JM Food Services Football League Division 2 Round 2
Seneschalstown 4-12 Oldcastle 2-14
Seneschalstown made it two wins from two at the outset of the JM Food Services Football League Division 2 with a five point win over Oldcastle on Saturday evening. After an eleventh hour venue change from Millbrook to Seneschalstown, the pitch in Fr. Tully Park was in good condition but there was a strong breeze blowing straight up the pitch away from the clubhouse. Over the course of the hour plus of football, it had just about everything you would want from a game at this time of year with pendulum swinging back and forth between the sides and six goals to boot.
Despite having to make the rather long journey at short notice, Oldcastle did start quickly and almost had a goal inside a minute when James Meade did well to tip the ball over via the crossbar. It looked though as Seneschalstown settled moments later when Cathal Finnegan struck for the first of what would prove to be four goals for himself. Seán Carey tried to create space for a shot for himself but when he did it proved to be a weak effort and the ball landed around the edge of the large square. The Oldcastle keeper committed himself to the ball in a race with Finnegan and it was the Seneschalstown number 14 who got there first, turned and put the ball beyond the scrambling defenders into the net.
With the strong breeze very much behind them, Oldcastle’s scoring zone was considerably bigger than that of their hosts and reeled off five points on the bounce before the tenth minute had elapsed, one of which could have been a goal had it not been for the intervention of Brian Maguire on the goal line to deny what looked like a certain goal. Seneschalstown’s first point of the game arrived when Finnegan landed a free off the ground but Oldcastle continued to press on and lead 0-10 to 1-02 after 25 minutes. Seneschalstown’s other score had come courtesy of Dylan Keating after he checked inside onto his trusty left boot after being set up by Alan Mulvany.
Oldcastle looked good to take a deserving lead into the changing rooms at half time but Seneschalstown were about to produce a mini powerplay to restore parity before the short whistle.
Brian Maguire got his fingers to a pass from the Oldcastle keeper who was 40 metres from his goal and the loose ball fell to Cathal Finnegan and he spotted the unguarded net and made no mistake with his ambitious effort for the second goal of the game. The same player tapped over a close range free moments later after he was fouled while attempting to find his hat-trick. An Oldcastle point briefly stemmed the tide, but another Finnegan free reduced the gap to the minimum once more. With the very last kick of the half, Alan Mulvany levelled matters at 2-05 to 0-11 with a point from the top of the D’ after an assist from Dylan Keating.
With the elements now behind them Seneschalstown would have fancied themselves to kick on, but the topsy turvy nature of the tie continued as it was Oldcastle who seized the initiative upon the resumption.
Seneschalstown fell asleep at the back when the north Meath side were awarded a 21 metre free the ball was played across the goal quickly and eventually put beyond James Meade in the Seneschalstown goal. Two further points followed for the visitors with the evergreen Paddy Gilsenan central to the Oldcastle charge as they restored their five point cushion.
From a Seneschalstown kickout, the home side managed to regain some sort of foothold. Eoin Finnegan was the supplier of their next point after he made a dart for the centre of the D’ to receive a ball from Alan Mulvany. The eldest of the Finnegan clan was to turn provider for the next Seneschalstown point when he set up Dylan Keating to casually chip over the bar.
By now Seneschalstown had wrestled back all of the momentum and Alan Mulvany started and finished another sweeping move with Cathal Finnegan having a hand in it along the way after Seneschalstown forced yet another turnover and countered quickly. The gap was back down to one in the 41st minute when Ronan Conneely fetched a kickout and set Dylan Keating off towards goal and the wing forward blasted for a goal with the ball going over rather than under the crossbar for his third point of the evening. Seneschalstown were level when a Cathal Finnegan effort travelled between the sticks aided by the breeze, and hit the front for the first time since the early stages when Alan Mulvany registered his third white flag after Seán Carey did well to disrupt another Oldcastle kickout.
It looked like Seneschalstown made a major push for home in the 49th minute when Cathal Finnegan completed his hat-trick. A flowing Seneschalstown move from back to front in a couple of kick passes for the hosts had the ball in the hands of the selfless Keating and he played Finnegan in on goal and he finished the ball low and hard into the net to move Seneschalstown 3-11 to 1-13 clear.
Oldcastle pulled a point back, but goal number four for Seneschalstown and Finnegan arrived six minutes from time. Joey Moore tried to burrow his way through a number of Oldcastle tackles before the ball fell to Keating. Keating toe poked the ball into the path of Finnegan and instead of picking the ball up, he cheekily dinked the ball over the onrushing keeper and into the net for the most audacious of goals. He followed this up with an excellent point from way out on the right hand side and seven points up with five minutes to go, all seemed done.
Not quite….. Oldcastle were awarded a close range free as the clock entered injury time and despite lining the goal with half of the parish, the ball managed to squeeze beyond the plethora of yellow jerseys on the line and into the net. Oldcastle did have another half chance of a goal but nothing came of it and Joseph Curran blew the final whistle to mark the end of a topsy turvy game, but one where spectators will certainly say they got value for money.
Along with the likes of Cathal Finnegan, who notched up a personal tally of 4-05 including 4-02 from play, Alan Mulvany and Dylan Keating up front Seneschalstown were also well served by Darren O’Brien as a source of primary possession around the middle third and Brian Maguire who put in an all action display at centre back.
Seneschalstown are back in action next Saturday evening at home to Curraha in Round 3 at 4:00pm.
Seneschalstown: James Meade, Cillian Lawlor, Danny Waters, Cormac Carolan, Seán Carey, Brian Maguire, Liam Dillon, Donie Commons, John Smith, Dylan Keating (0-03), Joey Moore, Darren O’Brien, Eoin Finnegan (0-01), Cathal Finnegan (4-05, 3fs), Alan Mulvany (0-03).
Subs Used: Ronan Conneely, Simon Rooney, Seán Commons
