Superb Shamrock Gaels recover to advance
SHAMROCK GAELS CURRY 0-13 2-7
SHAMROCK Gaels advanced to the semi-final of the Intermediate Championship after overcoming a nine point deficit to draw with Curry in the final group game in Bunninadden.
Indeed the Gaels could have won only for a last gasp Adrian Marren equaliser deep into injury time.
This was certainly a game of two halves with Curry completely dominating proceedings in the first half with centre forward Adrian Marren in particular causing the Gaels all sorts of problems.
Marren converted three frees and one from play as Curry raced into a five point lead.
The Gaels on the other hand started nervously and despite two saved goal chances, they took fifteen minutes to record their first score through a David Quinn point from play.
Tommy Henry extended Curry’s lead as the half ended with a well taken goal after Marren put him through with a clinical pass and he made no mistake to put Curry seven points up.
There was enough time for David Quinn to point distance on the stroke of half time, leaving the Gaels six points down and a mountain to climb in the second half.
Things got considerably worse for the Gaels immediately after the restart as substitute Alan Reilly got Curry’s second goal after he got on the end of a long speculative ball. It looked like game over for the Gaels as they appeared to be in disarray with Curry dominating.
The Gaels did settle and their revival started on five minutes with points from frees from David and Frank Quinn.
Manager John McPartland rang the changes after six minutes with three substitutions followed by another a few minutes later.
All of a sudden the Gaels started to bring urgency to their play and eventually got to grips at midfield with Joe Henry starting to dominate.
David Quinn added three more points from frees leaving only four points between the sides after seventeen minutes.
Keith McMorrow pointed from long range while Quinn converted another free to narrow the gap to two.
Donal Tuohy in the Gaels goals had a point blank save from Michael Gordon to keep the Gaels in the game as Curry battled to hold on to their lead, David Quinn was again on target on twenty three minutes after a great catch and lay off from substitute Dillon McDermott and it was Quinn again who levelled the game with a point from a 45.
The Gaels now went in search of the winner and Andrew Flynn pointed on the stroke of full time after good individual work coming in from the wing. This sparked Curry into life and after a great move that split open the Gaels defence, Tuohy again pulled off a point blank save to deny Curry the win.
There was still time for Adrian Marren to use all of his experience to and get the equalising point three minutes into injury time which was remarkably only their second score of the second half, the first coming in the opening minutes.
The Gaels had done enough and go through to the semi final on points difference whereas Curry go forward to the quarter finals.
If both teams avoid each other in the semi-final, don’t be surprised to see them contest the final in September.
Shamrock Gaels: Donal Tuohy, Ben Tuohy (Declan Willis 35), Paul Higgins, Andrew Flynn (0-1) Karl McKenna, Evan Lyons, Gavin McMorrow, Michael Kilkenny (Dillon McDermott 35), Joe Henry, Ciaran O’Connor (James Carroll 40), Brian Boyd (Seamus Hailstones 35), Keith McMorrow (0-1), David Quinn (0-10, 6f), Frank Quinn (0-1f), Shane Deignan.
Curry: James McDonagh, Aaron Kearns, Tommy Stenson, Craig Gallagher (Stephen Marren 30), Kevin Reilly, John Feeney, Gary Walsh, Sean Colleary, Jonathan Durkin (Dennis Coffey), Michael Gordon, Adrian Marren (0-5, 3f), Oisin Higgins (David McDonagh 58), Jason Marren (Alan Reilly 30, (1-0), Sean Davey (0-1), Tommy Henry (1-1).