Meath U-15 Division 2 League Semi-Final
Seneschalstown 4-15 Duleek/Bellewstown 2-12
Thursday evening in Donore saw Seneschalstown survive a few scary moments before finally pulling clear of Duleek/Bellewstown to book their place in the upcoming U-15 Division 2 Final against either Simonstown Gaels or Round Towers
Meath U-15 Division 2 League Semi-Final
Seneschalstown 4-15 Duleek/Bellewstown 2-12
Thursday evening in Donore saw Seneschalstown survive a few scary moments before finally pulling clear of Duleek/Bellewstown to book their place in the upcoming U-15 Division 2 Final against either Simonstown Gaels or Round Towers
Buoyed by a blistering opening quarter during which they carved open the Duleek/Bellewstown defence to goal on four occasions it looked as though Seneschalstown were going to have a comfortable evening but Duleek/Bellewstown showed their mettle in the second quarter to whittle down the big Seneschalstown lead to just two points at the interval.
Indeed, such was the blistering start to the game made by Seneschalstown that they forged into a three point lead with just sixteen seconds on the clock when after Cathal Hickey had won the throw in the ball was quickly delivered to Ross Mullen who in turn fed the overlapping Joseph Moore who rattled the back of the net. Duleek/Bellewstown did strike back when converting a free but almost instantaneously Sean Commons managed to do the same at the opposite end of the field.
Duleek/Bellewstown picked off their second point and opening effort from play on four minutes but again Commons cancelled it out when he got on the end of a move involving Cathal Hickey and Ross Mullen. The side in green picked off a third point before Seneschalstown really hit a purple spell as they reeled off three goals and two points in six minutes with Duleek/Bellewstown managing one point in the midst of this scoring burst.
Cathal Hickey kick-started it when he did excellently to field a Ross Mullen Garryowen and jink past a few tackles before drilling his shot low past the goalkeeper. Joseph Moore followed up with a point before Duleeks point. The very hard working Liam Maguire then galloped half the length of the pitch, constantly surveying his options and when he spotted Ross Mullen getting half a yard of space he laid off to the sharpshooter who made no mistake as he raised the green flag. Mullen then added a point following good work from Simon Rooney and then had a key role in Seneschalstown’s next score as he firstly did superbly to stop a Jamie Kirwan point effort going wide, then fed the ball back to the centre back who made no mistake as he clinically goaled inside the near post.
From this point to the half time break though it was the wind assisted Duleek/Bellewstown who took charge as they got into their groove. Three points in four minutes seemed to settle them before they received a major boost when a forty-five just dropped under the crossbar and nestled in the Seneschalstown net. Another point got added on before Ross Mullen drove over the bar but this was to prove to be nothing more than a temporary respite for Seneschalstown as Duleek/Bellewstown added 1-01 just before the half time whistle was sounded.
The gap was soon down to a solitary point when in the thirty fourth minute Duleek/Bellewstown saw a point effort clip the left hand upright on its way over but Seneschalstown responded in impressive fashion to take the wind out of their sails when adding five points in seven minutes. Sean Commons started the ball rolling when lofting over a free, Joseph Moore added another when he shrugged off a few challenges and struck a long-range effort. Sean Commons then got on the end of a move involving Jamie Kirwan, Donal Commons and Seanie Dalton to point. Ross Mullen who was having an outstanding outing continued the scoring run when he hurdled a few tackles and pointed before Sean Commons sent over another free.
Duleek/Bellewstown stopped the rot as the game entered the final quarter with two points either side of a fabulous Joseph Moore point but this was to prove to be their last scores of the match as Seneschalstown took over from there to the finish. Sean Commons lobbed over a free in the fifty third minute and then sent over an effort from play at the end of a move that started with a very brave stop from Cathal Darby who flung his body with reckless abandon to make the save. The last two scores of the match then came from Joseph Moore and another from Commons who ended with eight points for the evening
Seneschalstown: Cathal Darby, Ben Coffey, Tiernan Keogh, Woodley Nicholson, Josh Ryan, Jamie Kirwan (1-00), Cillian Lawlor, Cathal Hickey (1-00), Joseph Moore (1-04), Simon Rooney, Sean Commons (0-08, 0-04 Frees), Seanie Dalton, Will Finegan, Ross Mullen (1-03), Liam Maguire.
Seneschalstown Substitutions: Kit Waddington for J. Ryan, Padraig Finnegan for T Keogh, Donal Commons for W. Finegan, Aaron Traynor for S. Dalton, Alan Carey for S Rooney, Dara Walsh for J. Kirwan.
