Three dismissed in crushing defeat
ST. PETER’S endured an afternoon to forget in Athy on Thursday as they got hammered by St. Joseph’s (Rochfortbridge) in the Top Oil Leinster Schools Senior football ‘A’ championship.
As if the scoreline wasn’t disappointing enough, the Summerhill school let themselves down with their behaviour on the field, finishing with twelve men after seeing Leigh Newport, Seán Carley and Paul Deeny all sent-off by referee Brendan Hickey.
It’s certainly not behaviour that’s common to St. Peter’s and not something that will hopefully be repeated. Things happen in the course of a game, but to see lads losing their rag continuously doesn’t reflect well on the school they represent across the province.
The initial five minutes were somewhat promising, as Shane Pettit cancelled out Aaron Kelleghan’s point and St. Peter’s were going at their opponents. However, things quickly took a turn for the worse when Brandon Kelly scored 1-1 in two minutes.
With the breeze at their backs, Rochfortbridge pushed on as the Wexford school became ragged. It was 1-5 to 0-1 at the end of the opening quarter, and it got worse when Kelly released Jack Torpey for a second major.
Strangely enough, St. Peter’s woke up when Leigh Newport was given a straight red card for an offthe-ball incident in the 20th minute.
They won the remainder of the half by two points to one, with Justin Moran’s shot tipped over the bar and Pettit adding another free.
With rain cutting up an already heavy pitch, St. Joseph’s emerged from a 2-7 to 0-3 interval lead with plenty of energy.
Shane Fleming netted four minutes after the re-start, and the result was beyond any doubt when Torpey followed suit two minutes later.
A Pettit free made it 4-9 to 0-4 at the end of the third quarter as both sides flooded the field with substitutions.
Devin Hill netted a fifth St. Joseph’s goal in the 50th minute, while different incidents ensured neither Carley nor Deeny heard the full-time whistle while on the field.
St. Peter’s didn’t have much time to reflect on this disaster, as they were back in action yesterday (Monday) in Killeshin, drawing with Coláiste Mhuire of Mullingar (1-14 to 2-11) to earn a knockout place (full report next week).
St. Peter’s: Cian Byrne (St. Mary’s, Rosslare); Stuart Hession (Volunteers), Leigh Newport (Our Lady’s Island), Hugh Peter Manley (Shelmaliers); Zac Firman (St. Martin’s), David Codd (St. Martin’s), Leigh Whelan (Ballyhogue); Justin Moran (St. Anne’s, 0-1), Conor Mahoney (Glynn-Barntown); Luke Kavanagh (St. Martin’s), Shane Pettit (St. Fintan’s, 0-4 frees), Dylan O’Neill (Shelmaliers); Conor Kehoe (Sarsfields), Jack O’Leary (St. Fintan’s), Tomás Murphy (Blackwater). Subs. - Diarmuid O’Leary (St. Martin’s) for Manley (36), Paul Hearne (Shelmaliers) for Kehoe (42), Paul Deeny (Volunteers) for O’Neill (48), Seán Carley (Kilmore) for Murphy (50), Liam Cassin (Sarsfields) for Kavanagh (54), James Dixon (Crossabeg-Ballymurn) for Mahoney (56).
St. Joseph’s: Jamie Mulkearns; Ken Russell, Ciarán Daly (sixth year), Luke Darby; Michael McCormack, Josh Gahan, Evan Rigney; Niall Smullen (0-1), Ciarán Daly (fifth year); Brandon Kelly (1-2), Shane Fleming (1-2), Podge Quinn; Devin Hill (1-1), Aaron Kelleghan (0-5, 4 frees), Jack Torpey (2-0). Subs. - Rory Keyes for Quinn (44), Darragh Core for Rigney (47), Sam Clarke for Kelleghan (52), Cian Murphy for Torpey (56), Conor Borthwick for Kelly (58), Dean Swords for Hill (60).
Referee: Brendan Hickey (Kildare).