Danny saves the day with super score
Carnew and Glenealy finish all square
CARNEW EMMETS 0-14 GLENEALY 1-11
THERE were two very different perspectives taken from this dramatic draw in the Dacia Cars Senior Hurling championship meeting of Glenealy and Carnew in Joule Park, Aughrim, last Saturday evening.
Like all meetings of these two teams, there was plenty of drama and excitement with a light dusting of controversy sprinkled on top for good measure.
If you were from Glenealy you’d be delighted with the fact that the 13 men who remained on the field from early in the second half and who battled so bravely were able to snatch a fully deserved draw against the old enemy thanks to a stunning Danny Staunton free late on.
If you were from Carnew you’d probably be relieved that this team, who have just not clicked this season at all, had finally put in a decent shift with the performance of Enda Donohue most likely being the most pleasing aspect with the free-taker harvesting 11 of the tally of 14 and producing a fine showing from open play as well.
On the other hand, looking at it from the glass half empty perspective, a Glenealy supporter might lament the momentary lapse in discipline that resulted in two men being shown straight reds by referee Jimmy Kelly while a Carnew disciple might worry about the fact that even with two extra men on the field they were ultimately unable to put a resurgent Glenealy to the sword.
The bright August sun was considering its position to the west when Gavin Weir stroked over a majestic effort from the stand side after as few as 15 seconds of this championship clash.
Carnew were a fairly reconstructed entity with John Walshe manning the full-back position, Andrew Hughes at centre-half back, Enda Donohue at half back, Seanie Kinsella joining Conall McCrea at midfield and Liam Kennedy brought some physicality to the full-forward berth either side of Wayne Kinsella and the capable Timmy Collins.
Glenealy were unable to profit from the talents of Leighton Glynn while Martin O’Brien, Padraig Doran and Graham Keogh were non-runners for Tom Darcy’s side.
Enda Donohue grabbed the first of his tally when Danny Staunton was said to have overcarried after he found himself encased in the loving arms of Robert Lambert and Jack Doyle.
Donohue fairly split the posts as he began a decent shift from a position that seems to suit him better than anything beyond the half-way line.
Donohue wasn’t the only class free-taker on the field. Jonathan ‘Bosco’ O’Neill prowled from midfield and he returned Glenealy to the lead with a superb effort from halfway. ‘Bosco’ junior showed lovely hands to point under pressure moments later to make it 0-03 to 0-01 with five gone.
Four Enda Donohue points sent Carnew ahead by 0-05 to 0-03 on the quarter-hour mark before Danny Staunton made use of Jimmy Kelly’s advantage to split the posts with a fine effort. Staunton and Warren Kavanagh were very impressive early on with Kavanagh having yet another superb day at full-back.
Then things started to heat up. A long ball from Jonathan O’Neill was gathered superbly by Willie Collins and as he emerged he was confronted by Alan Driver and the two tangled, with Driver hitting the ground and Collins protesting to Jimmy Kelly about interference with his faceguard. After consultation with his umpires, Kelly issued two yellow cards.
Moments later the ball was worked up the field by Carnew to Dan Nolan who was being closely monitored by Gary Byrne. The pair were joined by Tommy Doyle and Conall McCrea down under the stand and a loose swing prompted Jimmy Kelly to signal a free to Carnew.
In the following moments an incident occurred, not witnessed by this reporter, but for which Gary Byrne was shown a straight red card by Jimmy Kelly. Donohue pointed the free to make it 0-06 to 0-04 for Carnew but all of a sudden Glenealy attacked and John Manley got on the end of a ball broken by Alan Driver and he lashed home past Michael Collins. Game well and truly on.
Jonathan O’Neill jnr increased that lead with a ripper of a point, showing lovely wrists and a neat turn, as Carnew assigned the extra man responsibilities to Willie Collins.
Three classic Donohue strikes rescued the situation for Carnew and made it 0-09 to 1-05 after 30 minutes and that’s how they headed for the half-time break with a very entertaining second half on the cards for the small crowd in Joule Park, Aughrim.
We were five minutes into the second half when the drama returned.
A tussle for possession between Timmy Collins and Ruairi O’Neill should have ended with the sound of Jimmy Kelly’s whistle but there was a late swing and a tangling down on the sideline on the dugout side of the Rednagh Hill end and, after consulting with linesman Paul Porter, Jimmy Kelly issued Timmy Collins with a yellow card but flashed a red in the direction of Ruairi O’Neill.
You might have expected Carnew to push on from here and dominate proceedings but Glenealy weren’t going to fold.
Robert Lambert pointed sweetly for Carnew before a ‘Bosco’ free and one from play took the bad look off the deficit at 0-11 to 1-07 with 14 gone.
A Wayne Kinsella point was followed by two converted frees from ‘Bosco’ to level matters before Danny Staunton started to really make his mark on the game and he bagged two from play and an outstanding free either side of Enda Donohue’s last point for Carnew to leave the score at 1-11 to 0-14 at the final whistle.
Carnew will be delighted with their overall performance. John Walshe proved very capable at fullback. Willie Collins was superb, Andrew Hughes was capable, Seanie Kinsella brought a distribution to the midfield that hasn’t been available to any great extent to date while Robert Lambert, Timmy Collins and Wayne Kinsella are offering something in attack.
Glenealy were very unhappy with some of Jimmy Kelly’s decisions on the day but they were very well served by Warren Kavanagh who was outstanding. Danny Staunton was his creative self, Tommy Doyle was dominant and Jonathan O’Neill showed his true class at times. They did miss the killer instinct up front without Leighton Glynn but they are still the only real challengers to the Bray march as we head for the knock out stages.
Scorers – Carnew Emmets: Enda Donohue 0-11 (10f, 1 65), Robert Lambert 0-01, Wayne Kinsella 0-01, Andrew Hughes 0-01.
Glenealy: Jonathan O’Neill 0-05 (4f), Danny Staunton 0-03 (1f), Jonathan O’Neill jnr 0-02, John Manley 1-00, Gavin Weir 0-01.
Glenealy: Keith Snell; Ruairi O’Neill, Warren Kavanagh, Emmet Byrne; Gary Byrne, Danny Staunton, Lee Kavanagh; Jonathan O’Neill, Tommy Doyle; Gavin Weir, Robert Byrne, Enan Glynn; John Manley, Alan Driver, Jonathan O’Neill jnr. Subs: Jamie Byrne for G Weir (36min), James Manley for J O’Neill jnr (49min), Gary Hughes for A Driver (70min)
Carnew Emmets: Michael Collins; Aaron Kinsella, John Walshe, Willie Collins; Oisin Furlong, Andrew Hughes, Enda Donohue; Seanie Kinsella, Conall McCrea; Dan Nolan, Robert Lambert, Jack Doyle; Timmy Collins, Liam Kennedy, Wayne Kinsella. Subs: Drew Brennan for T Collins (43min); Cormac Byrne for C McCrea (60 min), Don Hyland for D Nolan.
Referee: Jimmy Kelly (Knockananna)