All County Football A League Division 1 Round 8
Seneschalstown 4-15 Wolfe Tones 0-11
On a glorious evening for football Seneschalstown’s efforts to ease themselves away from the relegation zone received a welcome fillip on Thursday when defeating Wolfe Tones by sixteen points in Fr. Tully Park.
All County Football A League Division 1 Round 8
Seneschalstown 4-15 Wolfe Tones 0-11
On a glorious evening for football Seneschalstown’s efforts to ease themselves away from the relegation zone received a welcome fillip on Thursday when defeating Wolfe Tones by sixteen points in Fr. Tully Park.
The fortunes of the team have been steadily improving since their Round 1 Championship defeat to Navan O’Mahonys and this victory gives further evidence that key players in the team are playing excellent football at the moment with goalkeeper David Lyons pulling off two second half penalty saves and the partnership of Joe Sheridan and Bryan Clarke blossoming in the inside forward line.
The opening exchanges in the game were tight as the sides were on level terms after ten minutes, 0-02 apiece. The hosts had opened brightly with Joe Sheridan flicking over a Bryan Clarke forty five before Clarke converted a free following a foul on Sheridan. The men from Kilberry began to gain a foothold and two points from play in the ninth minute from their right corner back and Cian Ward had them level before Niall McLoughlin edged them a point in front soon after Lyons had managed to claw a dropping effort out from under his own crossbar.
Seneschalstown started to find their rhythm and rattled off four points on the bounce to get back in front and open up a gap between the sides. Clarke got the scoring going when latching on to a flick down from Sheridan before driving the ball over the bar, a score which was eventually awarded after the umpire had initially waved it wide. Sheridan then scored an excellent left footed point after some patient build up work which commenced after corner back Niall Groome had fielded a kick out from Lyons. The ball passed through the hands of Groome, Ciaran Macken, Brian Sheridan, James Conlon and James Meade before Meade found Sheridan with a well placed ball to point. Meade followed this up with a well taken point of his own before Clarke snaffled a loose ball in the Tones defence before firing high and over the bar.
Marauding wing back Niall O’Reilly stemmed the flow for Wolfe Tones before Sheridan scored two points from play in a minute, the second of which he would have been disappointed not to goal when the goalkeeper deflected a close range effort over the bar. His former Meath team mate Cian Ward then reminded all present of his prowess from dead balls when easily converting a forty five before Clarke showed that he is equally as capable when pointing one of his own from just to the left of the posts. Clarke then brought the scoring for the opening period to a close when tapping over a free after being fouled himself as Seneschalstown headed in at the interval with a five point advantage, 0-10 to 0-05.
Just as he had done in the first period Joe Sheridan opened the scoring in the second when pointing from out on the right hand side before he linked up with Bryan Clarke to set the corner forward up for a well taken goal.
Wolfe Tones have never been a side to lie down and they responded to this blow with two scores of their own, substitute Alan Fox pointed from play before Ward tapped over his third, this one coming from a free.
The home outfit responded magnificently to these scores when rattling then onion net twice in the space of two minutes. Firstly Clarke notched his second goal from play before Sheridan was hauled to the ground in a tackle which earned his marker a black card and gifted Seneschalstown a penalty. Just as he had done against Rathkenny, Brian Sheridan came forward from his midfield berth before lashing the ball to the top right hand corner of the net.
Lyons continued to show good form between the sticks as he expertly thwarted a point blank effort from Fiachra Ward before Stephen Corrigan registered his first when scoring a quickly taken free.
Seneschalstown began to empty the bench and introduced U-17 player Adam Carey for the last twenty minutes in place of James Byrne where he lined up in the half back line to make it an all Carey line along with Mark and Paul.
Ciaran Macken then fisted a point over the bar before Ward tapped over another free. Soon after to the bemusement of many Wolfe Tones were awarded a penalty, but Lyons proved up to the task when diving low to his left to thwart Ward. The right corner back for the Kilberry man scored his second effort of the match before Joe Sheridan picked off his sixth point from play when turning and launching the ball over the bar after receiving another delivery from James Meade.
Fiachra Ward pointed from play before Clarke split the posts with a trademark long range free.
Lyons then had to face a second penalty of the match, with the younger Ward taking responsibility this time. But as he had done earlier Lyons proved once more up to the task when pulling off a fine save, this time with his legs before scrambling to save the follow up effort as well.
There was still time for another goal as once more Clarke and Sheridan linked up to devastating effect with Clarke turning provider this time hand passing across the square for the full forward to palm the ball into the net at the railway end of the pitch. Deep into stoppage time Jonathan Gilsenan brought the closing when expertly sending the ball sailing between the uprights.
Seneschalstown Scorers: Bryan Clarke 2-06 (0-03 Frees, 0-01 ’45), Joe Sheridan 1-06, Brian Sheridan 1-00 (1-00 Penalty), Ciaran Macken, James Meade, Jonathan Gilsenan 0-01 apiece.
Seneschalstown: David Lyons, Sean McCabe, David Matthews, Niall Groome, Mark Carey, Paul Carey, James Byrne, Brian Sheridan, Damien Sheridan, Ross Howard, Ciaran Macken, James Conlon, James Meade, Joe Sheridan, Bryan Clarke.
Seneschalstown Substitutions: Adam Carey, for J. Byrne, Niall McCabe for M. Carey, Jonathan Gilsenan for C. Macken, Eamon Sheridan for J. Meade, Stephen Finnegan for D. Sheridan.
