Meath B League Division 2 Round 2
Seneschalstown 1-17 Ratoath 2-10
Meath B League Division 2 Round 2
Seneschalstown 1-17 Ratoath 2-10
After twenty-four minutes of this B League Division 2 game it looked as though there could only be one winner as Ratoath had sailed into a nine point lead, 1-08 to 0-02 against a somewhat disjointed Seneschalstown side who by then had lost two members of their starting fifteen, Niall McCabe and Ryan O’Dowd, to injury. Ratoath were playing a fine brand of attacking football but were being aided and abetted by a generous home side who had gifted them the ball on numerous occasions and coughed up 1-03 through misplaced passes.
Whatever it was about falling nine points in arrears, it appeared to spark something off in Seneschalstown who on the run in towards half time suddenly came to life as they kicked six points in six minutes to haul themselves back into the match before events threatened to boil over on the balmy evening when in stoppage time, an unsavoury incident ended up with the visiting side being reduced to fourteen men as their centre forward was given his marching orders.
Ratoath got off to a blistering opening and led by a goal and two points to no score with just five minutes on the clock, their second point coming at the end of a great move while the goal came gift wrapped when Seneschalstown handed them the ball deep in their own defence. Veteran centre forward Shane Clarke sought to get his side going when he landed two points in a minute, a free after the ball was illegally ripped from Adam Gleeson’s grasp and then a well taken effort from play.
This proved to be something of a temporary respite for Seneschalstown as Ratoath once more took charge of proceedings, landing three points between the eleventh and thirteenth minutes. Events took a further turn against the home side when Niall McCabe had to leave the fray as he was replaced by Ciaran Macken whose introduction saw Rob Darby move from corner forward to wing back having started out at centerfield. A further trio of points saw Ratoath move nine clear while Seneschalstown were forced into a second change as Ryan O’Dowd went down with an ankle injury, needing to be carried off, while Ivan McCormack came on in his place.
Corner back Colin Walsh had been driving his team on throughout this challenging opening and all of a sudden his teammates followed his lead and the team which had been stuck in first suddenly began to move through the gears. Firstly, Ross Howard sent over after offering himself as recipient for a quickly taken forty-five before Shane Clarke knocked over a free.
Niall Groome then advanced forward from his centre back berth and making the most of an Eddie Meade pass out to the right flank he cut inside and bisected the uprights. Ross Howard then sent over another point and with every score the rising confidence levels in Seneschalstown were easy to see. As the clock ticked into stoppage time Clarke raised another white flag after brilliant defensive work saw the ball turned over forty metres out from the Seneschalstown goal. Momentum was now with the Dunbia sponsored outfit and they pulled the deficit back to three points when the accurate Aled Ingman popped over after being placed by an Ivan McCormack foot pass into the centre from out on the left.
Matters then boiled over temporarily soon after this and Ireland may have unearthed a live contender for the High Jump at the forthcoming Olympic Games in Rio. When things settled down a red card was brandished to a Ratoath player and the half time whistle sounded. At the interval the visiting Ratoath still held a three point lead, 1-08 to 0-08.
One must assume the Seneschalstown half time team talk would have been based upon getting a quick start to reinforce their numerical advantage and on maintaining their discipline. If getting a quick start was indeed the message then it was carried out immediately as after Shane Clarke was fouled forty-six metres out on the right, Aled Ingman sent a miscued free which Eddie Meade picked up fourteen metres out and turning sharply he fired a rocket of a shot past the goalkeeper to level the match up. Colin Walsh was operating as the spare man now and after Ciaran Macken picked him out he surged forward before being brought to ground with Shane Clarke tapping over the resultant free.
On thirty-six minutes Ratoath pulled back level when their full forward knocked over a free but this score was cancelled out when Adam Gleeson showed great strength to hold off a series of tackles when on a bustling run down the right flank before firing over a great point with an earlier defensive intervention from Ross Howard proving crucial. As the game entered its final quarter Seneschalstown suffered a hammer blow when Walsh was adjudged to have tripped a Ratoath forward. He received a black card while Ratoath were given a penalty which they duly converted, pushing them two points to the good once more.
The loss of Walsh appeared to galvanise Seneschalstown as they reeled off six points in a row between the forty eighth and fifty sixth minutes. After being caught around the neck Shane Clarke pointed a free, then Eddie Meade, showing great upper body strength burrowed through to shoot over. Clarke nudged Seneschalstown back in front when punishing a poor kickout, a score soon followed by a sumptuous Hugh Maguire left footed point.
Aled Ingman then sent over following a patient build-up when the ball was worked through the hands after Ivan McCormack had done very well to keep an Adam Gleeson Garryowen in play. The Macken/Clarke axis of experience was working well and when the former picked out the latter Clarke angled his shot over from out on the left.
Ratoath pulled the margin back to three points with a point from play and could have had a goal soon after only for Shane Corbally to expertly advance off his line and block with his legs. A fourteen metre Ratoath free then came to nothing when with twelve men on the line Seneschalstown blocked the ball away and a Ratoath forward miscued the rebound. There was still enough time for super sub Hugh Maguire to pop up with the insurance point to seal the four point victory.
Best for Seneschalstown were Shane Clarke, Colin Walsh and Niall Groome.
Seneschalstown: Shane Corbally, Ruairí Keogh, Ronan Conneely, Colin Walsh, Mark Fox, Niall Groome (0-01), Niall McCabe, Darragh Keogh, Rob Darby, Adam Gleeson (0-01), Shane Clarke (0-08, 0-04 Frees), Ryan O’Dowd, Ross Howard (0-02), Eddie Meade (1-01), Aled Ingman (0-02).
Seneschalstown Substitutions: Ciaran Macken for N. McCabe, Ivan McCormack for R. O’Dowd, Hugh Maguire (0-02) for Ryan O’Dowd and Damien McDonnell for R. Howard.
