Avondale attack cause trouble for Annacurra

RENAULT SENIOR FOOTBALL CHAMPIONSHIP

AVONDALE ANNACURRA 2-13 3-08

AVONDALE made the quarter final of the Senior football championship after this win over Annacurra on Friday night but they nearly paid dearly for not being out of sight long before two injury time points from Ryan Cahill and Paudie Geoghan finally shook off an off colour Annacurra team.

From early on it was evident that the pace of the Avondale forwards was going to be a major threat and they carved open the Annacurra back line almost at will in the opening quarter.

They attacked endlessly in that period but their wastefulness in front of goal meant all they had to show for their superiority was an 0-2 to 0-1 lead courtesy of points from Ryan Cahill who was tormentor in chief all night and Eugene Heffernan from a free. Frank Clune won and pointed a free in Annacurra’s first real attack in the 13th minute.

Annacurra made sweeping changes across their back line all game to curb the dangers posed by the Avondale forwards with Mick Healy assigned the task of policing Conor Byrne and Martin O’Brien had to be brought back to tend with Cahill in the second half. O’Brien carried an injury in to the game but performed admirably on an evening when many wearing yellow were misfiring.

While the dominance of Barry Sheehan around the middle did wane a little in the latter stages of the first half Annacurra were feeding off scraps.

Sheehan made five marks over the hour and got his hand to countless other kick-outs. Many of the Annacurra faithful wondered why John Hynes wasn’t utilised to combat with Sheehan and Stephen Murphy released. Murphy had a fine game and the former Tipperary man landed a couple of scores and had a hand in a few more with fine deliveries inside.

In the 17th minute a clearance from Liam Moules somehow found its way to Gearoid Murphy and he raced right through the centre of the Avondale defence to finish low to the corner. From the kick-out Gearoid Murphy’s pass, intentional or not, found Stephen Murphy and he kicked a fine score off his right foot. When Clive Horan won and pointed a free in the 19th minute Avondale’s profligacy in front of goal looked like it was going to cost the dear as Annacurra had finally arrived and now led 1-3 to 0-2.

A Ian Heffernan free closed the gap and they received a major boost minutes later as corner back Shane Beevor took a return pass from Cian O’Hannain to fire to the net. Elliot Robinson was brought on for Vinny Flaherty to further try curb Marc Baker, Liam Kinsella, Dean Gahan and Conor Byrnes runs as Healy went to centre forward with the intention to try stop David Baker getting forward.

Frank Clune put Annacurra ahead again with a sweet strike from forty metres before Avondale struck for another goal in the 24th minute which was to spark a flurry of action before the break. Both the Baker’s David and Marc are classy ball handlers and both along with Saoirse Kearon had a part to play with quick hands before Ryan Cahill gave Bob Fitz no chance with a composed finish.

Annacurra went straight down the field and Barry Sheehan was millimetres away from a fine intervention but the stretch he made seen him foul the lively Shane O’Keeffe and Damien Byrne had no choice but to point to the spot. There may not be a better penalty dispatched in Joule Park this year as Frank Clune placed his neatly in the top corner giving Brian Burke no hope. Sheehan attempting to make up for his error made two Mark’s in quick succession and Eugene Dunne levelled matters after yet another goal chance went a begging when Conor Byrne once more cut through to only find the side netting. Stephen Murphy put Annacurra in front just on the stroke of half time but there was still time for another Avondale goal chance. Conor Byrne’s fisted effort across the face of goal was dropping short and the following in O’Hannain finished to the net but the umpires adjudged it to have crossed the line before his touch and Annacurra took a slender 2-5 to 2-4 lead with the to the changing rooms.

The second half seen a much tighter Annacurra defence with the changes made at the break working Two fouls on Ryan Cahill afforded Eugen Heffernan two tap over frees with the second foul on Cahill earning Martin O’Brien a yellow card. Elliot Robinson’s mark sent Alan Byrne away but his shot drifted wide as Conor Byrne found his way to the referee’s notebook as the pace noticeably dropped. Avondale soon had their third point of the half as Barry Sheehan got forward to drop over a long-range effort in the 39th minute. Paul McDonald felt the full force of a Marc Baker challenge which got him in the book but Frank Clune was wide off the ground from the free.

