Horeswood on top
District title sealed with five-goal haul
HORESWOOD MUNNA ABBAIN
FIVE GOALS secured the Greenstar Under-20 football New Ross District Roinn 1 championship title for Horeswood as they had an easier than anticipated victory over Munna Abbáin in Cushinstown on Saturday.
The victors always looked the more complete side and, with the aid of a stiff breeze in the opening half, they knocked the life out of their shell-shocked opponents with 3-1 in an eleven-minute period.
The eventual winners were looking good up to this juncture after having a huge majority of possession, but they just hadn’t managed to reflect this on the board.
But after hard work from John Chapman forced a defensive error, he duly hit his side’s first major ten minutes in and from here on,
Horeswood never looked back.
Impressive midfielder Seán Nolan soon added another after a superbly-worked move starting from a short kick-out.
Jason Murphy came close to nabbing their third moments later, only to be kept out by a fine Adrian Doyle save, but the former soon set up Joe O’Sullivan whose effort put nine points between the sides.
Munna Abbáin kept fighting however, and Shane Lacey did extremely well to pull a goal back before an exchange of points between Jamie Myler and Colum Feeney left nine between the sides at the break.
Playing with the wind in the second period, Munna Abbáin still had a fighting chance, but a good start after the resumption was still needed.
Unfortunately for them, it was the leaders who drew first blood with Dylan Whitty hitting a fourth goal which really killed all hopes of a comeback.
And a fifth soon followed when Darragh Kent crept inside midway through the half.
It was really just a matter of playing out the allotted time at this stage, and four unanswered points from Munna Abbáin substitute, Rúairí O’Brien, put a minor dent in an otherwise impressive Horeswood display.
Horeswood: Aaron Mythen; Alex Molloy, Eamonn O’Sullivan, Jason Murphy (0-1); Seán Hunt, Jack Kehoe (0-1), David Murphy (capt.); Seán Nolan (1-2), Barry Walsh-Howlin; Dylan Whitty (1-0), Joe O’Sullivan (1-0), Darragh Kent (1-1); John Chapman (1-0), Jamie Myler (0-2), Matthew Foley. Subs. - Cathal Mernagh for Chapman (44), Danny Nolan for Foley (44), Ian Roberts for Kent (48), Martin Kinsella for Molloy (54), Neil Ennis for O’Sullivan (54).
Munna Abbáin: Adrian Doyle; Ciarán English, Tom Banville, James Dunleavy; Ryan Banville, Mick Dunleavy, Shane Lacey (1-0); Colum Feeney (0-1), Peter Murphy; Adam Sinnott, John Banville, Graham O’Reilly; Páraic Wickham, Cathal Doyle (0-1), Cormac McGrath. Subs. - Darragh Winters for J. Banville (HT), Rúairí O’Brien (0-4, 3 frees) for M. Dunleavy (40), David Kelly for J. Dunleavy (40), Ryan Cashin for O’Reilly (44), James Dillon for Wickham (45).
Referee: Jack Stafford (Clongeen).
LONG-TIME pace-setters Ferns St. Aidan’s had a few anxious moments near the end in Bellefield on Saturday, but ultimately they got the victory their overall display deserved as home side Starlights lost out in the opening round of the Greenstar Under-20 football Premier championship.
The Gorey District side led by 0-5 to 0-1 at the break after having first use of the wind, and the addition of 1-2 without reply on the re-start left them in an even healthier position.
Their town rivals hadn’t scored for an incredible 41 minutes before Lee Jordan finally picked off their second point near the end of the third quarter.
And while they ultimately fell short, at least the hardy souls huddled close together for warmth in the pavilion on a bitterly-cold night were able to witness a lively finish.
The game was initially fixed for Ferns with an afternoon throw-in, but it was moved to 7.30 p.m. under the Bellefield floodlights, with the pitch in very good condition considering it had hosted a Junior camogie league final earlier in the day.
Ferns captain James Lawlor swapped points with Cian Hanley inside three minutes of the start, but Starlights didn’t register again before the break and missed two very scoreable frees close to half-time.
And while the visitors were dominant for long spells, they had to work hard for the four additional points that left them with an interval lead of 0-5 to 0-1.
The accurate left foot of Chris Turner accounted for a brace, with Niall Murphy and Ciarán Murphy (free) also on target, but their fifth score arrived in the 20th minute and they registered three of their six opening half wides afterwards.
They did create one decent goalscoring chance too near the end of the first quarter, after Shane Breen won an opposition kick-out and fed James Lawlor.
He in turn picked out Ciarán Murphy who tried to fist the ball to the net, but netminder Ciarán
Sheil denied him at the expense of a fruitless ’45.
While Ferns were facing the wind on the re-start, they carried the ball effectively early on and it led to points from Murphy (free) and Chris Turner.
Murphy had a shot on goal smothered in between, but the key score arrived in the 39th minute.
Wing-back Adrian Breen intercepted a stray attempted crossfield pass and fed James Lawlor, before Lee Quigley was released to blast to the net via a defender’s deflection (1-7 to 0-1).
That concession finally woke up the sluggish Starlights, and recent county Minor Lee Jordan ended their long barren spell before Cian Hanley’s goal attempt was kept out by the leg of Ferns netminder Liam Murphy.
A tetchy second-half yielded the grand total of 35 frees, 18 for the victors, and both teams lost key men as Rory Scallan departed on a black card before Oran Carty saw red for an off-the-ball strike on Steve Warren.
Hope appeared on the horizon for the hosts when Jack Kirwan’s lob into the square was fisted to the net by midfielder J.P. Farrell in the 58th minute (1-7 to 1-2).
Two Lee Jordan frees left Starlights seeking an equalising goal, but they never really looked like getting it before the arrival of an insurance point for Ferns – a venomous Lee Quigley shot that went over via the crossbar – 45 seconds before the eight added minutes concluded.
Ferns St. Aidan’s: Liam Murphy; Steve Warren, Patrick O’Hagan, Patrick O’Toole; Rob Murphy, Conor Scallan, Adrian Breen; Eoin Murphy, Rory Scallan; Lee Quigley (1-1), James Lawlor (capt., 0-1), Shane Breen; Niall Murphy (0-1), Chris Turner (0-3), Ciarán Murphy (0-2 frees). Subs. - Shane Stafford for R. Scallan, black card (49), Pádraig Kinsella for Warren, inj. (56), Byron Jordan for S. Breen, inj. (60+7).
Starlights: Ciarán Sheil; Jack Kirwan, Mick Delaney, Martin Ryan; Nathan O’Connor, Seán Breen, Craig Peare; J.P. Farrell (1-0), Craig Foley; Jack Doyle, Oran Carty, Anthony Larkin; Cian Hanley (0-1), Will Doyle, Lee Jordan (0-3, 2 frees). Subs. - Mikey McVeigh for W. Doyle (57), Bradley Fortune for Hanley (57).
Referee: Brendan Martin (Ballyhogue).