Meath A League Division 1 Round 12
Seneschalstown 3-17 Na Fianna 0-18
Meath A League Division 1 Round 12
Seneschalstown 3-17 Na Fianna 0-18
On Tuesday evening in Fr. Tully Clarke those who paid in to watch the game got full value for their admission fee as Seneschalstown and Na Fianna served up a brilliant game of football. Both sides concentrated on playing attacking football throughout and with quality players on either team they helped ensure some wonderful attacking moves throughout the hour. With players of the calibre of Damien Sheridan and Ollie Lewis putting in an exhibition of midfield play as well as attackers such as Brian and Joe Sheridan for Seneschalstown and Conor Downey and Jamie Queeney posing problems for the Seneschalstown defence both side continually asked questions of each other.
Joe Sheridan opened the scoring for the home side when pointing with just two minutes on the clock before Jamie Queeney equalised for the visitors. Conor Downey edged them in front moments later but Brian Sheridan was to cancel this score out after he pointed a free following a foul on himself following a surging run in from the left hand flank. Joe Sheridan was next to register a score when he swung the ball over after forcing a turnover in the Na Fianna full back line, anything Conor McManus could do in the Ulster Final Joe could do equally as well. Na Fianna hit back with their third point before Ollie Lewis tagged on their fourth. The tit for tat nature of the opening half continued when Joe Sheridan pointed once more and then Jonathan Gilsenan fisted over from the right of the posts. The Queeney brothers, Dan and Jamie hit the next four points between them with Dan hitting three and Jamie adding one. A further Na Fianna point saw them extend their lead to 0-09 to 0-05.
Brian Sheridan brought a seven minute spell without a score to a close on nineteen minutes when firing over off his left when playing with an advantage awarded by referee Cormac Reilly. Wing back Niall Groome then opened his account for the evening when pointing from out on the left before the first green flag of the game was raised. After Conor Cowley, now operating at centre back, had done well to win a kickout Damien Sheridan sent the ball in the direction of Joe who then set Brian Sheridan up for a goal chance which he threaded through the eye of a needle to give his team a massive boost. Buoyed up by this score Brian then pointed a free a minute later before Seneschalstown’s second goal of this purple spell arrived. Minor Adam Carey sent a brilliant ball in to Joe Sheridan on the edge of the square and after fielding over a defender the big full forward appeared to have been fouled but displaying remarkable ingenuity he managed to execute an overhead kick while lying prone on his back to send the ball into the roof of the net.
With half time soon approaching Na Fianna were looking for a couple of scores to settle themselves once more and reduce the deficit prior to the interval and they were to be in luck when in stoppage time firstly Dan Queeney pointed a free before Jamie Queeney did very well to extricate himself from some tight marking to engineer a scoring opportunity and from thirty metres out made no mistake as he sent the ball over the bar to reduce the margin to three points, Seneschalstown 2-08 Na Fianna 0-11.
Upon the resumption Adam Carey was first to score when he swung a beauty of a score over off his left but Dan Queeney soon hit back when pointing a free. The experienced Joe Cowley was now introduced to the fray as David Hosie looked to rejig his defensive set up and he wasn’t long on the field of play when after Joe Sheridan once more displayed outstanding workrate to battle back and win a ball he appeared to have no right to do he managed to place his younger brother Brian for another point. The tight nature of the game was to continue when Na Fianna hit the next four points of the game to equalise and suddenly all the momentum looked to be in their favour.
However, flying wing back Niall Groome w had other ideas and he was to venture forward and from an almost identical position got his angles perfect as he split the posts from thirty five metres out from goal on the left. Damien Sheridan who was putting in a stupendous performance plucking balls from the sky and working very hard was next fouled after winning another ball bravely and from a huge distance out Brian Sheridan arrowed the resultant free over. Then seconds later came the pivotal score of the second half when following good play from Robert Ruddy, into the fray for Tean Cummins and Joe Sheridan, Jonathan Gilsenan found himself bearing down on goal and made no mistake as he buried the ball past the goalkeeper to register Seneschalstown’s third goal of the game.
Seneschalstown were by now well into the ascendancy and after Joe Sheridan’s fourth point from play of the day, the hosts were awarded a free and from all of fifty five metres out Brian Sheridan sent the ball sailing between the posts into the railway end of the pitch. Na Fianna clipped over the next score of the game before a brace of points from Brian and Damien Sheridan brought the Seneschalstown scoring to a close. There was still enough time left for Na Fianna to add their eighteenth point of the evening but it wasn’t to be enough for the visitors as Seneschalstown won out by 3-17 to 0-18.
Seneschalstown: Shane Corbally, Conor Cowley, Cormac Noonan, John Smith, Mark Fox, David Matthews, Niall Groome (0-03), Tean Cummins, Damien Sheridan (0-01), Jonathan Gilsenan (1-01), Brian Sheridan (1-07. 0-04 Frees), Adam Carey (0-01), Brendan Lynch, Joe Sheridan (1-04), Mark Carey.
Seneschalstown Substitutions: Joe Cowley for D. Matthews, Robert Ruddy for T. Cummins, Stephen Finnegan for B. Lynch, Aled Ingman for N. Groome and Ross Howard for J Gilsenan.
