Enniskerry off to a good start Superior fitness was telling
at Avondale
Ian Heffernan pointed a free for the Dales but then disaster struck for the home team in the next few minutes.
A feature of many games now is the dreaded cock up on a short kick out and it happened here on twenty minutes when a mistake in the Avondale defence left Gavin Barton with the ball in his hands 20 metres out with only the goalie to beat.
This he duly did with an unstoppable shot to Mikey O’Toole’s right. Brendan Barton added another point from play and with a six-point gap in the score line the game was going away from Avondale.
By now McGraynor was back out at midfield and the homesters shook themselves again. They had almost instant success when half back Cian O’Hannaigh went forward and scored a great goal to bring his side back into the game after 22 minutes.
And when Seamus McGraynor added a point from play three minutes later the lead was back to two points.
Gavin Barton finished the scoring for this half with a point from a free just before the break.
Four points were exchanged in the first six minutes of the second half. Ian Heffernan (free), Anto O’Neill, Seamus McGraynor and O’Neill again, following the rebound of a Craig Williams ‘45’ off a post, leaving Enniskerry still ahead by three points.
Amazingly, only three more scores came for the remainder of the game. The Enniskerry defence closed down the Avondale attack, keeping a good eye on Ian Heffernan in particular.
The accurate centre forward was never allowed a free or uncontested shot on goal. Fitness also played its part also with the home team visibly tiring as the half wore on.
For their part Enniskerry made poor use of an enormous amount of possession. They carried the ball well into the Avondale half but the confidence of taking on scoring chances deserted them. They also recorded seven wides during this period with a total of eleven for the entire game.
Callum Persey scored Avondale’s final point after thirteen minutes and it took Dan Kelly to come forward from centre back to record Enniskerry’s response five minutes later.
Despite all their possession there remained only three points of a gap between the sides until Gavin Barton eased Enniskerry worries with a final point from a free just on the call of time.
Enniskerry were deserving winners here but will not be pleased with their scoring fade out in the second half, given the level of possession they enjoyed.
Avondale were in with a chance right to the end largely through the reluctance of the black and amber men to put away their chances.
Scorers – Enniskerry: Gavin Barton 1-5 (3f), Anto O’Neill 0-3 (1f), Brendan Barton 0-3, Seamus O’Gorman 0-1, Dan Kelly 0-1.
Avondale: Ian Heffernan 0-5 (3f), Cian O’Hannaigh 1-0, Seamus McGraynor 0-2, Callum Persey 0-1, Cathal Doyle 0-1.
Enniskerry: Ian Kirwan; Luke Dalton, Brendan Fitzgerald, James Cahill; Eoin Byrne, Dan Kelly, Luke Wrynne; Seamus O’Gorman, Craig Williams; Stephan Cahill, Gavin Barton, Jack Conroy; Anthony O’Neill, Brendan Barton, Mark Tyndall. Subs: Donal Finch for Stephan Cahill, James Maloney for Luke Dalton, Alan King for Jack Conroy.
Avondale: Mikey O’Toole; Kevin Sheehan, Shane O’Neill, Sean Kinsella; Cian O’Hannaigh, Brian Olahan, Aonghus O’Broin; Cathal Doyle, Shane Birch; Cormac Doyle, Ian Heffernan, Callum Persey; Craig Byrne, Seamus McGraynor, Anthony Byrne. Subs: Stephan Langan for Brian Olohan, Paul Gahan for Shane Birch, Kevin Fitzgerald for Anthony Byrne.
Referee: Ian Culbert.