Gaels make a great escape
DUNDALK Gaels landed two late points to earn a replay with county champions, Sean O’Mahonys, as this all-Dundalk quarter-final came to a dramatic conclusion at St Brigid’s Park on Sunday evening.
The Gaels looked to have kicked their way out of the Senior Championship as a series of second half wides saw them go 33 minutes without scoring, and it looked as if Stephen Kilcoyne’s early second half goal would prove decisive.
However, they found their range just in time as Gerard McSorley pointed a free on 58 minutes before Sean Murray fired over a pressure kick from wide on the right in the first minute of injury-time.
That wasn’t the end of the drama as the O’Mahonys created an opportunity to win the game, but Barry Mackin saw his fisted effort go wide of the post with just seconds on the clock.
In the end both teams will be happy to settle for a second chance as neither really did enough to win what was at times a feisty local derby and although the contest may have been short on quality football, there was no lack of passion or intensity throughout the game.
A yellow card for Gaels defender Eamon Kenny inside the first minute gave an early indication of what would prove to be a physical contest, with referee Stephen Johnson brandishing a similar colour on numerous occasions, while Sean McCann and Conor Crawley both saw black in the final quarter.
Meanwhile, scores were only slightly more regular in a game where the packed defences were generally on top, but it was the men from the Ramparts who got off the mark first through a fine David Maloney effort.
That was soon cancelled out by a Conor Finnegan free but the Gaels’ bright opening was rewarded with further points from McCann and McSorley.
Stephen Kilcoyne and Ben McLaughlin pointed to level the game just after the quarter-hour mark, but in between their side had a let-off when McSorley flashed a shot just wide of the post.
The Gaels ability to break quickly from defence was paying dividends and their most productive spell of the game saw them kick four unanswered points through Eanna McArdle (2), Moloney and Sean Murray to take a 0-7 to 0-3 lead after 25 minutes. At that stage few would have thought that they wouldn’t trouble the scoreboard again until the 58th minute of the game.
The O’Mahonys, who welcomed back goalkeeper Kevin Brennan following injury, took full advantage of their failings in front of goal when they turned the game on its head in the three minutes either side of the break.
Frees from Kilcoyne and Finnegan cut the gap to just two at the half time whistle, and within 60 seconds of the restart the former had the ball in the back of the net.
Once again it was a typical O’Mahonys goal with Ben McLaughlin’s high delivery into the square allowing Conor Crawley to knock the ball down into the path of Kilcoyne who drilled home from close range.
Both teams then began to rack up the wides with the only excep- Pictures: Ken Finegan tion being when Stephen Fisher hit the target on 43 minutes to put his team 1-6 to 0-7 in front.
At the tension mounted, the Gaels lost Sean McCann to a black card and soon after Conor Crawley met a similar fate, but it looked as if the Gaels would be made pay for a succession of missed chances.
However, just when their heads appeared to be dropping, McSorley’s pointed free gave them hope before Murray fired over after a very patient build-up.
SEAN O’MAHONYS: Kevin Brennan; Christopher O’Neill, Ronan Byrne, Michael Clarke; Keith McLaughlin, John O’Brien, Liam Dullaghan; Conor Martin, Shane Brennan; Conor Finnegan 0-2, Ben McLaughlin 0-1, Stephen Fisher 0-1; Stephen Kilcoyne 1-2, Conor Crawley, Jonathan Connolly. Subs: Barry Mackin for S Kilcoyne, Niall McLaughlin for C Crawley BC, Kyle Carroll for S Brennan (blood).
DUNDALK GAELS: John Burlingham; David McComish, Jamie Faulkner, Conor Morgan; Oisin Murray, Derek Crilly, Eamon Kenny; James Stewart, Sean McCann 0-1; David Moloney 0-2, Sean Murray 0-2, Barry Watters; Eanna McArdle 0-2, Gerard McSorley 0-2, Chris Sweeney. Subs: Jason Clarke for C Morgan, Emmet Lyndsey for S McCann BC, Errol Boyle for C Sweeney.
REFEREE: Stephen Johnson.