Late Sars scoring blitz
SARSFIELDS ST. ANNE’S 5-12 1-10 SARSFIELDS WENT on a scoring blitz in the final quarter to put St. Anne’s to the sword in the Wexford District Under-21 football Roinn 1 championship semi-final in Kilmore on Saturday.
St. Anne’s held a four-point advantage at the interval (1-9 to 1-5), but Sarsfields quickly wiped out that deficit after the turnaround with the help of a John Bridges goal, and they simply sauntered to victory, raising the green flag three more times in the final eight minutes.
Seven of the town side’s starting 15 lined out in their Minor football Roinn 1 triumph the previous weekend, with four more entering the fray as substitutes, and they certainly played with a youthful swagger as they pulled away from the opponents, scoring almost at will in the final quarter.
The sides looked to be evenly matched in the opening period with three St. Anne’s points on the trot, from Josh Cloney, Roy Nunn and Shane Mythen, helping the Rathangan-based side to a 0-6 to 0-4 advantage midway through the half.
However, Sarsfields soon got their noses back in front, when Pádraig Clancy doggedly shook off the challenges of several defenders before booting the ball to the net in the 20th minute.
The St. Anne’s response was good though and they outscored their opponents by 1-3 to 0-1 for the remainder of the half, with Daniel Lambert blasting an angled drive beyond the reach of netminder Matthew Murphy as they changed ends on a high.
The four-point lead was extinguished in as many minutes after the interval, with Pádraig Clancy slotting over a point before John Bridges fired the ball beyond goalkeeper Dylan Kavanagh after good work from Dylan Furlong.
The sides remained deadlocked as the clock ticked into the final quarter but Sarsfields assumed total control thereafter, outgunning their opponents by 3-6 to just one point with ruthless efficiency.
John Gannon applied the finish for their third goal in the 53th minute, after John Bridges and Conor Halligan had exchanged passes in the build-up.
Substitute Darragh Goodison then made an instant impact, as he gathered a Gannon pass and slotted in the rebound after his initial effort had been saved.
Danny Walsh ensured all of the starting inside forward line got in on the goalscoring act when he collected a handpass from John Bridges and confidently dispatched the ball to the back of the net to wrap up a convincing victory.
Sarsfields: Matthew Murphy; Liam Barry, Conor Halligan, Rian Carty; Jamie McDonnell, Fiach O Crualaoich, Shane Hall; Cathal Kirwan, Dylan Furlong; Adam Carroll, John Bridges (1-5, 0-1 free), Stephen Cummins; John Gannon (capt., 1-2), Danny Walsh (1-1), Pádraig Clancy (1-4). Subs. - Conor Hillis for Cummins, Darragh Goodison (1-0) for Carroll, Eoghan Goodison for Carty, Andrew Harrington for Clancy.
St. Anne’s: Dylan Kavanagh; Seán Redmond, Vincent Carroll, Kevin Redmond; Philip Rawson, Brian Kavanagh, Finn O’Driscoll; Ben Moore (0-1), Graham Holmes (0-2 frees); Roy Nunn (0-3), Jack Murphy (capt., 0-1), Daniel Lambert (1-0); Josh Cloney (0-1), Shane Mythen (0-1), Gavin Howlett (0-1). Subs. - Luke Jordan for Howlett, Evan Monaghan for Clancy, Paddy White for Nunn.
Referee: Peter Shannon (Kilmore).