Martin’s dish out drubbing
St. Anne’s lose by 19 points
ST. MARTIN’S humiliated St. Anne’s with a 19-point drubbing in Group A of the Tom Doyle Supplies Senior football championship in Innovate Wexford Park on Saturday.
The win ensures the Piercestown and Murrintown lads finish as runners-up in the table behind Kilanerin and, while St. Anne’s position in the quarter-final was also assured before throw-in, this is not a good performance to carry into the business end of the year.
Six of the game’s first seven scores went to the Martin’s men and, with all of them coming within the first ten minutes, they were already in a powerful position.
Barry O’Connor kicked it off before Ciarán Lyng finished into the bottom left corner after a long run.
Between these scores, Seán Kelly knocked over St. Anne’s only point of the first 13 minutes.
The men in maroon kicked on and Lyng, Kyle Firman, Jake Firman and Patrick O’Connor had all put minors on the board before their Rathangan opponents scored again (1-5 to 0-1).
They followed up their second point, through Seán Gaul, with two more. Gaul and Kelly were on target again during St. Anne’s most competitive spell in the game as they closed the gap to just four points.
St. Martin’s rallied again, after twelve scoreless minutes, to close out the half with four unanswered points.
Jake and Kyle Firman got their seconds and a double from Barry O’Connor restored their commanding lead at the interval (1-9 to 0-4).
If the first-half appeared to be a stroll in the park for the Piercestown-based club, this was even more apparent after the re-start.
Patrick O’Connor and Jamie Carty got their first points quickly after the game resumed and Kelly kicked what appeared to be just a consolation at this stage for St. Anne’s.
With no fightback forthcoming from the Rathangan crew, St. Martin’s began the job of running up the score and increasing their points difference.
Barry O’Connor kicked a deadball over the bar before Carty punched in Conor Firman’s undercooked shot.
Lyng’s clinical finishing was on show again just two minutes after Carty’s major.
Fed by Jake Firman, he placed into the bottom right corner, leaving ‘keeper Paul Brennan rooted to the spot.
At that stage, it looked like St. Martin’s could run up any score they wanted against their under-par opponents, but their foot also came off the pedal for the final 15 minutes.
Substitute Jack Devereux got on the scoresheet before St. Anne’s second and final score of the half when Jack Murphy kicked over from open play.
Jake Firman and Barry O’Connor added the final points of the game in the last ten minutes as St. Martin’s finished off an impressive rout of their neighbours.
St. Martin’s: Luke White; Mark Maloney, Aaron Maddock (capt.), Philip Dempsey; Adam Cantwell, Conor Firman, Peter Barry; Patrick O’Connor (0-2), Daithí Waters; Jake Firman (0-3, 1 free), Barry O’Connor (0-5, 2 frees), Kyle Firman (0-2); Jamie Carty (1-2), Ciarán Lyng (2-1), Jack O’Connor. Subs. - Ben Maddock for K. Firman (37), Jack Devereux (0-1) for A. Maddock, black card (37), Firman for Lyng (45).
St. Anne’s: Paul Brennan; Páraic O’Keeffe, Tomás Cullen (capt.), Shane Mythen; Michael O’Brien, Seán Gaul (0-2 frees), Diarmuid O’Keeffe; David O’Connor, Michael Fogarty; Liam Rochford, Mark Furlong, Jess Codd; Andy Kennedy, Seán Kelly (0-3), Dylan O’Brien. Subs. - Finn O’Driscoll for Mythen (19), Jack Murphy (0-1) for Kennedy (31), Liam Og McGovern for Codd (31), Patrick Miskella for Fogarty (40), Cian McGovern for P. O’Keeffe (48).
Referee: James Flood (St. Mary’s, Maudlintown).