Saoirse Kearon was now marshalling Clune and doing a fine job of it, as a result Annacurra were finding it hard to get him in to the game. Liam Moules who was arguably Annacurra’s best player on the night cut out a dangerous Eugene Dunne high ball across the goal with Cahill lurking menacingly behind. Annacurra suffered another blow in the 43rd minute as Alan Horan departed on a Black card after a foul on Conor Byrne near the side line. Eugene Dunne pointed after the free from Heffernan from a tight angle was initially cleared, Dunne was quickest to react to send it over off his right foot. Conor Byrne fielded the resultant kick-out, took his Mark and soloed through a static Annacurra defence to give Avondale a four-point lead, 2-9 to 2-5 with a quarter of the game to play. This time they may have thought it was job done.

Almost identical to what hap- pened in the first half just as Avondale were looking like they had the measure of them Annacurra struck back. A shot from Gearoid Murphy looked to be drifting away from goal until Shane O’Keeffe sailed highest to catch and finish to the net and it was game on again. Heffernan missed his first free of the night and Ryan Cahill had another wide with his calls for a ‘45 falling on deaf ears. Two hops from Paudie Geoghan wasn’t punished by Clune as he was wide again off the ground with the free. With six minutes to play Stephen Murphy who had grown in to the game after earlier struggling with Sheehan kicked the equalising score off his right boot. A foul on Gearoid Murphy afforded Clune a tap over after dissent seen the ball advanced to right in front of the Avondale goal. A minute later some off the ball holding was then spotted at the other and Heffernan tapped over the equaliser after a fine Mark by Paudie Geoghan. Alan Byrne looked to have snatched it with a trademark point in the final minute as the crowd who were treated to a ding-dong battle cheered loud on the bank as the sun sought refuge in the darkening sky.

It could have been worse for Avondale as a quick kick-out malfunctioned and Annacurra were almost in again only for Conor Byrne to get back and win possession from Ian McDonald. Heffernan fired over a super equaliser and as they had done all night in possession the two Baker’s, Dean Gahan and Eugene Dunne worked the ball forward patiently forward and Ryan Cahill found the space to swing over the lead point in the 62nd minute. Eugene Dunne went on a black card as Annacurra came calling once more before the score of the night came right on cue from Paudie Geogahn who kicked over a side line kick from all of fifty metres to seal a great win for Emmett Sullivan’s men.

They now advance to face AGB in the quarter finals and they will fancy their chances and rightly so.

The McGraynors will be available the next day and so may Eoin Baker although Eamonn Kearns may not be ready. They have all the ingredients to give the Arklow men plenty of problems.

For Annacurra, Rathnew now await and they will relish the chance to put that result behind them and they know they are capable of much better.

Avondale: Brian Burke; Shana Beevor (1-0), Paudie Geoghan, Kevin Fitzpatrick; Saoirse Kearon, David Baker, Liam Kinsella; Barry Sheehan (0-1), Dean Gahan; Eugene Dunne (0-2), Marc Baker, Conor Byrne (0-2); Cian O’Hannain (1-0), Ryan Cahill (0-2), Ian Heffernan (0-6, 5f’s). Subs: Shane O’Neill for O’Hannain, Aonghus O’Briain for Fitzpatrick.

Annacurra: Bob Fitzgerald, Liam Moules, Paul McDonald, James Keenan; Shane McAllister, Vinny Flaherty, Michael Healy; Alan Byrne (0-1), Stephen Murphy (0-3); Martin O’Brien, Alan Horan, Gearoid Murphy (1-1); Clive Horan (01f), Frank Clune (1-2, 1pen,1f), Shane O’Keeffe (1-0). Subs: Elliott Robinson for Flaherty, Patrick Moules for Healy, Ian McDonald for Alan Horan (BC).

Referee: Damien Byrne (Kiltegan)