Pleasing end for An Tochar
Nolan bags 1-7 in victory
AN TOCHAR salvaged a considerable amount of consolation at Ballinakill last Wednesday night for their disappointing campaign in this year’s county Minor football championship.
Beaten by Rathnew, Éire Óg and Tinahely in the under-17 competition, the Roundwood outfit delighted their fans by capturing the inaugural Minor Pathway League Division 1 title by coming up trumps against amalgamated side St Nicholas in a highly competitive final which produced an abundance of quality football.
And An Tochar achieved their objective the hard way, staging a courageous recovery in the wake of a nightmare start to the contest, which saw Liam Cullen’s side fall 0-5 to 0-1 in arrears after just 10 minutes within the throw-in by referee Ciaran Kenny.
But to their immense credit, An Tochar, who were powered by county minor full-back Jordan Brady, refused to be daunted by the considerable challenge facing them, and the village outfit gradually worked themselves back into contention in the game.
And helped by a goal apiece by John Paul Nolan, who finished with a personal tally of 1-7, and Ciaran Murphy, respectively after 15 minutes and late in the opening half, An Tochar turned the contest around to such an extent that they were able to carry a 2-6 to 0-5 lead into the half-time break.
However, similar to the significant levels of resilience and fighting spirit displayed by An Tochar following their opponents’ lightning start, St Nicholas, who draw their players from the Donard and Dunlavin clubs, very quickly demonstrated on the change-over that they were not in any way lacking in similar qualities themselves.
And this was tellingly reflected in the fact that midway through the second half, the west county outfit had reduced An Tochar’s advantage to just two points, leaving the eventual outcome very much in the balance.
But for the second time in the match, the Roundwood side underlined their high levels of character and resolve by regaining the initiative in the closing stages and extending their lead to a comfortable five-point margin by the time the final whistle was blown.
Understandably, An Tochar manager Cullen was delighted to see his side come on top at the concluding stage of a competition which saw them win six of their seven games, and for which the earlier games saw clubs feature without their county minor players.
‘The lads deserve considerable credit for the quality of the football they produced and for the way they battled back from what was a very unfavourable start to the game for us,’ enthused Cullen, whose side’s captain, midfielder Cian Brady, was presented with the Cup by Owen Doyle.
‘In the first 15 minutes or so, everything that St Nicholas kicked seemed to go over the bar, whereas we were struggling with our build-up play and our shooting.
‘But gradually we found a rhythm and the two goals were a massive boost and helped us go in at half-time with a five-point lead.
‘In the first quarter of the second half, St Nicholas played some great football and they were well in contention when they brought back our lead to two points.
‘However, thankfully our lads responded to the challenge in tremendous style and it was great that we had five points to spare at the final whistle.
‘But overall it was a tremendous game of football which was played in an excellent sporting spirit, and both teams deserve considerable credit for that.’
Scorers for An Tochar: John Paul Nolan 1-7, Conor Fee 0-3, Ciaran Murphy 1-0, Darragh Fee 0-2, Cian Brady 0-1.
AN TOCHAR: Luke Kenny; Darragh Tierney, Jordan Brady, Niall Byrne; Ryan Hanlon, Matt Nolan, Dylan Cummins; Niall Sheehan, Kian Brady; Darragh Fee, JP Nolan, Bobby Brady; Roan Hayes, Conor Fee, Ciaran Murphy. Subs: Cian Timmons, Dale Brady, Seán Brady, Alan Byrne, Piaras Morris.
ST NICHOLAS: Brian Keogh; Ronan Kelly, Jack Grace, Cian Fox; Jack Keogh, Mark Murtagh, Willie Eager; Tom Moran, Shane Daly; Jack Reid, Adam Byrne, Mikey O’Rourke; Sean Doyle, Joe Mills, David Fox. Subs: Ciaran Geoghegan, Meitheal Cleary, Andrew Thompson, Daniel Furlong, Mikey Byrne, Rory Martin.