A League Division 1 Round 2
Wolfe Tones 0-10 Seneschalstown 1-12
A League Division 1 Round 2
Wolfe Tones 0-10 Seneschalstown 1-12
Having lost out to Gaeil Colmcille in Round 1 Seneschalstown had the short journey to Kilberry on St. Valentine’s Day to take on Wolfe Tones who similarly were looking to pick up their first points of the year having fallen to St. Colmcilles in the opening round of matches. There was a fine National Hunt card taking place just a stone’s throw away where the going was officially described as heavy and in Kilberry it was the very same as every footprint left an indelible mark on the playing surface and the ball didn’t rise much off the sod when bouncing.
Shorn of the services of Gerry Sheridan in defence, this resulted in a reshuffle from the opening game which saw Niall Hickey move to corner back, James Byrne to centre back and Kevin Casey come into the team while up front James Meade saw action from the first whistle having been introduced as a sub last week.
In the prevailing heavy conditions, a good start was always likely to be crucial and playing into a strong breeze this was exactly what Seneschalstown achieved when they raised the only green flag of the game after less than two minutes of play. Bryan Clarke turned his man before racing away and when his goal effort was parried out by the Wolfe Tones goalkeeper Brian Sheridan was on hand to palm the loose ball to the back of the net. Stephen Finnegan then stretched the Seneschalstown advantage to four points a few minutes later when he got on the end of a move involving Clarke and Sean Noonan who laid the possession off to the wing forward to split the uprights.
Having absorbed the early Seneschalstown dominance which also saw a number of other attacks break down Wolfe Tones then hit a purple patch as between the ninth and twelfth minutes they hit four points in a row, three from play and indeed the first could have ended up in the back of the net only for the alert Shane Corbally, back between the sticks, to parry over the crossbar.
Jonathan Gilsenan had started brightly for the visitors and he was to find himself heavily involved in their next two scores. First he drew a foul, after which Bryan Clarke slotted the resultant free off the ground from the right of the uprights before he opened his account with a well taken effort from play. The tight nature of the opening exchanges saw Wolfe Tones narrow the deficit to a solitary point but this was soon cancelled out by a Clarke point with twenty minutes on the clock after Niall Hickey had reacted quickest to his initial shot cannoning off the upright. This was to prove to be the final Seneschalstown score of the opening period as the Kilberry outfit finished the stronger with two points from play to leave the scoreboard reading Wolfe Tones 0-07, Seneschalstown 1-04 at the interval.
With Cormac Noonan who had arrived to Kilberry just before the throw in straight off the plane fresh from a week on the piste having been introduced at full back midway through the first half another of his travelling companions, John Smith, was thrown into the fray at the interval as Seneschalstown looked to back up an impressive opening thirty minutes and ensure it wouldn’t be all downhill in the second.
Now backed by the freshening breeze the Devenish Nutrition sponsored team looked to kick on and having missed a few early opportunities Bryan Clarke was first to score when on thirty-three minutes he reacted quickest to a poor kickout before returning the ball with interest as he raised the first white flag of the second half. The lead soon extended to two points when full forward Brian Sheridan fired over off his left foot as he got on the end of a move involving the impressive Damien Sheridan and Stephen Finnegan.
Wolfe Tones then recorded their first score of the half n forty minutes when pointing a free before David Matthew, operating at wing back following the introduction of Noonan, ventured forward to kick a lesser spotted point and indeed it was quite the effort as he sent over a booming shot from distance out on the right. Jonny Gilsenan soon pushed the advantage out to three points when he latched on to a ball flicked back out by the hard working Sean Noonan who had done well to get on the end of a Clarke shot which dropped on the edge of the square. Upon gathering possession Gilsenan wasted no time as he promptly shot over his left shoulder.
With the game entering its third quarter the margin between the two teams once more was down to two points when Wolfe Tones slotted another free but with his team playing with great determination Joe Sheridan wasted little time in making it three points between them when making the most of the wind at his back by firing over from well out the field after getting on the end of a hand pass from brother Brian.
On fifty-one minutes the gap crucially pushed out to four points when Adam Carey sprinted on to a kickout which failed to find its target and when the ball ended up with Bryan Clarke the corner forward who enjoyed an excellent hour gave the umpire cause to raise another white flag. Wolfe Tones kept chasing the game and they did manage to pick off another free but with the hour almost elapsed Brian Sheridan sent over another point after excellent tracking back and tackling from Clarke forced a turnover and when possession was gained Stephen Finnegan picked out the full forward with a clever foot pass and Sheridan made no mistake. This effectively was the insurance point but in the third minute of the allotted three minutes’ injury time it was the eldest of the Sheridan siblings who had the final say. Damien Sheridan, upon gaining possession and probably with the words of selector Tommy Finnegan ringing in his ear from a few minutes previous looked up and sent a shot over the bar which were it not for the nets behind the goal could well have ended up on the racecourse. Whether it was Finnegan’s words of wisdom or the new boots his point certainly sealed the deal as Seneschalstown picked up their first victory of 2016.
This was a victory earned as much through playing with a huge workrate as moments of excellent skill and when this Seneschalstown team play like this they are capable of putting in very impressive performances. Shorn of a number of players in Round 1 the return of the afore mentioned Noonan and Smith along with their fellow skiers Adam Carey and Niall Groome who came on in the second half added to the depth of the panel for this game and with more due to be available for selection in the coming weeks the range of options available to David Hosie will leave him in an enviable position as he looks to integrate members of last year’s Minor and Junior B Championship winning teams into his side.
Next up in the League is a home game against Skryne on the weekend of March 5th/6th but before that is their Feis Cup Round 1 game when they will renew acquaintances with Wolfe Tones in Fr. Tully Park next Sunday, February 21st.
Seneschalstown: Shane Corbally, Niall Hickey, David Matthews (0-01), Sean McCabe, Niall McCabe, James Byrne, Kevin Casey, Damien Sheridan (0-01), Joe Sheridan (0-01), Jonathan Gilsenan (0-02), James Meade, Stephen Finnegan (0-01), Sean Noonan, Brian Sheridan (1-02), Bryan Clarke (0-04, 0-01 Free).
Seneschalstown Substitutions: Cormac Noonan for N. McCabe, John Smith for K. Casey, Adam Carey for S. Noonan, Eoin Finnegan for J. Meade, Niall Groome for J. Byrne (BC).
