Gorey deliver with top show
Bannow-Ballymitty hit for six
IT MAY have taken Naomh Eanna longer than planned to escape from the Intermediate ‘A’ grade, but if they keep playing like they did in Bellefield on Saturday, don’t rule out an instant return to Senior ranks.
This one-sided Amber Springs/ Ashdown Park Hotels Intermediate football championship Group A game was over by the 14th minute when the Gorey side led by the bizarre scoreline of 5-2 to 1-0.
And although Bannow-Ballymitty did improve considerably in a second-half featuring two goals from targetman Mark Wallace, Naomh Eanna were never troubled and added a sixth themselves to mark a very impressive return to this level for the first time since 2011.
While Rob Cogley responded to an early pointed free from David O’Brien with a second-minute goal, it most definitely wasn’t a sign of things to come from the south county side.
Their defence was repeatedly ripped to shreds by a Gorey outfit whose pace and general fitness was of the highest order for this time of year, given that they were in celebratory mode for the winter months.
Captain Peter Travers pulled the strings from centre-forward, and his team went into cruise mode after he picked out Gary Molloy for their first goal in the fourth minute (1-1 to 1-0).
Newcomer Jack Doran set up David O’Brien for the second, while Seán Doyle finished off the third in the ninth minute before his two brothers combined for number four.
Centre-back Pádraig broke at pace with Aodhán on his shoulder, and the latter made no mistake after the pass was popped into his path at the perfect time.
Travers stretched the lead to 5-2 to 1-0 in the 14th minute with a brilliant dinked finish over the head of young netminder Seán McCormack, and although the scoring dried up considerably, it still resembled that from an Under-10 game at half-time (5-3 to 1-2).
As if that wasn’t bad enough for Bannow-Ballymitty, they had lost their captain and chief marksman Niall Harney to an ankle injury, but at least they kept trying.
Mark Wallace, scorer of their two first-half points, was moved to full-forward, and he forced the ball to the net from close range in the 41st minute after a Joe Sinnott free broke into his path (5-5 to 2-3).
Wallace then beat netminder Kenneth Byrne to the bounce and fisted a Sinnott delivery to the net to make it 5-8 to 3-3, but Gorey’s substitutes made telling impacts late on and one of that number – Eoin Conroy – scored a cracking sixth goal from a Jack Cushe assist.
Naomh Eanna: Kenneth Byrne; Tom Stafford, Simon Doran, Seamus O’Donnell (0-1); Brendan Travers, Pádraig Doyle, Aodhán Doyle (1-1); Jack Cushe, John O’Brien; Gary Molloy (1-0), Peter Travers (capt., 1-2), Seán Doyle (1-0); William Cullen (0-4, 2 frees, 1 ’45), David O’Brien (1-1, 0-1 free), Jack Doran. Subs. - Cathal Dunbar for O’Brien, inj. (HT), Joseph O’Connor for P. Doyle (49), Eoin Conroy (1-0) for Molloy (49), Lee Kinsella (0-2) for Doran (50), Molloy for A. Doyle (59).
Bannow-Ballymitty: Seán McCormack; Jack Donohue, John Staples, John Mernagh; Ryan Morris, Art Sweetman, Pádraig McCormack; Mark Wallace (2-3), Conor Furlong; Niall Harney (capt.), Micheál Murphy, Joe Sinnott (0-1); Rob Cogley (1-0), David Currid, Jon Reville. Subs. - Richie Walsh for Harney, inj. (22), Conor Neville for Staples, inj. (60).
Referee: Billy Dodd (Sarsfields).