Two from two for Castletown
Extra man pays dividends
CASTLETOWN GLYNN BARNTOWN
CASTLETOWN made it two wins from two games in Group B of the Enniscorthy Farm Systems Junior football championship with a 2-10 to 0-6 win over Glynn Barntown in Friday night’s rescheduled first round tie at Ferns GAA Club.
The victors pointed eleven seconds in from Aaron Condren, and were 1-2 to no score in front by the eighth minute when Oisin Condren palmed home at the end of a length-of-the-pitch move featuring among others George Sunderland and Risteard Kinsella.
But their form nose-dived for the next 40 minutes as Glynn slowly whittled away the deficit.
In fact, by the time Aron Kehoe converted his fourth free of the night, the difference was only 1-4 to 0-6.
The fabric of both sides jerseys were tested in a non-malicious melee at the end of the third quarter which yielded yellow cards for Glynn’s Adam O’Leary and Dylan Lyne and Castletown’s David Deering.
And that discretion proved costly for Lyne as his collar-high tackle less than three minutes later saw him dismissed on a second yellow.
Given the wealth of experience within Castletown’s ranks, their game management with an extra man was impressive, as they reeled off 1-6 without reply to end up double-figure winners.
Kinsella drew a free which Gavin Stamp converted on 48 minutes, while Deering sauntered forward Philly McMahon-style to kick a crucial score from play.
Shane Halpin fired over on 51 minutes to spread the gap to 1-7 to 0-6 before substitute Ross Cody fed Aaron Condren to roll home a neat goal six minutes from time.
And they kept the foot on the gas until the end as Sunderland robbed a kick-out before pointing, and Noel Morris and Stamp (free) sealing the deal.
In between those two scoring-sprees from Castletown, Glynn created a multitude of opportunities themselves without making them count, particularly in the first half at the end of which they trailed 1-4 to 0-4 after kicking seven wides.
One point from open play over the hour, a fine curled effort from Aron Kehoe five minutes into the new half, sums up their troubles in that sector.
That said, a glorious goal-scoring opportunity presented itself to Glynn on seventeen minutes when a ball over the top fell to Ian Moran in an acre of space, but his low shot hit the butt of the post and rebounded wide.
Castletown: Niall Hempenstall; David Deering (capt, 0-1), Conor Cleary, Risteard Kinsella; Danny Dixon, George Sunderland (0-1), Cian Bealin; Colin Kennedy, Oisin Condren (1-0); Shane Halpin (0-1), Noel Morris (0-1), Aaron Condren (1-1); Darragh Brooks (0-1), Gavin Stamp (0-4, three frees), Colm Morris. Subs: Ross Cody for O.Condren (37), Stephen Rafferty for Brooks (50)
Glynn Barntown: Adam O’Leary; Barry Ryan, Shane Codd (capt), Frankie Hoynes; Jamie O’Shea, Richie Ryan, Daire Barron; Cormac Rowe, Matthew Banville; Dylan Lyne, Aron Kehoe (0-5, four frees), Fionn Cooney; Ian Moran, Matthew Joyce, Jack Brazzil (0-1 free). Subs: Darragh Nolan for Moran (33), Garvan McCormack for Banville (50), Liam Barry for Brazzil (51).
GER O’HANRAHAN’S RÉALT NA MARA 3-17 4-8
SHANE ROCHE was in simply unstoppable form as he guided Geraldine O’Hanrahan’s to a reasonably comfortable victory over Réalt na Mara in the second round of the Joyces Expert Intermediate A football championship in Oylegate on Friday.
The recently retired inter-county stalwart contributed a stunning personal salvo of 2-11, with 1-7 from play, as he tore the Réalt na Mara defence to pieces almost every time he was in possession, going through three different markers in the process.
This Group A game started off with a Réalt na Mara goal from Eoin Corcoran with their first attack, and the Ballygarrett based side looked good for a ten-minute period as Tom Sinnott and Pat Naughter added to the tally, with Roche and