Teach na Teamhrach Meath Junior A Football Championship Group A Round 4
Seneschalstown 4-14 Drumconrath 2-06
Teach na Teamhrach Meath Junior A Football Championship Group A Round 4
Seneschalstown 4-14 Drumconrath 2-06
Having lost to Dunshaughlin by twelve points in Round 3 just over a week previously, Seneschalstown needed a win to get back into the race for quarter final qualification while Drumconrath went into this game in desperate need of points as they looked to avoid a relegation playoff due to their record of three defeats from their three games played to date. Boosted by the return of some players from injury and holidays the Seneschalstown panel had some added depth in comparison to their Round 3 defeat with players such as James Conlon, Mark Fox and Darragh Keogh back in the mix while Colin Gleeson and Mark Carey had an hour under their belts as they come back from injury.
The prevailing conditions of a very strong breeze blowing directly into the clubhouse end of the immaculately presented grounds meant that whatever side ended up playing against the elements in the first half needed to be able to remain in contact by half time and not only did they manage to achieve this but Seneschalstown went one better as they surged into an eleven point lead by the time Paul Mooney blew the whistle to signal the end of the opening period.
The match had barely begun when James Conlon who was to go on to play a starring role in the success opened his account on nineteen seconds when he pointed after a driving run from Eddie Meade. Drumconrath equalised soon after when they sent over a forty-five metre free but Seneschalstown opened up a three point gap on three minutes when after a good run from deep by Ross Howard, Shane Clarke sent a ball in towards the full forward line where Eoin Finnegan rose highest to flick on to Neil Darby who ran an excellent supporting line before clinically despatching past the onrushing goalkeeper.
Former Meath panellist Terry Skelly replied with a point from play but this was soon cancelled out when Eddie Meade after a typically piercing run saw his driven shot parried over by the goalie. A tenth minute Drumconrath point saw the gap brought back to two points once more only for Eoin Finnegan to send over a free a few minutes later following a foul on Colin Walsh who had advanced from his corner back berth. The North Meath men then had a purple patch when they landed two points in a minute, one from a free and should have had a goal only to somehow mess up a two on one chance when the goal attempt from six metres out went high and wide.
This miss proved even more costly when seconds later Eddie Meade kicked Seneschalstown’s second goal and from here to the interval the Boynesiders dominated despite playing into the teeth of the elements. Eoin Finnegan followed up the goal with a free after James Conlon was fouled and then wily centre forward Shane Clarke sent over after good link up play with Colin Gleeson. Mark Carey was next to register a score when he curled over from out on the right with a Neil Darby score up next when after Carey sent a searching delivery into Eoin Finnegan, the young corner forward did superbly to offload to Darby who sent over. Then in injury time Seneschalstown managed to conjure up their third major of the half when having been placed for the shot by James Conlon, Mark Carey angled his shot across the goal and into the bottom left corner of the net, giving his side that eleven point lead at the break of play.
When the sides reappeared for the second half it was once more Seneschalstown who looked the brighter as they landed the opening two scores of the half when firstly Eoin Finnegan fisted over after a smart turn from Eddie Meade and then Finnegan once more tapped over a thirteen metre free. Drumconrath were still battling hard and could have had a goal soon after landing a free only for Shane Corbally to pull off a smart stop with his feet.
By now Seneschalstown had begun to empty the bench as they looked to get game time into some more of their players and they picked off a fourth goal when after substitute Rob Darby saw his shot blocked, James Conlon showed quick reactions to gather and he flashed home past the goalkeeper. Conlon followed this up with a brace of points, the second of which was a majestic effort from a very tight angle out on the right. In the final quarter the scoring rate dipped somewhat but Drumconrath did manage to get two goals sandwiched in between points from Ciaran Macken Shane Clarke and one last score from Eoin Finnegan.
Next up in the Championship for Seneschalstown is a Round 5 game against Kilmainhamwood in Rathkenny on Sunday August 14th at 12:00. Best for the winners were James Conlon, Eddie Meade and Ronan Conneely.
Seneschalstown: Shane Corbally, Ronan Conneely, Adam Gargan, Colin Walsh, Colin Gleeson, Joe Cowley, Mark Carey (1-01), Paul McDonnell, Kevin Casey, Ross Howard, Shane Clarke (0-02), Neil Darby (1-01), Eoin Finnegan (0-05, 0-03 Frees), Eddie Meade (1-01), James Conlon (1-03).
Seneschalstown Substitutions: Darragh Keogh for K. Casey, Mark Fox for J. Cowley, Rob Darby for N. Darby, Ciaran Macken for R. Darby, Ryan O’Dowd for C. Gleeson and Shane Clarke for R. Howard.
