Weather the only winner
SHAMROCKS OYLEGATE-G’BRIEN 1-2 1-2 ABANDONED AFTER 25 MINS SHAMROCKS AND Oylegate-Glenbrien will have to meet again after the weather won the war and brought an early end to their Enniscorthy Farm Systems Junior football championship semi-final in Bellefield on Saturday.
With 25 minutes on the clock, following a torrential downpour and in worsening conditions, referee John Carton made the prudent call to bring an early halt to proceedings.
The sides had been evenly matched up until that point, although unsurprisingly both struggled to find any flow or rhythm as the rain came down in sheets from the grey sky above and the wind swirled menacingly around the Enniscorthy venue.
Shamrocks couldn’t have asked for a better start when the ball fell kindly into the path of Emmet Quirke and he slid in to guide it to the net after just 18 seconds.
Seamus Casey steadied the Oylegate-Glenbrien nerves when he popped over a nice point in the seventh minute, although Jack Moorehouse quickly replied with a stylish point from an acute angle with the outside of his boot.
John O’Connor followed it up with an equally impressive score on the run two minutes later, before Peter Nolan cut into the deficit by splitting the posts in the 14th minute.
Oylegate-Glenbrien were soon back on level terms, when Seamus Casey ran on to a pass from Shane Reck and coolly slid the ball past Shamrocks netminder Thomas O’Brien.
As the heavens opened nine scoreless minutes followed before a couple of sharp shrills of John Carton’s whistle signalled the premature end of the contest.
Shamrocks: Thomas O’Brien; John Kavanagh, Philip Freeman, Ricky Murphy; Podge Doyle, Anthony Wallace, Brandon O’Connor; Seán Wildes, James Carty; John O’Connor (0-1), Dwaine Kelly, Barry Dobbs; Colin Sheehan, Emmet Quirke (1-0), Jack Moorehouse (0-1).
Oylegate-Glenbrien: Eddie Mernagh; Robert O’Connor, Michael Heffernan, Lee Kehoe; Bryan McCormack, Damien Reck, Ciarán Hourihane; Jim White, Mark Kavanagh; Shane Reck, Seamus Casey (1-1), Jamie Reck; Conor Heffernan, Peter Nolan (0-1), Fergal Doran. Sub. - Fergus Heffernan for Hourihane.
Referee: John Carton (Monageer-Boolavogue).