Oylegate bag five goals

IT WAS raining goals in Bree on Saturday as Oylegate-Glenbrien comfortably ousted Glynn-Barntown from the Enniscorthy Farms Systems Junior football championship race.

The winners looked capable of raising a green flag almost every time they bombed forward, although they will also have plenty to work on before the semi-final as their own defence gave up a number of goal chances.

Oylegate-Glenbrien bulleted out of the traps like Mick the Miller and were 2-2 to nil to the good inside nine minutes.

They could have been even further ahead, but Mark Kavanagh saw his shot saved by Matt Doyle with less than 30 seconds on the clock and Seamus Casey’s effort at a point came back off the crossbar a minute later.

Glynn-Barntown’s luck ran soon ran out though, with Bryan McCormack and Peter Nolan both splitting the posts in quick succession and the latter bagging the opening goal on six minutes.

Daithí O’Mahoney floated in a ‘45 and the ball fell to Nolan who blasted it to the net.

O’Mahoney was again involved when the defence was breached two minutes later, with his handpass finding Mark Kavanagh, who slid the ball beyond Matt Doyle.

Oylegate-Glenbrien were at it again a minute later, but this time Doyle did well to block Fergus Heffernan’s shot after Seamus Casey had picked him out.

Ben O’Shea got Glynn-Barntown off the mark with a 15th-minute point and they came close to grabbing a goal moments later, after Fionn Cooney had picked out Niall Whitty, but the full-forward’s shot was well saved by Eddie Mernagh.

The goal chances just kept coming and Oylegate-Glenbrien had an opportunity to add to their tally, but Daithí O’Mahoney blazed wide from a promising position in the 20th minute.

Seamus Casey ended a barren spell for Oylegate-Glenbrien with his 24th-minute point, giving the Enniscorthy District side a 2-3 to 0-1 half-time advantage.

Oylegate-Glenbrien didn’t have long to wait after the turnaround before the green flag was waving again, when Daithí O’Mahoney buried a spot-kick into the righthand corner of the net, after Mark Kavanagh gathered a pass from Jim White and was taken down for a penalty.

Within two minutes the rigging was bulging again after Seamus Casey ran on to a long delivery from Damien Reck and did the needful.

The goalkeeper was picking the ball out of the net at the other end seconds later as Ciarán Joyce gathered a pass from substitute Jimmer Doyle and powerfully rifled the ball out of the reach of Eddie Mernagh.

A 38th-minute Jim White point brought a sense of symmetry to the scoreline (4-4 to 1-1), but the equilibrium was soon shuffled when Glynn-Barntown goaled for a second time, with Gary Sutton’s effort at a point from wide on the right going straight to the net.

The mathematical balance was restored when a Jimmer Doyle point made it 4-4 to 2-2, but Jim White and Conor Heffernan replied with points for Oylegate-Glenbrien before they registered their fifth goal.

Conor Heffernan played a pinpoint pass into Jamie Reck and the substitute did the rest, confidently driving the ball past the goalkeeper.

Glynn-Barntown managed to tack on a few points before the end through Fionn Cooney (two) and Ben O’Shea, with Fergal Doran replying for the winners who will now meet neighbours Shamrocks in a repeat of their recent Intermediate hurling championship quarter-final.

Oylegate-Glenbrien: Eddie Mernagh; Robert O’Connor, Michael Heffernan (capt.), Lee Kehoe; Bryan McCormack (0-1), Damien Reck, Ciarán Hourihane; Jim White (0-2), Mark Kavanagh (1-0); Shane Reck, Fergus Heffernan, Seamus Casey (1-1); Daithí O’Mahoney (1-0 pen.), Peter Nolan (1-1), Conor Heffernan (0-1). Subs. - Pa Cullen for Kehoe, Ciarán O’Brien for O’Connor, John Lambert for F. Heffernan, Jamie Reck (1-0) for O’Mahoney, Fergal Doran (0-1) for Casey.

Glynn-Barntown: Matt Doyle; Jimmer O’Reilly, Shane Codd, Dylan Roche; Gavin Walsh, Callum O’Shea (capt.), Gary Sutton (1-0); Daniel Carroll, Kevin Crean; Ciarán Joyce (1-0), Seán Carmody, Pádraic Weafer; Ben O’Shea (0-2), Niall Whitty, Fionn Cooney (0-2, 1 free). Subs. - Jimmer Doyle (0-1) for Carmody, Cian Neville for Whitty, Michael Doyle for Crean, Barry Kirwan for Carroll, Daniel O’Regan for Weafer.

Referee: Michael Gannon (Horeswood).