Meath A League Division 1 Round 4
Seneschalstown 1-07 Ballinlough 1-06
On an afternoon when a strong wind made conditions very difficult for free flowing football Seneschalstown were grateful for a late power surge which generated three points to ultimately leave them one ahead at the end of what was a game low on quality but high on industry.
Meath A League Division 1 Round 4
Seneschalstown 1-07 Ballinlough 1-06
On an afternoon when a strong wind made conditions very difficult for free flowing football Seneschalstown were grateful for a late power surge which generated three points to ultimately leave them one ahead at the end of what was a game low on quality but high on industry.
The men from the Banks of the Boyne played with the advantage of the elements in the first half but were rocked back on their heels in the third minute when Sean Geraghty finished past Wesley McDonagh in the Seneschalstown goal to give the 2014 Intermediate Championship winners the perfect start. While the wind was at their backs the men in blue were struggling to take advantage of it and had to toil hard to get their scores. Indeed it wasn’t until the twelfth minute before the opened their account when Brian Sheridan pointed a free. Sheridan then left a point between the sides two minutes later with a second free. A five minute spell without a score was broken by a Bryan Clarke point from play when he hung the ball up in the air and used the wind to send it between the uprights.
Seneschalstown were beginning to gain a bit of a foothold at this point but their lack of accuracy was proving costly as their wide count began to rise. Sheridan though was soon to kick a point of some beauty when firing over from way out on the right hand sideline on nineteen minutes. This though was to prove to be the final score of the half as the scores dried up once more and indeed Ballinlough could’ve had two goals had they not firstly seen a shot flash narrowly wide and then the ball somehow stayed out after a manic goalmouth scramble when it seemed inevitable the green flag would need to be raised.
Ballinlough immediately began to make good use of the elements upon the resumption and kicked the opening four points of the half, three coming from frees courtesy of Peadar Byrne, Colm Mallen and Kevin Devine while Byrne had also added a point from play. This run of scores left the home side with a three point advantage but this was soon cancelled out when Peter Waters finished to the back of the ‘Lough net after getting on the end of a well worked team move. By this point of the game Seneschalstown had introduced Joe Sheridan and James Meade into the fray and with Sheridan managing to win a greater number of kickouts and Meade proving to be an adept link man they gradually began to improve their sides fortunes.
In spite of this Ballinlough were to get the next two scores when Devine added to his account before David Hosie’s side raised a gallop to come with a late electrifying charge to claim the two points. Staring down the barrel of defeat they suddenly sparked to life and courtesy of points in the fifty eight, sixtieth and sixty second minutes they surged ahead to seal the victory. Bryan Clarke got the run off to a start with a well taken free into the teeth of the wind from out on the left before adding one from play at the end of a move started off by a fine piece of defensive work from Mark Fox. Brian Sheridan then added the coup de grace to the comeback when fending off a series of tackles before fisting over the bar to seal the win, only minutes after it appeared his sides goose was cooked.
Seneschalstown Scorers: Brian Sheridan 0-04 (0-02 Frees), Peter Waters 1-00, Bryan Clarke 0-03 (0-01 Free).
Seneschalstown: Wesley McDonagh, Mark Fox, Cormac Noonan, David Matthews, Gary Conlon, Paul Carey, James Byrne, Robert Ruddy, Damien Sheridan, Niall Groome, Peter Waters, Mark Carey, Brian Sheridan, Bryan Clarke, Sean Noonan.
Seneschalstown Substitutions: Tean Cummins for D. Sheridan, Adam Carey for R. Ruddy, Joe Sheridan for T. Cummins, James Meade for S. Noonan.
Ballinlough: K. McGuinness, R. Farrell, M. Geraghty, B. Smith, E. Smith, L. Maguire, J. Reilly, Colm Mallen, M. McCullen, P. Byrne, K. Devine, Cian Mallen, S. Geraghty, T. McCullen, K. Beirne. Subs: J. Tunney for K. Devine, P. Monaghan for K. Beirne.
