richly deserved for a small club that showed a greater desire to win.
Full-back Brian Casserly was probably Cortown’s most consistent performer and his long clearances were a huge boost to his side. Sylvie Skelton at centre-back and midfielder Daire O’Halloran were also prominent for the winners while the ball-winning abilities of John Henry were a considerable asset in attack.
Substitute Packie Henry, introduced at half time was their sole other scorer and his contribution made it 2-6 to 1-5 in the 38th minute after Seneschalstown full-back Joe Cowley misjudged a long delivery.
Five minutes later Codd fielded a pass from Paul Whelan before rounding Seneschalstown netminder Stephen Finnegan to slot the ball to the net.
That left it 3-6 to 1-6 and for the final quarter Seneschalstown aided by some harsh decisions by referee Cormac Reilly bossed matters but all they managed were four pointed frees shared equally between Brian and Shane Clarke while the latter also sent another attempt wide.
The Yellow Furze side had tentative claims on a penalty as Ciaran Macken bore down on their opponents’ goal deep in second half stoppage but such an award would have been extremely harsh.
There was a brief outbreak of hostilities around the hospital goal at the final whistle but thankfully it didn’t amount to much.
In the end Seneschalstown – who beat Dunderry and drew with Blackhall Gaels in their previous outings – were left to rue a total of 12 wides, half of which were registered in the opening quarter.
In contrast the winners missed the target on eight occasions most notably Ivan Coyne was guilty of spurning a great goal chance when shooting inexplicably wide from in front of the goals after just seven minutes.
There were some mitigating factors in Seneschalstown first defeat of the campaign. They were without the suspended Joe Sheridan while his brother Damien was exam-tied and Alan Finnegan was on honeymoon. To top that goalkeeper David Geraghty cried off before the start.
On the other hand Cortown, who shocked Blackhall Gaels on their previous visit to Pairc Tailteann, before coming a cropper against Summerhill in round two, were minus the services of suspended midfielder Glen Loughran.
Seneschalstown switched their team round before the off with Brian Clarke moving to full-forward, Mark Carey to midfield and Paddy O’Brien to centre-back and were 0-3 to 0-1 clear after 11 minutes.
Codd, who countered Brian Clarke opening point, struck the best of the four goals after fielding a John Henry free before soloing forward and calming slotting the ball past Stephen Finnegan to put Cortown 1-1 to 0-3 in front.
Seneschalstown’s reply was immediate and equally impressive with Ciaran Macken taking a pass from Paddy O’Brien before rifling the ball to the net. By the 25th minute were 1-5 to 1-1 clear and looking well placed to extend their advantage with the slight breeze while Mattie McCabe was forced into remedial action by replacing corner-back Liam Rennicks with Mark Casserly.
Codd halved the deficit with two points from frees and sent a similar effort wide before the break which was reached with his trailing by 1-3 to 1-5. Codd’s third quarter goals changed the complexion of the match and the small band of Cortown supporters were left to celebrate another memorable evening at Pairc Tailteann.
Cortown – Trevor Coyne; Liam Rennicks, Brian Casserly, Ivor O’Halloran; David Coyne, Sylvie Skelton, Paddy Kerrigan; Daire O’Halloran, Paul Whelan; Micheal Reilly, John Henry, John Casserly; Ivan Coyne, Declan Casserly, Gordon Codd (3-6). Subs – Mark Casserly for Rennicks, Packie Henry (0-1) for Declan Casserly.
Seneschalstown – Stephen Finnegan; Colin Gleeson, Joe Cowley, Gavin McGovern; Colin Clarke, Mark Carey, Paul Carey; Robert Ruddy, Paddy O’Brien; Shane Clarke (0-4), Conor Macken, Gary Conlon (0-2); Mark Gleeson, Ciaran Macken (1-1), Brian Clarke (0-3). Subs – Stephen Sheridan for Mark Gleeson, Terry Maguire for McGovern
