JMB Sportsfield Services Feis Cup Quarter Final
Rathkenny 1-06 Seneschalstown 3-09
It wasn’t a game which will live long in the memory but at the end of the hour it was Seneschalstown who progressed to the semi-final of the Feis Cup, a competition they last won in 2014. Although both teams were missing some key performers, neither will be satisfied with the level of performance they displayed, with a lot of play breaking down through sloppy passing while a plethora of good scoring opportunities were missed by the two teams.
JMB Sportsfield Services Feis Cup Quarter Final
Rathkenny 1-06 Seneschalstown 3-09
It wasn’t a game which will live long in the memory but at the end of the hour it was Seneschalstown who progressed to the semi-final of the Feis Cup, a competition they last won in 2014. Although both teams were missing some key performers, neither will be satisfied with the level of performance they displayed, with a lot of play breaking down through sloppy passing while a plethora of good scoring opportunities were missed by the two teams.
However, one thing Seneschalstown will take away from the game is that it’s a positive sign to pull out a victory when playing poorly and this keeps their good vein of form going as they are now unbeaten in seven matches, courtesy of four League wins, two in the Championship and this Feis Cup success. The game never really sparked to life, surprising in a derby encounter but over the hour there can be little doubt that the away side fully warranted their victory as they created many more scoring opportunities over the sixty minutes while also showing a greater ability to fashion goal scoring opportunities.
Seneschalstown got off to a brilliant start when in the opening stages they forged into a 1-01 to 0-00 lead. On seventy-seven seconds Adam Carey, after taking a line ball ran on to get the return ball of Adam Gleeson before angling his shot over the crossbar. Less than two minutes later they grabbed their first goal when after John Smith had done well out around the middle of the field, Paul Carey sent a raking delivery down towards Brian Sheridan who rose high to catch and turning sharply he blasted to the roof of the net. From here Seneschalstown would have looked to kick on but from their next eight attacks they got the grand total of zero scores with poor decision making a regular occurrence although Jonny Gilsenan was unlucky to see a piledriver sting the hands of the Rathkenny goalkeeper rather than end up in the net.
Buoyed by this profligacy in the visitor’s attack Rathkenny began to create some openings and they opened their account on the quarter hour when Meath U-21 player Caolac Halligan pointed from play. Brian Sheridan replied with a pointed free from out on the right following a foul on wing forward Niall Groome. Rathkenny then benefitted from some fortune when after they had appeared to cough up a goal scoring opportunity the loose ball from the rebound fell to Jack Gore who gleefully stroked it past David Lyons to goal. The side from the north of the River Boyne then drew level when Ross Gore, up from his wing back berth fisted over to tie the game up at 1-02 apiece.
By now Seneschalstown needed something to lift them and James Meade tried to provide it when he hoisted over a fine thirty-five metre effort from play to edge his side back in front. Always providing a willing targetman, Jonny Gilsenan wasn’t getting the scores so far that his play probably deserved but he looked to correct that when on twenty-eight minutes he knocked a Paul Carey long ball down to himself before scooping up the bouncing ball and curling over to nudge his side into a two point lead when Liam O’Brien blew for half time, Seneschalstown 1-04 Rathkenny 1-02.
The first score of the second half was always likely to have a critical bearing on proceedings in such a tight encounter and it didn’t take long for it to arrive. With the sound of the shrill blast of O’Brien’s whistle barely dissipated Joe Sheridan picked up possession with his back to the Rathkenny goal and under all sorts of pressure. Most would have looked to lay the ball back outfield but the wily Sheridan, spotted a teammate making a run in behind the defence and managed to hand pass over his head into their path and with the Rathkenny defenders all stopping to protest against what they deemed to be an illegal pass, Seneschalstown worked the ball to Jonny Gilsenan who had the simplest of tasks of tapping home into an empty net from all of two metres out.
Brian Sheridan followed up with a point from a free six minutes later after Gilsenan was fouled but Jack Gore replied with a free of his own. Halligan reduced the deficit to four points approaching the end of the third quarter but Joe Sheridan cancelled this score out when pointing over his left shoulder from the right of the posts. Niall Groome followed up with a well taken point after running on to a cleverly angled pass from Sheridan and then the former county star picked up his second point when after Gilsenan rose highest amongst two Rathkenny defenders he offloaded to Joe who split the uprights
Rathkenny though are a dogged outfit and they kept battling away, winning a couple of frees which a substitute converted to leave five points between the teams with five minutes remaining. Nevertheless, there’s a steely determination though about Seneschalstown these days and they were in no humour to see their lead wiped out. Colin Walsh who had been introduced for the last quarter was operating in the forwards, an unfamiliar role for him but he showed great awareness to latch onto a pass and as he carried infield was felled, leading to Brian Sheridan stroking over a free. Then in the last minute, to put the gloss on the victory, Joe Sheridan took off on a strong run as he held off a number of tacklers and spotting Gilsenan lurking dangerously he flicked the O’Neills across the square where the corner forward had the simplest task of knocking it home.
On an evening when the most remarkable factor in the game was the lack of bite on evidence throughout Seneschalstown were best served by Paul Carey, Adam Carey and Jonny Gilsenan.
Seneschalstown: David Lyons, Paul Carey, Cormac Noonan, Sean McCabe, David Matthews, John Smith, James Byrne, Damien Sheridan, Joe Sheridan (0-02), Niall Groome (0-01), Brian Sheridan (1-03 0-03 Frees), Adam Carey (0-01), Jonathan Gilsenan (2-01), Adam Gleeson, James Meade (0-01).
Seneschalstown Substitutions: Mark Fox for D. Matthews, Colin Walsh for A. Gleeson, Niall McCabe for J. Meade.
