Starlights secure second position

STARLIGHTS BLACKWATER

STARLIGHTS EDGED past Blackwater in their Group B game in the Enniscorthy Farm Systems Junior football championship in Monamolin on Saturday.

The win guaranteed the Enniscorthy side a second place finish while ending Blackwater’s campaign. They finished bottom of the table, but fortunately for them there is no relegation final in the grade this year as only eleven teams took part.

In a game which lacked finishing quality, the Starlights will be grateful to full-forward Lee Murphy whose six minors would have been enough to beat the Blackwater side alone.

The sides traded minors all the way through the first-half and while both managed to get their foot in front, the lead was never extended past one point.

Murphy registered all of his team’s four first-half scores while Blackwater shared the burden a little bit better. Dean Whelan registered twice with Joe Neville and Darragh Doyle chipping in with a point each.

With the score delicately poised at 0-4 apiece at the interval, Blackwater actually had the advantage of the breeze at their backs coming into an important second-half.

Scoring just once more, it’s fair to say that they drastically under-used this advantage. Ben Edwards and Murphy pointed in the opening two minutes after the re-start, and Ronan Kirwan was taken out of goal to score the third minor in the 42nd minute.

After 28 minutes without a score, Neville knocked over a free which only briefly reduced the deficit before Murphy added his final point from play.

Blackwater had a few efforts at goal without ever being really threatening to net, as Doyle and Neville both saw shots batted away as time ran out on their season.

Starlights will advance to the quarter-finals after only being pipped to top spot by the unbeaten Oylegate-Glenbrien, and will face Castletown.

Starlights: Ronan Kirwan (0-1); Ryan Hadley, Daniel O’Brien, Chris Doyle; Wayne Breen, Ed Tobin, Ben Edwards (0-1); Brian Ronan, John Ryan (capt.); Dale Galway, John Daly, Kevin Ryan; Pa O’Rourke, Lee Murphy (0-6, 3 frees), Mark Redmond. Subs. - Timmy Dwyer for O’Rourke (40), Conor Ronan for J. Ryan (40), Declan Courtney for K. Ryan (47), William Doyle for Redmond (53), William Dunne for Daly (55).

Blackwater: Ger Lynch; Ennae Carroll, Anthony Roche, Kevin O’Brien; Darragh Doyle (0-1), Paul O’Leary, Darren Byrne; Denis Carroll, Dean Wright; Michael Lillis (capt.), Richard Blake, Kerill Sutton; Dylan Dixon, Joe Neville (0-2 frees), Dean Whelan (0-2). Subs. - Kevin Murphy for Sutton (40), Lar Leacy for Whelan (43).

Referee: Paddy Campbell (Shelmaliers). TWO POINTS for Shelmaliers - that is about all one could take from this game as they totally dominated a weak Buffers Alley in this Enniscorthy Farm Systems Junior football championship Group B game in Monageer on Saturday.

Apart from an opening flourish from Buffers Alley, the Shels controlled the game as they proved the more creative side.

With a little more clinical finishing from the chances created their victory margin would have been far greater, as the Alley had little to offer in a poor quality game.

After Derek Walsh and John Farrell had exchanged opening points, Farrell’s fourth-minute goal from a penalty after Ciarán Murphy was fouled gave the Alley a 1-1 to 0-1 lead.

That was as good as it got though, as the Shels quickly responded with a string of points through Dan Campbell, Seán Keane-Carroll, A.J. Lehane, Craig Parker (free), Liam Rockett and Derek Walsh (free) to lead by 0-8 to 1-1 at the interval.

Such was the Shels dominance that the Alley failed to score for the final 26 minutes of the half.

A point from Eoin O’Leary within minutes of the re-start, followed by a further Derek Walsh effort, extended their lead, while six minutes into the half Kevin O’Leary found the net, giving his side a 1-10 to 1-1 lead.

With only a feeble response from the Alley despite a John Lee Meyler goal at the end of the third quarter, the Shels dominance continued as they added further points through Walsh, Rockett and Lehane to maintain their comfortable lead.

The Alley had their third goal five minutes from the end, a penalty from substitute Cian Fortune, but it only helped to put a better complexion on the end result.

The Alley finished the half with 13 players as late on both John Farrell and John Lee Meyler were sent-off on black followed by red cards, having earlier received yellows.

Shelmaliers: Graham Lawler; Marc Walsh, Cathal Gaule, Joe Redmond; Dan Campbell (0-1), Conor Walsh, Craig Parker (0-1 free); Eoin O’Leary (0-1), A.J. Lehane (0-2); Brian O’Connor, Chris Gordon, Seán Keane-Carroll (0-1); Liam Rockett (02), Kevin O’Leary (1-1), Derek Walsh (0-4, 1 free). Subs. - Adam Howlin for O’Connor, Willie O’Shaughnessy for Keane-Carroll, Mark Flood for Rockett, Kyle Roche for M. Walsh.

Buffers Alley: Paudie Kinsella; Alan Doyle, Ross Donohoe, Gearóid O’Connor; Bobby Kenny, Domhnall McArdle, Kevin Roche; Ciarán Murphy, Seán Murphy; John Lee Meyler (1-0), John Farrell (1-1, 1-0 pen.), Andrew Kenny; Paul O’Leary, Willie Doran, Colm Og Doran. Subs. - Cian Fortune (1-0 pen.) for Og Doran, John Leacy for O’Connor.

Referee: John Carton (Monageer-Boolavogue).