Greystones come late to claim opening win
BRAY EMMETS ÉIRE ÓG 2-5 1-10
ÉIRE ÓG have kicked off their 2020 Division 1A league campaign with a win, after a late Eoin O’Neill goal and a pair of points from James Cranley helped the Greystones men come from behind to defeat Bray Emmets on Sunday morning.
Bray seemed comfortable going into half-time, after goals from Niall McGraynor and Cian Lohan sent them into the break 2-2 to 0-4 in front.
Greystones turned the game around in the second-half, however, and came away with the points courtesy of an electric final ten minutes that saw them score 1-3 through substitute O’Neill’s late goal, as well as important scores from Cranley (2) and Fionn O’Carroll to seal the opening day win.
Both sides spent the opening exchanges of the game very much nip-and-tuck. Full-backs Sam Kearney and Dáire Lohan put Emmets 0-2 to no score to the good, only for Éire Óg to respond through a pair of scores from Shaun Cranley – one from a free, the other from a 45’.
It would be Bray who would fire the first substantial shot across the bow, however. Gavin Dowling gathered possession in his own half, before producing a lung-busting run down the middle of the field. Once he reached the Greystones rearguard, he moved the ball onto Niall McGraynor, who fired the ball past Conor Browne in the Greystones goal.
That goal gave Bray a real lift in confidence, and they would double their tally as the first-half approached its conclusion. To combat the marauding runs of the Bray corner-backs, Greystones full-forward Craig Smullen was made to operate in a deeper position. It was in that deeper role that he was turned over by Darragh Rochford. That kick-started a counter-attack that ended with Cian Lohan putting the ball into the back of the net for the second goal of the day.
Éire Óg would get the final score of the half through David Rooney, but it would be Bray who went into the break 2-2 to 0-4 in the lead.
While it was he who was turned over in the build-up to Bray’s second goal, the deeper deployment of Craig Smullen was important in the second-half Éire Óg turnaround, as the visitors restricted Emmets to just three points, while Greystones outscored them with 1-6 to claim the spoils.
Shaun Cranley got the second-half scoring underway with a point, before that same man brought the two teams to within two points with a free. Bray rebounded through a Niall McGraynor free, before Éire Óg management took the step of withdrawing Eoghain O’Longaigh for Eoin O’Neill, who would go on to play a very significant part in the rest of the contest as an extra body at the attacking end of the field.
Darragh Rochford answered another Shaun Cranley free with a point that kept the gap between the two teams at three points. Then, after Des Kelly sent a chance wide of the upright, Éire Óg flipped the game on its head through an opportunistic goal from Eoin O’Neill.
As proceedings entered the final ten minutes, David Ronney sent a hopeful ball over the top of the Bray defence. Momentary hesitation from goalkeeper Tadhg Bornan proved costly, as O’Neill rose highest to provide the slightest of touches on the ball to send it past Dornan, who had come off his line in an attempt to gather.
A subsequent score from Fionn O’Carroll gave Greystones the lead for the first time, only for Niall Gaffney to respond with an equalising point.
Despite Gaffney’s score, the tide had certainly switched in the favour of Greystones following the O’Neill goal. James Cranley aplit the posts to give Greystones the advantage once again, before he rounded off the day with a point in additional time off of a Shaun Cranley pass, despite the ball appearing to cross the end-line before Cranley retained the possession in the build-up.
The score stood, despite Bray protestations, and the hosts were unable to supply a response in the time that was left in the contest, as Éire Óg joined Coolkenno – to whom they play host next week – and Dunlavin in the Division 1A win column.
Bray Emmets: Niall McGraynor (1-1; 0-1f), Cian Lohan (1-0), Dáire Lohan (0-1), Darragh Rochford (0-1), Niall Gaffney (0-1), Sam Kearney (0-1).
Scorers:
Éire Óg: Shaun Cranley (0-5; 0-3f; 0-1 45’), Eoin O’Neill (1-0), James Cranley (0-2), David Rooney (0-1), Dominic O’Brien (0-1), Fionn O’Carroll (0-1).
Tadhg Dornan; Mark Cullen, Dáire Lohan, Sam Kearney; Ben Kearney, Des Kelly, David Martin; Liam Benville, Darragh Rochford; Gavin Dowling, Niall Gaffney, Marc Lennon; Cian Lohan, Niall
BRAY EMMETS:
McGraynor, Andrew Conway. Subs: Rory Breslin for L. Benville, Johnny Kinch for C. Lohan, Shane Lohan for A. Conway.
ÉIRE ÓG:
Conor Browne; Liam Maguire, Daire Devine, James Wood; Cillian Keane, Michael Cannon, Matt Maguire; Dominic O’Brien, David Rooney; James Cranley, Fionn O’Carroll, Eoghain O’Longaigh; Shaun Cranley, Craig Smullen, Gavin O’Shea. Subs: Cian Hynes for C. Keane, Daniel Healy for J. Woods, Eoin O’Neill for E. O’Longaigh.