Accurate Nolan steers Ferns past Maudlintown
FERNS ST. AIDAN’S 2-18 ST. MARY’S (M) 3-13 (AET)
FERNS ST. Aidan’s had to call upon all of their mental strength to eventually get the better of St. Mary’s (Maudlintown) when they eked out an extra-time 2-18 to 3-13 victory after a titanic Amber Springs/Ashdown Park Hotels Intermediate football championship quarter-final under the lights at Bellefield on Friday.
St. Mary’s came into the clash as the higher-seeded team after an impressive Group B campaign, and they produced some champagne football on occasion in the first-half.
Richie Kehoe and Martin O’Connor shared three neat points from play between them, while youngster Jamie Thomas was a real ball of energy up front, as he teed up Dermot Flood for a clinically-dispatched goal on nine minutes, and was also a central figure in the score of the game on 18 minutes.
Play developed from the far wing as the ball was transferred with speed through the hands of numerous players before Thomas crashed home with composure to herald a 2-2 to 0-5 advantage.
But Ferns crucially struck back in the last attack of the half when county footballer Ryan Nolan swooped in on the break off Tommy Dwyer to stylishly net as the gap was cut to 2-4 to 1-6 at the change-over.
St. Mary’s re-asserted control on 33 minutes when Graham Carty’s looped handpass found the isolated Donal O’Leary to make it 3-5 to 1-8.
However, when Tommy Dwyer’s under-hit shot dropped short and caused panic around the goalmouth, Derek Thorpe was on hand to poke home and turn the tables by 2-9 to 3-5.
Late submissions from Ross Lynch, Kehoe and Flood gave St. Mary’s the slimmest of advantages down the home straight, but the consistent Nolan forced extra-time when he converted his fifth free of the night in injury time to make it 2-12 to 3-9.
And ultimately, Ferns’ superior fitness levels made the difference as Nolan accounted for three of their four points in the first additional period, and added another six minutes from time to seal a semi-final berth for the second year running after the 2016 replay loss to Taghmon-Camross.
Ferns St. Aidan’s: Ivan Meegan (0-3 frees); Declan Byrne, Pádraig Bolger (capt), Brian O’Neill; Jonathan Dwyer, James Tonks, Peter Nolan; Patrick Breen, John Breen (0-2); Paul Morris, Tommy Dwyer, Derek Thorpe (1-0); Christopher O’Connor, Eoin Murphy (0-1), Ryan Nolan (1-11, 0-7 frees). Subs. - Colm Whelan for Morris, inj., Anthony Dwyer for Byrne, Keith Breen (0-1) for O’Neill, Conor Scallan for Thorpe, Thorpe for Nolan.
St. Mary’s (Maudlintown): Paul Dempsey; Mark Doyle, Alan Lynch (capt.), Gary Murphy; Alex Lynch, Graham Carty, Ross Lynch (0-1); Robert Kenny (0-1), Dermot Flood (1-6, 0-3 frees); Eddie Pitman, Martin O’Connor (0-2), Jamie Thomas (1-0); Jason Swords, Richie Kehoe (0-2), Donal O’Leary (1-0). Subs. - Gavin Cullen for Pitman, Pierce Dooley (0-1) for O’Leary (black card), Pitman for Alex Lynch.
Referee: Brendan Martin (Ballyhogue).