All too easy for Cullen in JAFC opener
Cullen 0-13 Castlemagner 0-1
CULLEN made light of deplorable weather conditions and a weakened Castlemagner challenge to claim a comprehensive win in the opening round to the E Tarrant & Sons Duhallow JAFC at Banteer.
Wind and rain placed huge demands on the players involved, clearly Cullen achieved their goal with an intelligent display that enabled them minimize the impact of the inclement weather.
From a neutral perspective , this clash failed to live up to expectations as once Cullen stamped their authority on the proceedings, there was never the slightest doubt about the outcome.
Castlemagner were down a few players and seldom threatened to make sufficient inroads into a well organised Cullen outfit that started with four members from the winning Duarigle Gaels u21 Football divisional winning team.
From the start, Cullen exerted their influence on the game shooting good points to move into the lead with well taken scores to Jerry O’Connor, Colin O’Leary and Alan Regan. Indeed, the victors benefited from the influence of Cormac Hickey, Francis Cronin, Paul Fleming and Philip Murphy to dominate the key departments.
The windy conditions made life difficult for both sides with instances of handling errors and play was halted on several occasions for injuries. However Cullen were better equipped to cope with Regan, O’Leary and Fleming adding points for a clear 0-8 to 0-0 advantage at the break.
Upon the resumption, there was little change to the pattern of the game, Cullen again pressed to shoot points. A disappointing Castlemagner had a strong wind for the second half but apart from the encouraging play of Donal Gayer, Sean Falvey and Shane Curtin they struggled to work the ball up the field effectively, their lone point coming from a Timmy Murphy free.
Soon after Castlemagner were reduced to 14 men and Cullen added further points to close out a fully deserved victory.
The perfect start for Cullen in the robin series whereas for Castlemagner, they have the potential to improve with the return of players ahead of stiff tests against Boherbue, Lyre and Knocknagree.