Roche gets winner
Local derby delight for Monageer
MONAGEER-B’VOGUE 0-9 OYLEGATE-GLENBRIEN 1-5
THEY WERE slow to find any semblance of the form they are capable of, but nonetheless a strong finish from Monageer-Boolavogue saw them return to the final of the Enniscorthy Farm Systems Junior football championship after a narrow 0-9 to 1-5 victory over Oylegate-Glenbrien in Saturday’s lack-lustre District derby in St. Patrick’s Park, Enniscorthy.
The statistics show that the victors didn’t score from play until the 37th minute, but that kicked them into life as they registered five points before the end, which is in stark contrast to Oylegate-Glenbrien, who quite remarkably failed to score at all after the break despite building what seemed to be a useful 1-5 to 0-3 lead by that stage.
They perhaps had one eye on their seismic Senior hurling semi-final this weekend, but also had to play the final 17 minutes with 14 men after ex-Monageer-Boolavogue star Marty Kelly was dismissed on a second yellow card offence following a late tackle on Seán Roche which Cathal Walsh converted to make it 1-5 to 0-6.
Whether it was deliberate or not is open to debate, but Mark Walsh screwed over an audacious point via the post on 50 minutes just as Monageer-Boolavogue were starting to mop up most of Oylegate-Glenbrien’s re-starts.
Mark Gahan fed Mick Sweeney for the leveller one minute later, while a crossfield pass from Micheál Gahan was won bravely by Roche, and the influential substitute did the rest for what proved to be the game-winning score.
Marty Kelly had earlier opened the scoring for Oylegate-Glen- brien, and Kelly, along with his half-back colleagues, Ciarán Hourihane and Jamie Reck, ended up mining 1-3 between them by half-time.
Most of the play was ‘keep-ball’ orientated and did little to excite the spectators, with Jamie Reck and Fiachra Hourihane finishing off handpass-heavy moves.
Damien Reck made it 0-4 to 0-1 after 22 minutes, but Ciarán Hourihane swept home a brilliant goal five minutes later when he ventured forward from his wingback berth and combined with Conor Doyle before stitching the dressing-room end net.
Walsh pegged back two frees for Monageer-Boolavogue - who lost the final two years ago to Shamrocks - as the gap was reduced to 1-5 to 0-3 by the change of ends, and he supplied two more during that second-half scoring spree.
Monageer-Boolavogue: Niall Finn; Morgan Gahan, Brian O’Loughlin, Niall O’Reilly; Mark Gahan, Chris Daly, Ian Hawkins; Stephen Murphy, Cathal Walsh (0-5 frees); Paddy Breen, Damien Fenlon, Shane Kehoe; James Sweeney, Matthew Dunne, Mick Sweeney (0-2). Subs. - Micheál Gahan for J. Sweeney (10), Seán Roche (0-1) for Kehoe (HT), Mark Walsh (0-1) for Dunne, inj. (HT), Tommy Breen for Fenlon (43), Seán McCabe for C. Walsh (59).
Oylegate-Glenbrien: Trevor Moulton; Bryan McCormack, Mike Kelly, Robbie O’Connor; Ciarán Hourihane (1-0), Marty Kelly (0-1), Jamie Reck (0-2); Shane Reck, Mark Kavanagh; Conor Heffernan, Damien Reck (0-1), Eoghan Herlihy; Fiachra Hourihane (0-1), Seamus Casey, Conor Doyle. Subs. - Jack Reck for O’Connor, black card (28), Niall Parker for Herlihy (HT), Peter Nolan for Heffernan (45), Daithí O’Mahoney for Doyle (47), Tom White for F. Hourihane (55).
Referee: Martin Armstrong (Starlights).