Another accomplished second half showing saw the Seneschalstown Junior side win for the third game running in Skryne on Tuesday evening.
Tommy Dowd Oil Football League Division 5 Round 8
Seneschalstown 2-11 Skryne 0-08
Seneschalstown’s revival in the Tommy Dowd Oil Football League Division 5 continued apace in Fr. McManus Park, Skryne, on Tuesday night with a nine point victory over their hosts. Despite the sunny conditions and immaculate state of the pitch as per usual, it was certainly chilly in Skryne with a strong wind blowing towards the scoreboard end.
The hosts were backed by the elements in the opening half and were first to register a score which was a point from play just over 60 seconds after Stephen Cregan got proceedings underway. Seneschalstown had plenty of early possession but couldn’t muster up anything on the scoreboard before Skryne doubled their lead in the ninth minute. Seneschalstown eventually got themselves up and running after 11 minutes with a point when centre forward James Conlon found the target from the middle of the D’. Skryne edged themselves two in front again almost immediately but that would be as far ahead as the Tara men would get as Seneschalstown slowly began to assert control.
Conlon notched up his and Seneschalstown’s second white flag of the hour when he kicked a free as the 15minute mark passed. 40 seconds later, the visitors hit the front for the first time.
Seneschalstown created a bit of space down the inside left channel for wing forward Joe Norris to run into about 20 metres from goal. Norris, not long off a flight home from Australia, headed straight for goal and his shot, while it may not have been the cleanest connection,nestled beautifully in the top right hand corner. The sides went on to trade points over the next four minutes, Robbie Finnegan was responsible for the Seneschalstown effort from close range after the Yellow Furze men were able to take the ball close to goal into the wind.
By half-time however, the hosts were level thanks to two further points over the last third of the half where Seneschalstown didn’t score. The scoreboard, though, made for positive reading from a Seneschalstown point of view as they were not behind having played into the strong wind.
Into the breeze in the second, Skryne kicked the first point inside 90 seconds but somewhat remarkably they wouldn’t score again until injury time which was the last score of the game. In between, Seneschalstown dominated in every sector and added an unanswered 1-08 in that period.
A Robbie Finnegan mark tied things up again after 33 minutes and from there it was all one way traffic. Johnny Gilsenan put Seneschalstown ahead again with a point from the 45’, a feat which he repeated almost identically less than a minute later to put Seneschalstown two to the good.
In the 38th minute, Seneschalstown created a good goal opportunity with a number of bodies bearing down on goal. When the ball was in possession of midfielder Mark Fox, he was tugged and Seneschalstown were awarded a penalty. The responsibility was handed to Robbie Finnegan but his shot cannoned off the underside of the bar, however the ball rebounded right into his path and he was there to palm home Seneschalstown’s second goal of the evening. Finnegan and Gilsenan were giving the Skryne defence a torrid time, particularly in the full-back line and when Gilsenan was fouled again, James Conlon converted the free.
Despite being on top, there were a couple of occasions where the Seneschalstown defence had to be alert to deny Skryne a couple of scores to get themselves back into the game. David Gordon had to be alert on two such occasions to prevent the hosts from finding the net with smart saves. Ronan Conneely also continued his fine form at full-back while just as night follows day, Seán Martin was prepared to put his head where others wouldn’t put their feet.
At the other end, Gilsenan’s tour de force in the second half continued as he brought his tally to five points for the second half. He was unlucky not to find the net with one of those efforts when he blazed over the crossbar, another was when he picked up the rebound of a Mark Fox shot which ricocheted off the crossbar to tap over.
Conlon added one last free, this time after Robbie Finnegan was pulled and Seneschalstown had the two points in the bag to complete another strong second half performance to go with the wins over Summerhill and Trim.
After five rounds of the competition, the Yellow Furze men were firmly rooted in the bottom four of the League table with one win from their first five outings having taken some massive double digit beatings along the way. Three games and three wins later, the side currently sit mid-table and closer to the semi-final spots rather than the bottom four. For a team where playing numbers have greatly fluctuated over the course of the season, Seneschalstown will be more than happy with their work over the last month. However, a stern test against a good Moynalty side is up next on Sunday June 16th.
Seneschalstown: David Gordon, Seán Martin, Ronan Conneely, Peter Tierney, Neil Darby, Ryan Finnegan, Seán Davis, Will Finnegan, Mark Fox, Joe Norris (1-00), James Conlon (0-04, 3fs), Robbie Finnegan (1-02, 1m), Éamon Finnegan, Johnny Gilsenan (0-05), Shane Mulvany.
Sub Used: Josh Keating
