A resounding victory for hungry Bunclody
HWH-BUNCLODY 2-20 ST MARY’S (R’LARE) 0-9 HWH-BUNCLODY secured their passage into the quarter-finals of the Amber Springs/Ashdown Park Hotels Intermediate football championship with a resounding win in this Group A clash in Bree on Friday
St. Mary’s came into the game with four wins out of four, and they played like a team safely through and simply going through the motions.
Bunclody, on the other hand, craved a victory to ensure a last eight berth and that greater hunger was plain for all to see as they defended as if their lives depended on it and then burst forward in droves.
The Rosslare outfit actually started brightest and were 0-3 to 0-1 ahead on nine minutes thanks to points from Robert Butler, David Murphy (free) and Andrew Murphy, and only wayward shooting prevented them from having another few scores on the board.
However, once Bunclody found their stride there was no stopping them, with the lively David Reck, Keith O’Hara, Aidan Nolan, Edward Dunbar and Colm Farrell all contributing points as they built up a 0-9 to 0-6 lead as half-time approached.
Then, as the first-half ticked into injury time, they knocked the stuffing out of St. Mary’s with a timely goal.
Edward Dunbar delivered a handpass to David Reck, and the corner-forward made no mistake, clinically dispatching the ball past Stephen Breen to give them a 1-9 to 0-6 half-time advantage.
The Half Way House boys are clearly disciples of the maxim ‘strike while the iron is hot’, and they certainly did that, putting the tie to bed within minutes of the re-start.
After John Atkinson and John Kelly had knocked over quick-fire points, the impressive Colm Farrell robbed possession and arrowed a low shot to the left-hand corner of the net with less than three minutes of the half elapsed.
The Rosslare side rallied briefly, with David Murphy and Lee Devereux tacking on points, but Bun- clody re-asserted their dominance, with the industrious Aidan Nolan to the fore as he coolly slotted over a succession of dead-balls.
Peter Atkinson, Colm Farrell, Edward Dunbar and Jamie John Murphy also split the posts for Bunclody to ensure they will enter the knockout stages high on confidence, while St. Mary’s will surely muster up a better performance when the stakes are higher.
HWH-Bunclody: Patrick Kavanagh; Billy Kelly, Martin O’Connor, Adam Hogan; Colm Farrell (1-2), John Atkinson (capt., 0-1), Peadair Cowman; Seán Kenny, Aidan Nolan (0-8, 4 frees, 2 ‘45s); Eoin Kelly (0-1), Keith O’Hara (0-1), Josh Martin; David Reck (1-2), Peter Atkinson (0-1), Edward Dunbar (0-3). Subs. - Mark Sheehan for Kenny, Kevin Dunne for O’Hara, Enda Slevin for Hogan, Jamie John Murphy (0-1) for Dunbar, Paddy Dunbar for Farrell.
St. Mary’s (Rosslare): Stephen Breen; Ned Power, Niall Walsh, Conal Grant; Philip Lambert, Tiarnan Rossiter (0-2, 1 free), Barry Quirke; Robert Butler (0-1), Naomhan Rossiter; Ultan Quirke, Andrew Murphy (0-1), Jason Ellard; Lee Devereux (0-1), David Murphy (capt., 0-4, 3 frees), Conor Cafferkey. Sub. - Paul Fortune for Ellard.
Referee: Billy Dodd (Sarsfields).