AGB in total control against Clan na Gael
MFC ‘B’ PLATE FINAL
AGB finished off their Minor football championship campaign for 2019 with an overwhelming victory over Clan na Gael in the Minor ‘B’ Plate final played at Rathnew GAA grounds on Wednesda last.
Conditions were good for football with little or no breeze to interfere with the game. This tie brought together three clubs who had all been involved in county finals the previous weekend. Clan na Gael is a combination of Enniskerry and Kilmacanogue, who had mixed fortunes.
Enniskerry captured the Junior ‘B’ title while Kilmac had come up short in theIntermediate. AGB had made that brave effort against St. Pats but they too had come up short.
For all three clubs this game was a return to basics. In the opening ten minutes or so Clan na Gael flattered to deceive. They were playing into the village end and hit the ground running and they were three points to the good after ten minutes.
AGB for their part were still at the starting line. However, they slowly got going and in the space of the five-minute period coming up to the quarter-hour mark, they had gone into a 1-3 to 0-3 lead.
Joe McGeary had slotted home a goal from a penalty and corner-forward Alan Merrigan had three left-footed points, one from a free.
The Clan na Gael midfield diamond of Sean Clarke, Conor Power, Conor Gallagher and Dylan Henry continued to be very prominent but the north Wicklow lads were not now getting the scoring dividend that they had reaped in the early stages.
Cian Cooney and Conor Gahan at midfield for AGB were now linking up well with the forward unit who were beginning to put the scores on the board. Goals from McGeary and Merrigan left the Arklow lads playing in a more relaxed fashion and they added three more points to bring their tally to 3-6 at the half-time break.
Dylan Henry and midfielder Conor Gallagher had points for
Clan na Gael to leave them adrift by 3-6 to 0-5. They were not yet out of the game, but they did need to get going seriously in the second period if they were to make an impression on a ten-point gap.
AGB had the opening scores of the second half, points from Joe McGeary and substitute Con Kinsella. Clan na Gael did respond with a point from Cian Hind following a great run from Conor Power.
However, further points from Luke Scanlon and a goal from substitute Luke Lennon ended any chance of the north Wicklow side getting back.
Patrick O’Halloran and Oran Dunning had further goals for AGB, and Luke Scanlon had their final point. Clan na Gael continued to compete to the end and centre back Sean Clarke had their final point just before the call of time. Final score was 6-11 to 0-7.
Following the game, the trophy was presented to the winning captain Cian Cooney by Mick Hagan. The Wicklow People sponsored Man of the Match award was presented to Luke Scanlon.
Scorers - AGB: Joe McGeary 2-1, Alan Merrigan 1-4, Luke Lennon 1-0, Patrick O’Halloran, Oran Dunning 1-0, Luke Scanlon 0-3, Liam Cooney, Con Kinsella and Kealan Delaney 0-1 each
Clanna Gael: Dylan Henry 0-2, Conor Gallagher 0-2, John Fox, Cian Hind and Sean Clarke 0-1 each.
AGB: Sean Murphy; Sean O’Donovan, Adam Mullervy, Ross Kenny; Dylan Clarke, Brendan Hanlon, Ryan Tolan; Cian Cooney, Conor Gahan; Alan Merrigan, Kealan Delaney, Joe McGeary. Subs: Con Kinsella, Daire Furlong, Liam Shaw, Seamus Barnes Oran Dunning.
CLANNA GAEL: Tom Devereux; Billy Corrigan, Jamie Nally, Brandan Morgan, Cian Hand, Sean Clarke, Nathan Quinn; Conor Power, Conor Gallagher; Eoin Cleary, Dylan Henry, Peter O’Toole; Sean Morgan, Aidan Skelly, John Fox. Subs: Josh Kenny, Luke Kelly, and Sam Morgan.