Avoca secure final berth with victory over Bray
Mark O’Neill’s men march on after super performance
AVOCA BRAY EMMETS 2-9 0-1
FOLLOWING their impressive championship campaigns to date, Avoca and Bray Emmets made their way to Wicklow town on Thursday evening for the semi-final of the Philip Doyle Junior ‘B’ Football Championship and after a one-sided game it was the Avoca men that emerged victorious with a 14-point winning margin to set up a date with Hollywood or Enniskerry in the county final.
The winners entered the game as firm favourites to dispose of the challenge that would be provided by the north Wicklow side and there is no doubt that the men from the Meeting of the Waters continued to show some of their flare as they advanced to the final of this competitive championship.
Avoca hit the ground running when full-forward Martin Kenny opened the scoring with a point. A brief rally by the Bray men saw them surge up the field and earn a free but this golden chance was spurned.
Avoca’s John Harpur pulled off a fine save from Bray’s Andrew Conway before midfielder Sean Liddy raised his side’s first white flag to leave things level at a point apiece with seven minutes gone.
Bray Emmets continued to set the pace which saw them force three attacks in a row but they failed to convert their dominance into scores with Avoca’s John Harpur producing his second save which seemed to inspire his team mates as they recorded two points in a space of two minutes through Andrew Doyle and Johnny Arthur to give the winners a 0-3 to 0-1 lead at the end of the first quarter.
Avoca upped their game in the second quarter as they used the wide, open spaces of the park to play some delightful football which saw Martin Kenny score his second point from a free while Andrew Doyle added another point from play.
A brief rally by the Bray side saw them launch a couple of attacks, but they were unable to break down a tight-marking Avoca defence which saw the north Wicklow side miss three scoring chances both from frees and play which saw Mark O’Neill’s men leading on a score of 0-5 to 0-1 at the half-time break.
The opening score of the second half fell to Dean Power who split the bray defence to bag the first of his two points.
After both sides had two bad wides each, it was the winners that pushed on, and a move involving four players which saw Dean Power add his second point which left Avoca leading by 0-7 to 0-1.
Avoca were in rampant form at this stage and following a Martin Kenny converted free after a foul on Chris Arthur the game’s opening goal arrived from the boot of Brian Canavan to leave it 1-8 to 0-1 with Bray facing a mountain to climb.
Avoca dominated in every sector of the field, but their shooting let them down which saw them record four wades in a row before Brian Canavan gave a perfect pass to Johnny Arthur who slotted over his second point to increase the lead.
At this stage Bray Emmets centre forward Andrew Conway was issued with a straight red card following an incident with his opponent
A late goal by Jason Porter completed the scoring to leave Avoca worthy winners. The Avoca team management and their loyal supporters will be happy with the progress the team has made during the championship campaign having suffered only one defeat, to their neighbours Avondale, in the early stages.
The St Patrick’s GAA Club deserve credit for the way they presented the grounds for the occasion in what was a prime location for both clubs.
Scorers – Avoca: Jason Porter 1-0, Brian Canavan 1-0, Martin Kenny 0-3, Dean Power 0-2, Johnny Arthur 0-2, Andrew Doyle 0-2. Bray Emmets: Sean Liddy 0-1.
John Harper; Anthony Doran, Robert Wilson, Colin O’Connor; Aaron Tuke, Mikey Fahey, Stephen McCauley; Dean Power, Johnny Arthur; Chris Arthur, PJ Fluskey, Andrew Doyle Jnr; Brian Canavan, Martin Kenny, Jason Porter. Subs: Eoin Murtagh for Stephen MaCauley, Sean Reddy for Johnny Arthur, Michael O’Neill for Anthony Doran, Darren Keogh for Andrew Doyle.
Tony Denver; Cormac Martin, Aaron Walsh, Mark Lyon; Sid Hunt, Tadhg Doran, Declan Snow; Sean Liddy, Stephen Carton; Pat Gallagher, Andrew Conway, Ross Masterson; Liam Morgan, MacDara O Midheach, Oisín Ó Hannaidh. Subs: Mark Robinson for Pat Gallagher, Ciaran O’Connor for Stephen Carton, Stephen Carton for Sean Liddy, Tom Molloy for Ross Masterson.
John O’Brien (Newcastle)