Fairyhouse Steel Meath SFC Group B Round 5
Seneschalstown 0-09 Navan O’Mahonys 3-14
With a place in the knockout stages of the Senior Championship at stake there was much riding on this encounter between old rivals Navan O’Mahonys and Seneschalstown but long before the end of the match it had turned into nothing more than a damp squib as the town side coasted to an easy victory, with which they booked a preliminary quarter final place against Na Fianna.
Fairyhouse Steel Meath SFC Group B Round 5
Seneschalstown 0-09 Navan O’Mahonys 3-14
With a place in the knockout stages of the Senior Championship at stake there was much riding on this encounter between old rivals Navan O’Mahonys and Seneschalstown but long before the end of the match it had turned into nothing more than a damp squib as the town side coasted to an easy victory, with which they booked a preliminary quarter final place against Na Fianna.
A game which appeared to be finely balanced at half time changed utterly moments into the second half when Seneschalstown coughed up possession as they worked the ball out of defence and five seconds later they were picking the ball out of the net. To compound matters they then lost their excellent goalkeeper David Lyons when referee Colm McManus, after consulting with an umpire issued the him with a red card.
In an instant, the nature of the game had irrevocably been altered and from this point on O’Mahonys marched on unhindered past fourteen-man Seneschalstown. Stephen Bray had grabbed that crucial opening goal and it was a player closer to the other end of the age spectrum who notched their remaining two as Dylan Regan showed that he could be a potential match winner for them as the Championship progresses.
The opening half was a tight affair with the standout moments coming from both goalkeepers as Marcos Brennan and Lyons pulling off some excellent saves, Brennan’s 27th minute stop from substitute Cathal Finnegan being particularly impressive while Finnegan had rattled the crossbar moments earlier.
Brian Sheridan, back in the starting XV following injury chipped in with three points in that opening period while Joe Sheridan and Brian Maguire were the others who registered points as the Damien Sheridan managed outfit went in 0-07 to 0-05 behind at the break of play.
Then in an instant, ninety seconds after the resumption the game changed, changed utterly and as a spectacle the match ruined when Lyons with a look of stunned disbelief on his face received his marching orders.
From that point on there was only one winner as O’Mahonys cantered to a facile success.
Seneschalstown: David Lyons, Brian Maguire (0-01), Cormac Noonan, Conor Cowley, Niall Hickey, Joe Cowley, Niall Groome, John Smith, Damien Sheridan, Adam Carey, Niall McCabe, James Byrne, Brian Sheridan (0-05, 0-03 Frees), Joe Sheridan (0-03, 0-01 ’45), Bryan Clarke.
Seneschalstown Substitutions: Paul Carey for J. Cowley (temp), Cathal Finnegan for B. Clarke, Sean Noonan for C. Cowley, Robert Ruddy for J. Smith, Robert Wogan for J. Byrne, Gary Conlon for N. McCabe, James Conlon for N. Groome.
