Seamus Connolly Catering Meath Junior B Football Championship Semi-Final
Seneschalstown 0-15 Slane 1-08
Seamus Connolly Catering Meath Junior B Football Championship Semi-Final
Seneschalstown 0-15 Slane 1-08
Following a tough battle over the course of the hour Seneschalstown booked their place in the final of the Seamus Connolly Catering Junior B Football Championship Final for the second consecutive year when overcoming the stiff challenge of Slane in Trim. Despite the strange selection of the Heritage Town venue for the hosting of the match a sizable crowd was in attendance and they were treated to an excellent game in which both sides showed great endeavour throughout and also recorded many impressive scores.
Seneschalstown had very impressive performers all over the field from goalkeeper Shane Corbally to left corner forward Jonathan Gilsenan who turned in an inspirational performance to rack up a personal tally of nine points, the last of which was probably the pick of the bunch. Led by captain Joe Cowley at centre back they hassled and harried the Slane attackers throughout, giving them no easy shooting opportunities at any stage.
When the game got underway following a minutes silence in memory of the late Teresa Gilsenan it was the men from Slane who were quickest into their stride as they struck the opening point with just thirty three seconds on the clock. Gilsenan soon levelled for Seneschalstown when he got on the end of a quickly taken Shane Clarke free to split the posts following a foul on wing back Colin Gleeson. On seven minutes Slane edged back in front again when pointing after carving the Seneschalstown defence wide open but just as he had done earlier Gilsenan levelled the affairs when squeezing a free inside the right hand upright after Brendan Lynch was fouled and the free subsequently brought in for a spot of verbal’s towards the referee.
Slane then struck for two points in a row, the second of which was from a free to open up the biggest gap of the game thus far. Jonathan Gilsenan though seemed to be on a one man mission not to let the gap widen too much and he reacted to this by hitting two more points himself. His first one came when sending a thirty metre free over the bar after Stephen Finnegan was fouled as he latched onto the ball following a strong Niall McCabe run. He then sent over another free when his colleague in the full forward line Brendan Lynch drew another foul.
Niall McCabe then became the second Seneschalstown player to score when he mopped up a loose ball before firing over to give his side the lead for the first time. The tight nature of the game nearly guaranteed Slane would hit the next score and true to form they did when sending the ball over the bar when indeed they could have had a goal. That goal did though arrive soon after when in the twenty fourth minute they did manage to raise the green flag. Seneschalstown were rocked by this concession but they almost got a goal of their own straight away when following a surging Ross Howard run through the heart of the Slane defence he laid the ball of to his left to Gilsenan who saw his shot deflected out for a forty five. All the while Brendan Lynch was lurking menacingly but just as the Slane defence hadn’t spotted him, either had the Seneschalstown attackers.
Having passed up the goal opportunity they did manage to rescue a point from the situation when Jonathan Gilsenan reacted quickest to the resultant forty five which had dropped short to clip a point over. Slane replied with a point before Seneschalstown managed to finish the half just the stronger. Aled Ingman pulled off a brilliant fetch in the middle of the field and when his feet returned to ground he spotted Niall McCabe making a brilliant forward run and McCabe made no mistake as he swept over his second point of the half. By now Niall Hickey, fresh from his star turn in the previous days Junior D Final had been introduced to the fray and with his first action he placed Brendan Lynch for a goal opportunity which was thwarted when he shot was blocked by a defenders foot. Having seen an earlier forty five drop short this one was taken quickly and to great effect as Shane Clarke swung over his first point of the match to leave the half time score reading Slane 1-06 Seneschalstown 0-08.
The men from Yellow Furze continued the upsurge in their momentum upon the resumption of play when Shane Clarke opened the scoring for the second half as he kicked a free before Gilsenan somehow eked out enough space amidst some claustrophobic defended to send over his fifth of the match so far. Slane replied with a point to draw the side’s level once more but Seneschalstown’s number fifteen soon hit another point following brilliant play over on the left flank of defence from the McCabe cousins, Niall and Sean. Niall McCabe was having a superb game and he was to have a hand in the next score as well when he linked up with Niall Hickey who showed immense bravery to claim possession before soloing forward and laying off to Shane Clarke who pointed with his trusty left foot.
Seneschalstown were by now well on top around the middle of the field with Aled Ingman and Stephen Finnegan laying solid foundations and their lead looked to have been extended by three when a high ball was knocked past the Slane goalkeeper. However, following deliberations between the referee and his umpires at the town end goal the decision was reached to disallow the goal and a free out was awarded. This may have rattled lesser teams but Shane Clarke settled his side when knocking a free over from out on the right after Jonathan Gilsenan was sent tumbling by the full back. James Meade was then introduced to the fray to bring his composure to the mix being concocted by the Seneschalstown men.
Slane had gone sixteen minutes without scoring but brought this run to a close with fifty two on the clock when they raised their second white flag of the half after full back Andrew Collins had expertly blocked down a goal effort. Jonathan Gilsenan cancelled this score out when he pointed another free following a foul on the wily Ciaran Macken. Slane though were far from a beaten docket and carved out another goal scoring opportunity only for Shane Corbally to pull off a brilliant save. Cometh the hour, cometh the man. By this stage the Seneschalstown players were being sucked back into their defence but as the clock ticked just over the hour Gilsenan rose highest among a thicket of bodies to grab the ball out of the air and then turned to head for goal. As he galloped forward he carried the ball forty metres before sending the ball over the blackspot for the coup de grace as supporters of the men in yellow erupted with delight.
On the evening of September 6th 2014 Seneschalstown edged out Slane in the quarter final of the Championship and now exactly a year to the date the dose was repeated as the side from downstream on the River Boyne were eliminated at the semi-final stage. In 2014 the final hurdle proved too high for the Seneschalstown men to hurdle but few would bet against them falling for a second time this year.
Seneschalstown: Shane Corbally, Sean McCabe, Andrew Collins, Adam Gargan, Niall Colin Gleeson, Joe Cowley, Niall McCabe (0-02), Darragh Keogh, Aled Ingman, Ross Howard. Shane Clarke (0-04, 0-02 Frees), Stephen Finnegan, James Conlon, Brendan Lynch, Jonathan Gilsenan (0-09, 0-04 Frees).
Seneschalstown Substitutions: Niall Hickey for D. Keogh, Ciaran Macken for B. Lynch, James Meade for R. Howard.
