Goals galore from blues
OYLEGATE-GLENBRIEN showcased their goalscoring potential when cruising to the Féile na nGael Loch Garman Division 3 title with a 5-5 to 0-3 victory over Ballyhogue in the final at the Ferns Centre of Excellence.
The adroit score-taking of Ballyhogue (wearing the jerseys of neighbours Davidstown-Courtnacuddy owing to a clash of colours) was a notable feature of a closely-fought opening quarter, when a couple of wind-aided points from Ben Asple (free) and Jamie Fitzpatrick caught the eye as the sides remained deadlocked at 0-2 apiece.
A moment of magic was re- quired to alter the course of the game, and it duly arrived on 14 minutes from Oylegate-Glenbrien’s Shane Doran, who gathered a Ballyhogue puck-out, advanced down the right wing, and arrowed a brilliant goal into the far top corner for a 1-2 to 0-2 lead.
And they really wrestled momentum in their favour when scoring three more goals before half-time.
While the second and fourth goals in that clinical period were relatively straightforward tap-ins from Darragh Harris and T.J. Frost, the effort in between was breathtaking as Harris unleashed a bullet to the opposite top corner from all of 40 metres out.
That extremely productive spell yielded a 4-2 to 0-2 interval lead for the Enniscorthy District side (wearing the Blackwater colours), and they subsequently saw out the game without any fuss to book a place in the national finals in the summer.
Oylegate-Glenbrien’s firstchoice goalkeeper, John Fortune, was given a rest at the start of the second-half but was introduced into the forwards late on, and he took full advantage of his brief cameo outfield when he rifled home the fifth goal four minutes short of the full-time whistle.
And when the John West Féile na nGael 2018 commences on Friday, June 8, the newly-crowned Wexford representatives will compete in Division 6 along with host clubs Fr. Dalton’s and St. Oliver Plunketts of Westmeath, plus the Division 3 champions from Cork.
In fact, Oylegate-Glenbrien will travel confident of causing a stir in the prestigious competition and creating their own piece of history. Based on this performance alone, you wouldn’t bet against them.
Oylegate-Glenbrien: John Fortune; Adam Nolan, Jack Hennessy, Conor Somers; Paul Burns (0-1), Connal Byrne (capt., 0-1 free), Kyle Curran; Shane Doran (1-0), Mikie Doyle; Richard Fortune, Seán Rowley (0-1), Danny Fortune; Jack Nolan, Darragh Harris (2-2), T.J. Frost (1-0). Subs. - Daniel Cosgrave for J. Fortune (HT), Andy Byrne for Frost (30), John Fortune (1-0) for Danny Fortune (34), also Aaron Quigley, Mikie Reck, Cian Cullen, Ned Maher, Seán Doyle, Niall Byrne.
Ballyhogue: Eamon Asple; Liam Parnell, Keith Roche, Oscar Redmond; Conor O’Brien, James Reville (capt.), Darragh Bates; Ben Asple (0-1 free), Jamie Fitzpatrick (0-1); Oisín Rochford, Nicky Dempsey, Odhrán Kehoe; Conor Kelly (0-1), Cian McCormack, Shane Roche. Subs. - Mark Dawson for McCormack (30), Daniel Cullen for O’Brien (38), also Mark Asple, Zack Levingston, Ryan McGlynn, Keith Keshinka, Andrew Doyle.
Referee: Paul Browne (Clonee).