LMFM Minor Football League Division 3 Round 4
St. Patrick’s 2-11 Seneschalstown 3-14
LMFM Minor Football League Division 3 Round 4
St. Patrick’s 2-11 Seneschalstown 3-14
The superb grounds of St. Patrick’s in Stamullen was the venue on St. Patrick’s Day for this Minor Football League Division 3 game between the hosts and Seneschalstown. Both these sides are by now very well acquainted with each other and as such it was little surprise that they served up a very entertaining game on what turned out to be a rather chilly morning. While minus the services of Ryan O’Dowd and Richard McKeown for the match the away side were boosted by the return to action for the first time this year of David Fox who slotted in at centre back and also welcomed back Conor Cantwell who had missed their last two games.
The Seneschalstown youngsters had built up a six point advantage by the interval but will have felt that this should have been more after they had been somewhat wasteful in front of goal, kicking a number of wide’s and then conceding a goal and a point on the run into half time. The character of these players has never been doubted though and after St. Patrick’s narrowed the gap further on the resumption when kicking three points in three minutes this strength of character came to the fore as they managed to regain control of proceedings to ultimately run out the victors by six points.
Playing with the aid of whatever breeze there was in the first half Seneschalstown got off to an excellent start when going 1-02 to 0-01 ahead after just ten minutes. Wing forward Robert Wogan picked off the opening two points of the game, his first coming with only fifty three seconds on the clock and the second a clipped effort after Dylan Doyle had knocked the ball forward. St. Patrick’s soon replied with a point from play of their own before Cathal Finnegan struck for a magnificent goal. After good work out the field from Daniel O’Reilly, Finnegan latched onto the ball and seeing space open up in front of him he showed a fine turn of pace to outpace the covering defence and send a rasping effort into the roof of the net.
The Stamullen youngsters pulled the deficit back to three points a few minutes later when pointing a free before the accurate Wogan restored the four point margin from a free of his own. Wogan’s free coming after Eoin Finnegan had showed the benefits of defending from the front. Working hard after losing possession he blocked down a clearance before being fouled as he regained control. Having played a crucial role in this score Finnegan was soon to get his name on the score sheet. After Eoin O’Reilly had displayed his defensive prowess a long ball was sent down towards the Seneschalstown full forward line and anticipating that the bounce of the ball would defeat the full back Eoin stole inside the cover and made no mistake as he beat the goalkeeper with a tidy finish.
St. Patrick’s though soon hit back with a goal of their own, a score which was hotly contested as the Seneschalstown defenders were adamant the ball had never crossed the line. Sometimes the best way to answer a setback like this one is to grab the next score and this is precisely what Seneschalstown did as after intercepting a stray pass blood sub Adam Carey hared down the left side-line beforehand passing infield to Wogan who displayed once more that his radar was working when splitting the posts for a point. Wogan added another to his growing tally two minutes later when tagging on a free before the influential Doyle struck for his side’s third goal when firing low into the bottom corner of the goal. Wogan kept putting the pressure on when reacting quickest to a short forty five and pointing once more before St. Patrick’s pulled a goal and a point back on the run in to half time. Their goal came after one of their forwards was the first to react to a Ruairí McDonagh save before they pointed from play to leave six points between the teams at the break.
Following this disappointing lapse in the three minutes leading into half time the Seneschalstown players had some stern words spoken to them during the interval team talk and when they returned to the field of play they did so with the demand of a fast start to the second half ringing in their ears. Receiving such a request is one thing but managing to deliver it is another and they were soon rocked back on their heels as St. Patrick’s picked off the opening three points of the half in the first three minutes, two from play and one from a free.
Robert Wogan sought to settles any nerves which may have been growing when sending a free over the bar but the margin was soon back down to three when the home side pointed after a quick forty five of their own. Although Seneschalstown will have been contented to concede just he point as the forty five had come from a brilliant diving block from Niall Hickey when the concession of a goal may have been on the cards. Eoin Finnegan popped over a free two minutes later and with the game now entering the last third young tyros Alan Mulvany and Dylan Keating entered the fray.
Keating was to have an immediate impact as he spotted Wogan in space and the talented wing forward made no mistake to bring his tally for the day to seven points. Keating then knocked over a point of his own with the aid of the crossbar before McDonagh earned his corn with a very good stop. The score of the day was the next to arrive and it was a sublime score which showed football at its very best. The wily David Fox scooped up a stray ball in his defence and sent a raking delivery towards Dylan Doyle. Displaying great awareness of what was around him Doyle flicked the ball down to Keating who then played it on to Cathal Finnegan before the in form hotshot finished the move off with a well taken point. Simple football executed perfectly.
The St. Patrick’s side were not prepared to give up the ghost and showed they were still intent on pegging their opponents back when pointing twice in quick succession before Adam Carey and Alan Mulvany cancelled these scores out either side of a David Fox goal line clearance. Keating then showcased his potential with a second point close his sides account before St. Patrick’s added two frees in stoppage time.
This victory leaves Seneschalstown in third place on the table behind Na Fianna and Oldcastle who they face in Round 5 and 7 respectively. These are guaranteed to be tough tests as will the local derby against Rathkenny so the team will be well aware that while they scored 3-14 in this game they will need to take a higher proportion of their chances in the remaining games if they are to be certain of a semi-final place.
Overall though they will be satisfied with this performance against a talented St. Patrick’s outfit and with the likes of Richard McKeown and Ryan O’Dowd to return to the mix for selection in upcoming games allied to the return to action in this game of David Fox they will approach those upcoming matches with confidence.
Seneschalstown Scorers: Robert Wogan 0-08 (0-03 Frees), Cathal Finnegan 1-01, Eoin Finnegan 1-01 (0-01 Free), Dylan Doyle 1-00, Dylan Keating 0-02, Adam Carey 0-01, Alan Mulvany 0-01
Seneschalstown: Ruairí McDonagh, Ruairí Keogh, Louis Healy, Eoin O’Reilly, Robert Littler, David Fox, Conor Cantwell, Daniel O’Reilly, Niall Hickey, Cathal Finnegan, Dylan Doyle, Robert Wogan, Eoin Finnegan, David Gordon, Shane Mulvany.
Seneschalstown Substitutions: Adam Carey for D. Fox (blood sub), Adam Carey for R. Littler, Alan Mulvany for D. Gordon, Dylan Keating for S. Mulvany, David Gordon for L. Healy (black card), Robert Littler for D. Doyle (black card).
