Superior Na Gaeil take their time in seeing off Churchill

COUNTY JPFC QUARTER-FINAL

THIS was ever so slightly a strange type of a match.

Strange because on one level it was never really in any doubt as to who the better team were and, yet, at the same time the scoreboard often told a different story.

The story it told was not so much that Na Gaeil weren’t the superior force – they were never once headed – more so that they weren’t as far ahead as your eyes would have you believe.

A lot of that was down to goals. Churchill got two – striking for their first midway through the first half – which meant that Na Gaeil’s margin of victory wasn’t as impressive as it could have been and, perhaps, should have been.

It seemed a strange thing to note after a Michael O’Brien free for Churchill on forty nine minutes that there was just five points between the sides – 0-14 to 1-6. Two kicks of the ball could have changed the outcome of this game. Given Na Gaeil’s dominance of the game that would have been a remarkable turn of events. Unlikely too.

Think about it at that stage of the match Na Gaeil had twice the number of scores (though not obviously points in totality) as their Brendans Board rivals had. Added to that they kicked many more wides.

The outcome shouldn’t have been in question and, when it came down to it, it wasn’t.

When Na Gaeil had to they found it within themselves to push on. Andrew Barry got the ball rolling with a point on fifty six minutes. His brother Jack followed up on fifty seven.

That they hadn’t before then soon became moot, this was the Tralee outfit putting the tie finally beyond Churchill. Dylan Seymour’s point on fifty nine minutes was the final nail in the coffin for Churchill, even if they did respond with a late goal from Fiachra Griffin.

For Na Gaeil there was so much to be pleased with, but one suspects their manager Donie Rooney will be a little bit annoyed this victory wasn’t more straight forward than it was.

They had control of the middle third of the pitch. Jack Barry looked every inch the county man, while alongside him Stefan Okonbor made a convincing argument for why it was a mistake he wasn’t more involved with the Kerry Under 21s this year (what Kerry wouldn’t have given for his power and athleticism in Ennis that fateful day against Galway).

After a sluggish enough start they soon got on top of Churchill to go four one clear coming up on the fifteen minute mark. That was when Churchill struck for their opening goal by the impressive Ivan Parker, who cut in from right and sent the ball under Tadhg O’Neill in the Na Gaeil goal.

Even that goal didn’t alter the pattern of the game. In the Na Gaeil inside line Jamie Lowham and Darragh Carmody were causing all sorts of bother and the scores kept coming from the Tralee men, who probably wouldn’t have been overly disappointed with a five point half-time lead – 0-10 to 1-2.

The Tralee side started the second half in much the same manner with a couple of points by the impressive Diarmuid Herlihy, but bit by bit Churchill clawed them back, or maybe it was just the case that Na Gaeil became a touch complacent and did so before the game was run.

Their defence which had seemed quite disciplined in the first half gave away a number of sloppy frees, which Churchill snapped up gratefully with Ivan Parker, Cillian Fitzgerald and the aforementioned O’Brien all profiting.

Still Churchill could only push Na Gaeil so far. When Na Gaeil rose their game, Churchill were unable to rise to meet it. Churchill are well drilled, but they don’t have the quality of Na Gaeil. No shame in losing to a superior force. Churchill can hold their heads high.

For their part Na Gaeil have bigger fish to fry. The title must now be their ambition. They’re certainly good enough to go all the way if they put their minds to it.