LMFM Meath Minor Championship Division 2 Round 2
Seneschalstown 3-13 St. Vincents/Curraha 2-09
LMFM Meath Minor Championship Division 2 Round 2
Seneschalstown 3-13 St. Vincents/Curraha 2-09
Seneschalstown travelled to Ardcath on Friday night in search of their second victory in the 2014 Minor Championship. Following a tough encounter under the host clubs floodlights they came away with a seven point victory but in truth could regard themselves as slightly fortunate with the margin of victory as they had reason to be grateful to Ruairí McDonagh at different stages of the match as he pulled off a string of top class saves. In a performance laced with grit and hard work a notable feature of the victor’s performance was their willingness to put their bodies on the line time after time while always playing the game in an intelligent manner.
Their win was secured largely thanks to a brilliant fourteen minute spell at the outset of the second half when they rocked the opposition with a stunning two goals and four points, 2-02 of which came from play. During this spell the team played some scintillating direct attacking football while as with any good performance the foundations laid at the back were very solid. This solidity in their rear-guard was exemplified by McDonagh who pulled off a fine stop and a block from centre back Niall Hickey which prevented a goal scoring opportunity.
The away side were the first to draw blood when Daire Geraghty slotted over a free following a foul on Mark Fox after he went on a driving run through the heart of the St. Vincents/Curraha defence. The home side equalised a minute later when they pointed a free from the left of the goalposts. McDonagh made the first of his stops when pushing a goal bound effort out to safety before in the eight minute Eoin Finnegan pointed from play. The significance of McDonagh’s save being borne out by the fact that Finnegan’s point came in the same passage of play. The nip and tuck nature of the opening exchanges continued when following a free kick which dropped short the team in maroon pointed.
A five minute spell without a score followed this equaliser before Seneschalstown edged one point ahead once more. Hickey laid claim to the ball in his centre half back berth before charging upfield on a solo run. After exchanging a one-two with Eoin Finnegan he spotted Geraghty lurking in space. After locating the sharp shooter Geraghty turned inside before clipping the ball over the bar. The home side equalised inside a minute before Finnegan slotted over a free.
Sean Noonan had up to this point been offering himself as a superb target man up front but was struggling to sort out his radar but all was to change for the talented full forward. After Ruairí Keogh had passed to Geraghty the centre forward delivered in the direction of Noonan. The ball skidded away from Noonan on the greasy surface but once he gathered he stood up the full back before driving past him and placing the ball inside the left hand post to register the opening goal of the match.
St. Vincents/Curraha responded admirably to this setback with two points in a row before Shane Mulvany hoisted over a point following his interception of a stray pass. Daire Geraghty then had a glorious opportunity for his side’s second goal but his effort was well saved before Finnegan was wide from the resultant shortly taken forty five. Ronan Conneely then closed out the scoring for the first half when pointing following some very good work from Adam Carey who was one of the more influential figures of the game to that point as he mopped up a lot of ball and sprayed it around from his half back berth.
With a four point advantage at half time Seneschalstown were eager to make a quick start to the second period and they couldn’t have wished for better as they grabbed two well taken goals in the first three minutes. Noonan and Geraghty may have been the two who got on the scoresheet but the intelligent link-up play of corner forward Eoin Finnegan was integral to both. For the first one Hickey did superbly in defence before playing an intelligent ball out. From there the ball was delivered long in towards Noonan who flicked it on towards Finnegan who quickly transferred it back to the onrushing Noonan to coolly slip it in to the back of the goal. Instantly Seneschalstown found themselves back on the attack and from a Finnegan flick on Geraghty latched onto the ball and sent a piledriver into the roof of the net.
Hickey then put his body on the line to block a goal attempt before Geraghty pointed a free from thirty five metres. The home side were battling hard to get back into the match but McDonagh was proving equal to the task as he once more pulled off a good stop, this time with his knee. Geraghty, proving adept off the ground as well as out of his hands from placed balls sent a forty five sailing between the uprights before Carey pointed from the right of the goal following some excellent work to get into position for the shot.
By this stage the rain which had been light at the games beginning was teeming down but as they played down the slope Seneschalstown continued with their fine start to the second half when Darren Johnson, picked off a point following g good work from Conneely and Fox.
St. Vincents/Curraha got off the mark for the half in the forty eight minute with a goal from a quickly taken free, a score which kicked off a sudden scoring burst for them. They then pointed twice in a row, one from a free before grabbing their second goal in five minutes when the ball was fisted past McDonagh. Another point narrowed the margin between the sides even further. With the scoreboard now reading 3-10 to 2-08 Seneschalstown were in need of a score to settle themselves and in the fifty fifth minute Geraghty produced it. Now operating on the edge of the square following a positional switch with Noonan he took possession following a pass from his aforementioned teammate after good defensive work before splitting the posts.
Geraghty then picked off a forty five metre free before McDonagh displayed his shot stopping prowess with another fine stop. The home side pointed a free in the second minute of stoppage time but Seneschalstown then put the icing on a fine display when Geraghty pointed once more following some good play down the left wing from Carey.
In a game in which the enduring memory will be of the Seneschalstown workrate Fox and Darragh Keogh set a solid foundation at midfield while the defence worked well as a unit, led by Carey and Hickey in the half back line. McDonagh excelled while up front the scoring exploits of Noonan and Geraghty were central to the victory.
Seneschalstown Scorers: Daire Geraghty 1-07 (0-03 Frees, 0-01 ’45), Sean Noonan 2-00, Eoin Finnegan 0-02, Shane Mulvany 0-01, Ronan Conneely 0-01, Adam Carey 0-01, Darren Johnson 0-01.
Seneschalstown: Ruairí McDonagh, Ruairí Keogh, Daniel O’Reilly, Cormac Mullen, Adam Carey, Niall Hickey, Peter Tierney, Darragh Keogh, Mark Fox, Ronan Conneely, Daire Geraghty, Shane Mulvany, Eoin Finnegan, Sean Noonan, Darren Johnson.
Seneschalstown Substitutions: Eddie Meade for S. Mulvany, Dylan Doyle for E. Finnegan, David Gordon for E. Meade
