Laragh on the rise at just the right time
LARAGH NEWCASTLE 2-13 0-08
TWO stunning goals right before half-time turned this JAFC quarter-final between Laragh and Newcastle on its head and propelled Deckie Byrne’s charges into the last four where they should be a serious force to be reckoned with going on this performance.
Key to the goals was the link play of Steve Olohan who provided the passes that created the openings for both majors and the Laragh centre-half forward turned in an industrious 60 minutes and is vital to the Laragh cause.
Both managements were populated by former Rathnew stars with the aforementioned Deckie Byrne turning out a finely tuned Laragh outfit while Ronan Coffey and Kevin Gill had Newcastle biting at the bit for action at the other side.
Ultimately, besides the Laragh goals, it was missed chances that were Newcastle’s undoing, with two clear cut goal chances going a begging and numerous points missed over the course of the hour and to win any championship you can’t afford to miss the big scores.
A key battle in this game was the collision of Mark Miley and Ciaran Doyle on the edge of the square with both men battling ferociously. Miley was certainly the victor on the day with his 1-03 tally a testament to his movement and ability. Doyle, always a warrior, gave everything to the Newcastle cause.
Things looked promising for Newcastle early on as they set off at a very spritely pace with Shane Magee firing over their opener.
A foul on Miley povided John Nolan with his first chance and the half-forward dropped over the free after three minutes to level matters.
A super Ruairi Farrell point returned Newcastle to the front but they followed this with two wides and their lack of a left-footed free taker was keenly felt.
Myles Conway grabbed the equaliser for Laragh after 12 minutes before Damien Hanlon with a bomb and a John Nolan free opened up a 0-04 to 0-02 gap between the teams on the quarter hour.
Newcastle attacked the Laragh goal and had three chances for a goal with one effort rocketing back off the crossbar.
They returned moments later with a Robert O’Gara effort and Warren Merriman slotted over a free following Damien Hanlon’s second for Laragh, 0-05 to 0-04, 28 gone.
And then the goals came. A sublime Steve Olohan pass into space for Mark Miley allowed the full-forward time to gather and slip a hand pass across to Dan Power who rattled the back of the Newcastle net.
Ronan Coffey’s men replied with a Paul Magee point but nice hands from Olohan sent Mark Miley through and the full-forward hammered home the second goal and another nail in the Newcastl coffin to leave the score at 2-06 to 0-04 at the break.
Laragh were quite dominant in the second half. Peter Merrigan turned in a super performance from full-back while Mark Miley and Damien Hanlon continued their excellent shifts out the field.
Miley pointed Laragh’s first of the second half and this was followed by a fisted John Nolan point after good work by Steve Olohan.
A Merriman free and a fine Shane Magee effort sandwiched another Miley point and, while Ronan Coffey tried various substitutions and positional switches, the Newcastle men were unable to counteract the strong running and fine interplay of the Laragh men who cruised through the latter stages off this game to finish out 2-13 to 0-08 winners and seal their semi-final spot.
They’ll face stiffer tasks ahead but the ‘dark horse’ tag wouldn’t be a bad one for Deckie Byrne’s men at this point in time.
Scorers – Laragh: Mark Miley 1-03, John Nolan 0-04 (3f), Damien Hanlon 0-03, Dan Power 1-00, Aaron Lynham 0-01, Myles Conway 0-01, Liam McEvoy 0-01.
Newcastle: Shane Magee 0-03, Warren Merriman 0-03 (3f), Ruairi Farrell 0-01, Robert O’Gara 0-01.