| Good league win for Joes over Dundalk Gaels |
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| Wednesday, 11 May 2011 11:07 |
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It was the Joes who got off to the perfect start, when John Murtagh played a long ball into Conal O Hanlon, who played an interchange with Derek Mulligan before pointing. When O Hanlon was fouled soon after, the resultant Alan Mc Kenna free doubled the early lead. The Gaels were off the mark straight after, as they worked the ball downfield from the kick out for an Adrian Rafferty point, before Conal O Hanlon got his second point of the match. At this stage the Gaels took control in the middle for a period and were rewarded with a Sean Mc Cann point from a free, after he had been fouled himself. Within a minute of this he had the sides level with another free. However, the parity would be short lived and this would prove to be the only time in the game that the sides were level. A Peter Brennan ball in to Tomas Smyth gave him the chance to set up Peter Mulligan for a good point, to put the home side back in the lead straight away. Mulligan would also score the next, a fine individual effort, during a period when the Joes had reasserted themselves in the middle. The last score of the half would come near the end when a move started in the full back line was moved forward by good passes from Conor Murtagh and Alan Mc Kenna before being finished by O Hanlon. This low scoring half of football saw the country team miss several scoring opportunities, however, they were still more economical in front of goal that their town counterparts and this proved the difference at the small whistle.
Half Time Score: St Josephs 0-6, Dundalk Gaels 0-3. The weather had started to close in by the start of the second period, so much so that the teams took to the field with the floodlights sparking into life. However, the half would take a while to spark into life and when it eventually did it was the Gaels who would start brightest, with an Adrian Rafferty point in the 7th minute. Derek Crilly pointed within a minute of this to reduce their deficit to the minimum and they had another chance to level straight after which they spurned. Alan Mc Kenna and Sean Mc Cann traded frees to keep it at the minimum with 14 minutes played in the half. The decisive period of the game came between this and the 21st minute, when the Joes outscored their opponents by 1-3 to a point. The Gaels point being another Mc Cann point, this one coming from 50 yards out, from play. The Joes first point in the period was a Derek Mulligan point off the left boot. This was followed by the winning goal, when Tomas Smyth played through John Murtagh, who sent a rocket of a shot to the top corner of the net. Smyth also set up the next score, another point for Derek Mulligan, before Peter Mulligan scored another excellent point from deep in the right corner. This would prove to be the last Joes score and the town team pushed hard to the finish, to try and claw back the six points deficit, particularly in the last five minutes. They would get another two pointed frees from the boot of Sean Mc Cann, but Eanna Mc Ardles injury time point would prove to be nothing more than a consolation score. The Joes had strong performers in their midfield pairing who battled hard against one of the best midfield pairings in this league. While the full forward line all contributed to the scoreline as usual, their counterparts in the full back line kept the Gaels full forward line scoreless for 60 minutes. The club will need to avoid any complacency though, as the Gaels will have a chance to get their revenge in the junior game at the same time and venue on Friday night, as the Gaels strive to get their first points in the 4A league and the Joes juniors look to restore some pride, after a comprehensive defeat to the Marys in the last round. ST JOSEPHS: Robert Samson; Philip Kinahan, Kevin Woods, Anthony Keenan; Sean McQuillan, Conor Murtagh, Andrew Cluskey; Peter Mulligan 0-3, John Murtagh 1-0; Tomas Smyth, Peter Brennan, Daire McKiernan; Alan McKenna 0-2, Conall O Hanlon 0-3, Derek Mulligan 0-2. DUNDALK GAELS: Stephen Faulkner; David Moley, Eamonn Kenny, Darragh O Callaghan; David McComish, Stephen Coleman, Ian Mc Sorley; Sean McCann 0-6, Derek Crilly 0-1; Adrian Rafferty 0-2, Nicholas O Callaghan, Sean Fee; Eanna McArdle 0-1, Errol Boyle, Niall Ferguson. Subs: Andrew Coleman for I McSorley, Ray Rooney for E Kenny, Anthony McSorley for N Ferguson, Paul Burke for N O Callaghan. Referee: Malachy Craven [Report: Michael Kinahan] |
| Last Updated on Thursday, 12 May 2011 12:42 |