Under 14 Summer League Group B Semi Final
Seneschalstown 4-12 Navan O’Mahonys 3-12
Having been well beaten by O’Mahonys earlier in the competition Seneschalstown turned the tables on their local rivals by grinding out an excellent three point win in Seneschalstown on Tuesday evening.
Under 14 Summer League Group B Semi Final
Seneschalstown 4-12 Navan O’Mahonys 3-12
Having been well beaten by O’Mahonys earlier in the competition Seneschalstown turned the tables on their local rivals by grinding out an excellent three point win in Seneschalstown on Tuesday evening.
The hosts got off to a blistering start by opening up a five point lead after four minutes. A minute had barely elapsed when Ross Mullen split the posts after Dylan Keating and Sean Commons linked up well. Ninety seconds later wing forward Joseph Moore blasted to the roof of the net. In the build-up Mullen was fouled who in turn took a quick free to Moore and he worked a one-two with Keating. It continued to be the Ross Mullen show early on and in the fourth minute he got his second point from play after Alan Mulvany found him on the right.
On seven minutes Daire Finnegan ventured forward to kick a point straight after the visitors opened their account from a free. Mullen continued to torment the hoops as he kicked two more points in the ninth and tenth minutes. The first after a Mulvany effort was half blocked, the second an excellent individual score after a long ball was played into him. The hosts then went scoreless for ten minutes but to their credit they did not concede a score from play during this period. However, O’Mahonys did manage a fourteen yard free and a goal from a nineteenth minute penalty.
Seneschalstown responded in the best possible way though as full forward Keating netted after Adam O’Mara found him from a sideline. Keating caught the delivery and after jinking inside his marker fired to the net. The Navan side hit two points immediately afterwards but Ross Mullen scored a goal his performance richly deserved by toe-poking the ball home after Alan Mulvany’s point attempt dropped short. Keating’s point in the twentieth minute brought the first half scoring to a close. Keating registering after Moore set him up.
Half Time: Seneschalstown 3-06 Navan O’Mahonys 1-04
The Yellow Furze outfit added to their advantage when the hard working Mulvany scored an excellent point from the left corner after Sean Commons passed to Jason Lyons who fed Mulvany. A similar score from the visitors reduced the arrears. In the thirty second minute the home side came up with the score of the game. Sean Carey won a ball in defence. Carey found Cathal Hickey who laid off the ball to Mulvany. Mulvany exchanged passes with Keating. When the ball was kicked into the square the ball was broken down. Like all good corner forwards Mullen pounced on the loose ball and fired over the bar. The visitors then had their purple patch when notching a goal and three points in a four minute spell to make it a three point game after thirty seven minutes – 3-08 to 2-08.
In the fortieth minute Seneschalstown eased the pressure when netting goal number four. Keating soloed through the middle. He found Sean Commons. Commons hand pass to Jason Lyons was slapped into the path of Mulvany by the half time substitute. Mulvany made no mistake when firing across the goalie with his weaker left foot. Keating increased the advantage with a fine point before the red hot Mullen kicked another score after Keating hit the post.
However O’Mahonys were in no mood to lie down and found the net with eleven minutes remaining and followed that up with a white flag. Keating offered brief respite for the hosts by pointing but O’Mahonys continued their charge with three points between the fifty third and fifty ninth minutes. That burst reduced the gap to two points.
Seneschalstown could have found themselves behind if corner back Fionn Hall had not made two excellent blocks. The first was tipped onto the post by a combination of Hall and keeper Brian Boyd; the second was an excellent save to palm the ball away from the roof of the net. With the visitors edging forward to find a match winning goal Seneschalstown hit them on the counter attack. Simon Rooney won a breaking ball in defence. His pass found Mullen. The corner forward picked the ball up and played the ball across to Ciaran Mongey who blasted over a badly needed point. From there referee Declan Brown blew the full time whistle to the relief of all the home players and supporters.
A final appearance is a just reward for this team who have worked hard all year and tonight’s performance showed the tremendous character of the team. The final will pit them against St Colmcilles. The two teams met in the first round of the competition with the seasiders winning by two points so the Seneschalstown boys will be looking to turn the tables on them.
Seneschalstown: B. Boyd, S. Rooney, J. Kelleher, F. Hall, C. Hickey, C. Mongey (0-01), S. Carey, D. Finnegan (0-01), A. O’Mara, J. Moore (1-00), A. Mulvany (1-01), S. Commons, R. Mullen (1-06), D. Keating (1-03), C. Gormley.
Subs: J. Lyons, J. Kirwan, C. McAuley, J. Commons, D. Masterson, L. Maguire, S. Dalton, C. Dunne, C. Lawlor, W. Finnegan.
By Shane Mulvany.
