Ging guides Tinahely to victory Ballinacor lay down marker in Division 3
TINAHELY KNOCKANANNA 0-12 0-9
THE class of Matthew Ging was the key difference between Tinahely and Knockananna when the neighbours collided in the opening SFL Division 3 clash of the season in Annacurra last Thursday night.
Confusion reigns in terms of the final score of this game with referee Robert Roche recording a 0-12 to 0-9 victory for the Tinahely side but this reporter has an 0-11 to 0-10 win for Martin Ging’s men.
Regardless of what score is correct, the fact remains that Tinahely were the victors, but they can be thankful for Knockananna missing a penalty and for the impact young stars Cillian McDonald and Bradley Hickey had when they were introduced in the second half with the game well and truly in the melting pot.
Knockananna will take some heart and positives from this encounter as they fielded without the likes of Paddy Byrne, Jonny Wybrant, Damien Byrne and Keith Corrigan but were still neck and neck with a very strong Tinahely outfit until the last few moments of this game.
It was Ging that proved to be the different class. Six points off that magic left boot of his (one free) helped keep this Knockananna team at bay at key junctures but Garry Bradley put in a serious shift on the county under-20 star in an attempt to limit his impact on this game.
The resoluteness of both defences meant that this would always be a low-scoring affair.
Jamie Cullen, Larry Keating and Gearóid O’Donoghue made life very difficult for Dereck Kavanagh, Lorcan Tyrrell and Darragh Whelan but Paddy O’Keeffe, former Rathvilly player Brian Leonard and the returning Darragh Gregan produced a very impressive showing in their first shift as the Knockananna full-back line with Gregan and Leonard really putting themselves about while O’Keeffe produced his usual no-nonsense, efficient performance.
Lorcan Tyrrell’s opener was followed by three Tinahely points on the trot through Niall Gorman, Austin Brennan and a free from Ging with 10 on the clock.
Dereck Kavanagh replied but Matthew Ging was left completely unmarked in the next play and he screwed over a beauty to make it 0-4 to 0-2 after 16.
The next seven minutes were costly for Knockananna. Two shots were dropped short to Damien Darcy in the Tinahely goal and a free from Lorcan Tyrrell came back off the post.
Overcarrying from Ray McGlynn gave Lorcan Tyrrell and free and he went short to Reid Byrne who survived a big hit before pointing superbly after 23.
A stunning mark from Aaron O’Neill resulted in a free and Dereck Kavanagh pointed and we were all square with 24 gone at 0-4 apiece.
The game entered a confusing period then. Two throw balls were followed by a pass from Ronan Byrne to Lorcan Tyrrell but it looked like his effort on goal was swallowed up by Damien Darcy. However, referee Robert Roche spotted an infringement of some sort and spread the arms wide for a penalty after running in to check on the exact whereabouts of the foul.
Knockananna’s Darren Flynn stepped up to take the penalty but Darcy proved equal and he saved. Dereck Kavanagh gathered the rebound, won a free and pointed to lessen the blow and give Knockananna the lead at 0-5 to 0-4 after 29.
Thanks to a Brian Leonard block on a Tinahely shot that’s how the score would stay at the break.
Ging leveled matters early on but Kavanagh replied.
Further points from Ging and Colm Kenny pushed Tinahely ahead by 0-7 to 0-6 before the Tinahely management sent in Cillian McDonald, Bradley Hickey and Anthony Phelan into the fray to try and win this game once and for all.
Ging made it 0-8 to 0-6 with a stunner but back came Knockananna with points from Reid Byrne (a magnificent score) and two Dereck Kavanagh frees to leave them 0-9 to 0-8 ahead after 21 minutes.
Ging went wide from a free soon after but Cillian McDonald, fresh from his Wicklow Schools ‘A’ football championship semi-final exploits earlier that day, made it all square after 25 at 0-9 apiece.
A free from David Blake after a black card to Brandon Doyle for a foul on Ging was answered by a free from Dereck Kavanagh as Knockananna refused to go away but Tinahely’s fitness was starting to tell and a wide from Fionn Furlong was followed by a stunning score from Matthew Ging that sealed victory for Tinahely after a thoroughly enjoyable game between two sides that have the potential to do serious damage in their respective championships.
– Tinahely: Matthew Ging 0-6 (1f), Niall Gorman 0-1, Austin Brennan 0-1, Colm Kenny 0-1, Cillian McDonald 0-1, David Blake 0-1.
Dereck Kavanagh 0-7 (6f), Reid Byrne 0-2, Lorcan Tyrrell 0-1.
Damien Darcy; Jamie Cullen, Larry Keating, Gearóid O’Donoghue; John Blake, Ray McGlynn, Kevin Doyle; Niall Gorman, Fionn Furlong; Colm Kenny, Matthew Ging, Oisin Furlong; Austin Brennan, David Blake, Conor Kenny. Subs: Bradley
Scorers TINAHELY:
Hickey for K Doyle, Cillian McDonald for C Kenny, Anthony Phelan for A Brennan, Brian Hickey for N Gorman.
KNOCKANANNA:
John Farrell; Paddy O’Keeffe, Brian Leonard, Darragh Gregan; James Leonard, Garry Bradley, Aaron O’Neill; Tristan Maher, Padraig Lancaster;
Ronan Byrne, Reid Byrne, Darren Flynn; Darragh Whelan, Lorcan Tyrrell, Dereck Kavanagh. Subs: Noel Byrne for D Whelan, Brandon Doyle for R Byrne, Eddie Bracken for D Flynn.
REFEREE:
Emmets)
Robert Roche (Carnew
AHEAD of the start of the Division 3 league last weekend it was revealed that Rathnew were withdrawing their second team from the competition which meant that the clash between the Village side and Enniskerry fell by the wayside.