LMFM Meath Minor Championship Division 3 Round 1
Duleek/Bellewstown 1-16 Seneschalstown 3-12
At the end of this game Duleek/Bellewstown were left scratching their heads wondering how on earth they had failed to win. Ahead by nine points at half time having played some very enterprising football, they twice led by ten early in the second half before falling away completely as Seneschalstown sparked off the most unlikely of comebacks to eventually win out by two points.
LMFM Meath Minor Championship Division 3 Round 1
Duleek/Bellewstown 1-16 Seneschalstown 3-12
At the end of this game Duleek/Bellewstown were left scratching their heads wondering how on earth they had failed to win. Ahead by nine points at half time having played some very enterprising football, they twice led by ten early in the second half before falling away completely as Seneschalstown sparked off the most unlikely of comebacks to eventually win out by two points.
Trailing by nine at half time following one of the worst thirty minutes likely to be seen this year few would have given the side in blue a prayer of winning but to the immense credit of the side following the break they came out a different side with Niall Hickey shoring up the centre of defence and Colin Walsh continuously driving his side forward as he always looked to create an overlap on the attack. Allied to this the forwards started to ask more questions of the Duleek/Bellewstown defence and drawing fouls were able to engineer free taking opportunities which helped whittle down the lead enjoyed by the home side.
Deploying a sweeper as they sought to block out the threat posed by the Seneschalstown forwards Duleek/Bellewstown clogged up their defence and effectively choked the visitors attack in the opening half. Seneschalstown struggled to get their passes to hand and grew more and more frustrated as they failed to break down the defence. On the other hand the Duleek/Bellewstown forwards turned on an attacking masterclass as they strung together a series of excellent moves which cut apart the defensive structure of the Seneschalstown side.
Seneschalstown it was who registered the opening score of the match when Ryan O’Dowd tapped over a free before Duleek/Bellewstown hit three points from play on the bounce. Eoin Finnegan knocked over his sides second free of the game when Dylan Keating was fouled as he moved on to a ball in from Danny O’Reilly. From that point, the tenth minute, Duleek/Bellewstown took charge as they hit eight points with each and every one of them coming from play as they sliced through the Seneschalstown defensive effort.
When the sides came back out onto the field for the second half it looked like it would be a case of more of the same when Duleek/Bellewstown pointed from play with just two minutes on the clock. Eoin Finnegan looked to steady his side when he pointed a free after a foul on Cathal Finnegan. At this point the Seneschalstown management decided it was time to throw on an extra attacker to put pressure on the sweeper and thus Meath U-15 player Alan Mulvany was introduced to the action.
The Duleek/Bellewstown lead was soon back out to ten points before Daire Corcoran did very well to clip over his sides first point from play with all of thirty five minutes elapsed. Corcoran’s score coming after a fine team move. Eoin Finnegan then added another when he got on the end of a quick Adam Carey free, Carey now operating in the middle of the field in a positional switch with Niall Hickey. It looked as though some life was now beginning to course through the veins of the Seneschalstown youngsters when Finnegan lofted over two more points, the first from a free and the second from play following good work from Dylan Doyle who sent a line ball thirty metres back towards his own goal to Adam Carey and then Colin Walsh who then found Finnegan.
Duleek/Bellewstown seemed to have put a halt to the Seneschalstown gallop almost before it had fully taken flight when they hit a brace of points in the forty first and forty third minutes to leave eight between them, 0-15 to 0-07. Then with the final quarter approaching Seneschalstown got a major fillip when they grabbed the game’s opening goal. Sensing the urgency of the situation Dylan Doyle pushed upfield from his full back berth and when he got on the ball sprayed a brilliant pass crossfield where he picked out Niall Hickey. Hickey still had a huge amount of work to do but when he gained possession he burst past the immediate challenge before sending a brilliant shot across goal and into the top left corner.
Suddenly it was game on and from a position of being almost dead and buried at half time Seneschalstown were suddenly off the life support machine. Robert Wogan was next to score when he struck over before this score was cancelled out by Duleek/Bellewstown’s sixteenth point from play. This left five points between the teams once more and the sense grew that the next score in the match would be critical. If the home side were to get it they would have put a stop to Seneschalstown’s momentum but if the visitors were to get it they’d be in with a great shout of taking something from the game.
And as it happened following a goalmouth scramble Cathal Finnegan reacted quickest to knock the loose ball into the back of the net from all of two yards to all of a sudden leave just two points between the teams. Robert Wogan then chipped over when he could potentially have gone for power and had a goal attempt before Dylan Doyle lofted over a wind assisted forty five. Draw match! Seneschalstown were now well and truly on top all over the field and when with four minutes remaining Eoin Finnegan drew a foul he composed himself before curling the resultant free between the uprights.
His younger cousin Daire who had come on for the final third had done well at corner back and when he won the ball in the fifty ninth minute the ball was worked upfield before his U-15 teammates Dylan Keating and Alan Mulvany combined to set up Eoin Finnegan who made no mistake from the edge of the square as he turned on a sixpence before grabbing Seneschalstown’s third major of the match.
Time was now running out but Duleek/Bellewstown throw themselves a lifeline when they sent a shot from distance past the unsighted David Gordon and into the net. Now there was just the solitary point between them and less than a minute remaining on the clock. The winning of Gordon’s kickout was going to be crucial. In response to this goal Sean Carey was introduced to the fray as Seneschalstown looked to ensure they held out. This they managed to do and more besides as from the kickout the ball was worked upfield and when the Duleek/Bellewstown side coughed up a free, Eoin Finnegan stepped up to the plate and calmly slotted the ball over to restore the Seneschalstown youngsters two point advantage. Within seconds the final whistle was blown and after nearly seeing their Championship ambitions flat lining at half time Seneschalstown now were able to walk off the field with a pep in their step and can look forward to the next round.
Seneschalstown: David Gordon, Ruairí Keogh, Dylan Doyle (0-01, 0-01 ’45), Richard McKeown, Colin Walsh, Adam Carey, Conor Cantwell, Niall Hickey (1-00), Daniel O’Reilly, Daire Corcoran (0-01), Ryan O’Dowd (0-01, 0-01 Free), Robert Wogan (0-02), Dylan Keating, Eoin Finnegan(1-07, 0-05 Frees), Cathal Finnegan (1-00).
Seneschalstown Substitutions: Alan Mulvany for R. McKeown, Daire Finnegan for D. O’Reilly, Shane Mulvany for D. Corcoran, Sean Carey for R. O’Dowd.
