First half scoring spree lays groundwork for Freemount win
Freemount 1-17 Gleann na Laoi 1-3
NO doubting Freemount’s superiority on overcoming Gleann na Laoi in the County Junior C Football Championship semi-final at Donoughmore.
Operating a brand of open, fast and attacking football, there was no disputing that the Duhallow side emerged worthy victors. Effectively, Freemount had the game wrapped up by the half way stage on leading by 15 points after holding their opponents scoreless.
The losers couldn’t had real complaints about the outcome, taking far too long to find their feet. Without a competitive game for a long stretch impacted on Gleann na Laoi’s game and ultimately, they were forced to bow to a better balanced and driven Freemount combination.
Backed by a fresh breeze, Freemount started with the accelerator pressed to the floor with Ger Hayes and Aidan O’Flynn posting early points. Shining facets in Freemount’s game was the dominance of their half back line with Denis Curtin, Jason Ballentyne and Dean Collins rarely putting afoot astray.
At midfield, Liam Enright and Alan Ballentyne worked hard and with O’Flynn, Hayes and Ian Guiney prospering in attack, it allowed Freemount dominate possession for long periods. A terrific score surfaced at the close of the opening quarter, good work by Kevin O’Connor saw Guiney centre for Christopher Curtin touch home for a goal.
In fairness, Gleann na Laoi deserved a return on the scoreboard but inaccurate shooting and sloppy handling made progress difficult. At the opposite end, Freemount finished the opening half with a flourish as the precise Guiney, Collins and Enright added points to assume a clear 1-12 to 0-0 position.
Gleann na Laoi began to show some conviction on the restart, some productive passages of play from Colm Horgan and Brian Murphy in the centre allowed more possession into attack that gained reward with a goal netted by Seán Nevin.
Though Freemount were asked questions about their resolve, they absorbed the pressure and intervened on points to Guiney, O’Flynn and Hayes. Nothing came of a late Gleann na Laoi charge as Freemount saw their task to a successful conclusion to set up a meeting against Abbey Rovers in the decider.
FREEMOUNT: S Dunstan; B Collins, M Curtin, K O’Dwyer; D Curtin 0-3, J Ballentyne, D Collins; L Enright 0-1, A Ballentyne 0-2; S Fehan, A O’Flynn 0-4, G Hayes 0-3; K O’Connor, I Guiney 0-3, C Curtin 1-1. Subs: M Ballentyne for G Hayes, M Finn for K O’Connor, D O’Flynn for D Collins, G Withers for S Fehan, W J Regan for B Collins.
GLEANN NA LAOI: D Savage; K Clarke, B Kearney, S Coughlan; S Lucey, T E Desmond, C Kearney; C Horgan 0-1, B Murphy, S Nevin 1-1, E McCann, K Moloney; A Keating, M Cafferkey 0-1, K Desmond.
REFEREE: J O’Leary (Mallow)