Scores galore in local derby
Taghmon topple Clongeen
TAGHMON-CAMROSS 4-9 CLONGEEN 4-7 TAGHMON-CAMROSS survived the double whammy of conceding two quick goals - not once, but twice - before joining neighbours Clongeen with four points on the Ashdown Park/Amber Springs Hotels Intermediate football championship Group A table after this very lively contest in sun-baked O’Kennedy Park, New Ross, on Saturday.
The scoreboard at the venue picked the worst possible afternoon to go on the blink as the goals and points were plentiful in this most entertaining derby, particularly in the second-half.
Clongeen looked to be in pole position on two separate occasions after rattling the net twice in quick succession, but Taghmon-Camross had come from behind to catch Ballyhogue in the last round and did the exact same on this occasion.
The presence of Jason Ryan, the mastermind of Clongeen’s landmark 2007 Senior championship success, in the Taghmon-Camross camp added extra spice if it was ever needed in the first place for this local derby.
And Clongeen were definitely the happier side at the break when they led by 2-2 to 0-3, with the goals spread just 50 seconds apart midway through the second quarter.
The free-scoring nature of proceedings was a slow burner as a mere three points were registered prior to that opening major, with Paul Curtis giving Clongeen an eighth-minute lead before Seamus McLoughlin went one better from play and a free to make it 2-1 at the midway mark of the half.
And the men in the green and gold hoops landed the first significant punch in the 21st minute when Collie Byrne’s point attempt was greeted with a loud cry of ‘post’ by Taghmon-Camross netminder Seán O’Gorman who had replaced the injured Jack Dunne at an early stage.
His prediction proved spot on, and the first to react was young Robert Farrell who rattled the net from close range when the ball broke off the woodwork, shortly after moving from midfield to full-forward in a switch with Paudie Cullen.
Taghmon-Camross were rocked again less than a minute later when O’Gorman came off his line to contest a high delivery with Collie Byrne, and the ball broke to Ger Foxe who eschewed the handy option of tapping over a point by planting a low shot in the corner of the net (2-1 to 0-2).
Both sides registered seven first-half wides, with free-takers Jim Bennett and Seamus McLoughlin swapping late points to leave five still between them at the break.
The stand-out factor for Taghmon-Camross was that they didn’t panic, with a full half hour to work their way back into the game. And they took just over seven minutes to draw level (1-6 to 2-3), with Stephen O’Gorman latching on to a long Ian Carty handpass down the middle before firing in the levelling goal.
The tempo rose considerably, and the Taghmon-Camross third quarter dominance yielded even more as Darren Carty and Stephen O’Gorman combined to set up substitute Luke Sinnott who coolly rolled in their second goal to the bottom right corner in the 14th minute.
Clongeen had gone from five up to three down, but there was another major twist. After Jim Bennett pulled a point back from a free, amazingly Taghmon-Camross conceded two goals in less than a minute again.
This time the gap separating them was even less, a mere 42 seconds. The first was a brilliant finish by the influential Paul Curtis from a Collie Byrne pass on the left, and the second was driven home off the ground by Emmet Kent after his first effort hit the post, and Robert Farrell’s initial follow-up was saved.
Those goals left Clongeen ahead by 4-5 to 2-7, but Taghmon-Camross responded in a manner exactly similar to that earlier double blast.
Stephen O’Gorman rose higher than netminder Ricky Rochford to palm a Seamus McLoughlin delivery from the right to the net in the 51st minute, and Luke Sinnott added the leveller 45 seconds later (3-8 to 4-5).
It looked like anyone’s game as the impressive Paudie Cahill traded points with McLoughlin (free), but the key intervention came from county Under-21 Ian Carty in the 56th minute. He embarked on one of his trademark long-striding runs and beat a couple of would-be tacklers, gliding in from the left before planting a sweet shot well out of Ricky Rochford’s reach (4-9 to 4-6).
Remarkably, it meant Taghmon-Camross had scored their entire second-half tally of 4-6 without kicking a wide, although two were chalked up in the immediate aftermath.
Clongeen did press near the end, with a thumping Paul Curtis drive deflected over the bar, but that was all they could muster in the two and a half added minutes played by referee Anthony Tobin.
Taghmon-Camross: Jack Dunne; David O’Keeffe, Alan Nolan (capt.), Páuric O’Gorman; Stephen Stafford, Pat Nolan, Mark O’Gorman; Barry O’Gorman (0-2), Derek O’Hanlon; Darren Carty (0-1), Ian Carty (1-0), Eoin Doyle; Stephen O’Gorman (2-0), Seamus McLoughlin (0-4, 3 frees), Michael O’Gorman (0-1 free). Subs. - Seán O’Gorman for Dunne, inj. (7), Luke Sinnott for Stafford, temp. (2328), Sinnott (1-1) for Doyle (41), Shane Doyle for Stafford (47), Robert Nolan for P. O’Gorman, inj. (50).
Clongeen: Ricky Rochford; Jamie Keating, Anton Stafford, Stephen Curtis; Enda Murphy, Paudie Cahill (0-1), Emmet Kent (1-0); Lorcan Kent, Robert Farrell (1-0); Leon Stafford, Paul Curtis (1-2), Jim Bennett (capt., 0-3 frees); Collie Byrne, Paudie Cullen (0-1 free), Ger Foxe (1-0). Sub. - Jamesie Rochford for L. Stafford, inj. (39).
Referee: Anthony Tobin (Geraldine O’Hanrahans).