Gusserane seconds score freely
HAVING DOMINATED for the most part, Gusserane O’Rahilly’s reeled off an impressive eight-point victory over a youthful Naomh Eanna side in this entertaining EBS All-County Fotball League Division 4 game in Gusserane on Friday.
On an ideal evening for football, played on an excellent surface, Jamie Cooney added an extra dimension with a full-forward display that saw him kick over some excellent points from a variety of angles.
While the classy Cooney was the real difference between the sides, Naomh Eanna with an abundance of youth in their side still managed to play some excellent football, but their failure to utilise the chances that came their way proved their undoing in the end.
Cooney propelled himself into the game from the opening minutes, kicking over a huge 30-metre point from out on the wing after just two minutes, and going on to add a further point after eight minutes.
Evan O’Neill had added one in between, to leave the eventual winners leading by 0-3 to nil.
Naomh Eanna gradually played their way into the game, with their opening score being an excellent Kevin Budeanu goal to bring the sides level (0-3 to 1-0) after ten minutes.
As the game opened up, the teams were still deadlocked (0-6 to 1-3) after 20 minutes, but close to the break Gusserane corner-forward Jamie Sheehan got on the end of a high ball to divert his effort across goal into the opposite corner of the net, leaving the home side with a 1-9 to 1-6 interval lead.
Despite a Shane Langan-Murphy pointed free reducing the deficit within one minute of the re-start, Naomh Eanna began to labour, as the home midfield pairing of Ciarán Conway and Emmet Cullen exerted control.
A 36th-minute attack began in midfield as Conway picked out Cooney with a ball down the wing, leaving the full-forward to cut inside before picking out Tommy Ryan who finished high to the corner of the net, giving his side a 2-9 to 1-7 lead.
Cooney and Alan McPartland went on to exchange points, but Gusserane remained in control through the closing twelve minutes.
And with Naomh Eanna struggling for scores they went on to take both points, with the Gorey side left to make the long journey home still showing much promise for future outings.
Gusserane O’Rahilly’s: Brian Hennessy; Eoin Foran, James Redmond, Donal Kinsella; Patrick Sinnott, Cathal Somers, Gary O’Grady (0-1); Ciarán Conway (0-2), Emmet Cullen (0-3); Evan O’Neill (0-1), Tommy Ryan (1-1), Jack Culleton; Seán O’Connor (0-1), Jamie Cooney (0-6), Jamie Sheehan (1-1). Subs. - Stephen Whelan for Foran (HT), Evan Kiely for Culleton (40), Dylan Ryan for O’Grady (45).
Naomh Eanna: Ross Murphy; Eoin Fitzpatrick, Seán Dowling, John Doyle; Cian Kenny, Seán Delaney, Simon Doran; Ryan Higgins, Noel Kennedy (0-1); Cian Browne, Eoin McGuckin (0-4), Kevin Budeanu (1-0); Seán O’Brien-Murphy, Shane Langan-Murphy (0-5, 3 frees), Cian Savage. Subs. - Nathan Byrne for Doran (HT), John Lillis for Fitzpatrick (38), Martin O’Donnell for Kenny (45), Alan McPartland (0-1) for Higgins (48).
Referee: John Diskin (Bannow-Ballymitty).