Feis Cup Round 2
Seneschalstown 2-9 Wolfe Tones 0-13
Seneschalstown picked up their first win of the Feis Cup campaign when seeing off visitors Wolfe Tones in Fr. Tully Park on Wednesday night. Looking for a win to bounce back from their opening round defeat to Na Fianna, Seneschalstown delivered a performance full of hunger and determination to outlast a physical Tones side.
Feis Cup Round 2
Seneschalstown 2-9 Wolfe Tones 0-13
Seneschalstown picked up their first win of the Feis Cup campaign when seeing off visitors Wolfe Tones in Fr. Tully Park on Wednesday night. Looking for a win to bounce back from their opening round defeat to Na Fianna, Seneschalstown delivered a performance full of hunger and determination to outlast a physical Tones side.
The visitors were quickest out of the blocks and raced into a three point lead in as many minutes thanks to points from Cian Ward, Niall McLoughlin and a mark from Sarán O’Fionnagáin. Seneschalstown began to get to grips with their opponents thereafter, and Collie Carr got the home side on the board when he pointed off the outside of his right boot, which was followed up by a brace of points from Cathal Finnegan – one each from play and a free. The three point pattern of the game continued with Wolfe Tones opening a 0-6 0-3 lead prior to the first water break.
Despite being behind, Seneschalstown were very much in the game and got the perfect riposte straight after the water break. When a Cathal Finnegan shot had been blocked, the ball fell perfectly to the lurking Bryan Clarke who pounced on the loose ball and placed it into the roof of the net to restore parity. This was followed up by an excellent team point, finished off by Dylan Keating. After the first move broke down, the ball was recycled back and forth across the pitch before Keating managed to find himself in a bit of space to swivel and shoot, forcing the umpire to reach for the white flag. Seneschalstown were now playing very much with their tails up but failed to convert some decent scoring chances. To break the barren spell, Cathal Finnegan knocked over a close range free to extend the advantage to two points shortly before the half time whistle. Wolfe Tones pulled a point back before half time, which could have easily been a goal had the shot been slightly lower.
Turning around for the second half with a one point advantage, Seneschalstown were keen to push on. However, the tit for tat nature of the game continued with Tones finding a levelling score inside the first minute. Cathal Finnegan followed this up with a pointed free to nudge the hosts back in front, but shortly afterwards it was all square again when Caolán Ward converted a free for the Gibbstown/Kilberry outfit.
In the five minutes before the second half water break, Seneschalstown had a spell of dominance which ultimately decided the outcome of this lively game. Firstly, Seán Commons landed a superb point from way out on the right to regain the lead for the home side, before Bryan Clarke landed a 45’. The 45’ came about after Dylan Keating had forced a fine save from the Wolfe Tones keeper. Seneschalstown’s next score was the key one, and one which gave them enough of a cushion to see them through to the end. After Seán Carey pressured a Wolfe Tones attacker to overcarry, the ball was worked through the hands of David Gordon, John Smith and Seán Commons before Niall Lyons delivered a long punt over the top of the Wolfe Tones defence into the arms of Cathal Finnegan, who side stepped the defender and planted a shot into the left corner of the net.
Wolfe Tones quickly replied with two pointed frees, but Seneschalstown held firm at the back to force some wayward shooting from their opponents. Alan Mulvany clipped over Seneschalstown’s last score just short of the hour mark to reopen the three point cushion, but Wolfe Tones could not get any closer than two points as the game ticked into injury time. However, there was time for one final bit of drama when Wolfe Tones had one last chance to salvage a victory, when a free was dropped in on the edge of the square and was flicked on by a player in a purple jersey. Ross Howard had positioned himself on the goal line and happened to be in the right place at the right time to flick the ball away to safety and with that, came the sound of Patrick Coyle’s full time whistle. There was great relief for a young Seneschalstown team and manager Anthony Malone as they picked up a fine victory to get their campaign up and running before heading to Ratoath next week to face the two in-a-row county champions.
Seneschalstown: David Gordon, Mark Fox, John Smith, Woodley Nicholson, Niall McCabe, Niall Hickey, Seán Carey, Seán Commons (0-01), Padraig Finegan, Alan Mulvany (0-01), Niall Lyons, Dylan Keating (0-01), Cathal Finnegan (1-04, 3f), Collie Carr (0-01), Bryan Clarke (1-01).
Subs: Ronan Conneely for McCabe, James Meade for Hickey, Eoin Finnegan for Clarke, Johnny Gilsenan for Lyons, Robert Wogan for Keating, Ross Howard for Carey.
