AGB rise from the dead with two wins on the trot
AGB ÉIRE ÓG
IT may have taken longer than three days but AGB have risen from a poor start in the league to register two wins on the spin and climb up the league table.
They were comfortable winners over Éire Óg, the visitors were limited to only three points in 48 minutes before Bill Hill’s favourite superstar Willie O’Hagan kicked three of the last four points in the final ten minutes. Granted, they will be a different proposition with Darren Hayden and Daniel Keane back in the forward line.
Arklow’s tackling was exceptional, even though Éire Óg created lots of chances and finished the match with six wides and a further four shots that dropped short they were forced to take those shots from distance or tough angles because getting any closer risked losing the ball in a tackle.
Tom Maher continues to make life tortuous for any forward in his vicinity, he’ll win a race for the ball and if the forward is lucky enough to gain possession he then has to negotiate a way past Maher which is more difficult than turning water into wine unless your initials are JC and you lived 2000 years ago.
In the forward line Philip Healy set up score after score, Arklow attempted to leave huge swathes of space in front of him and his teammates kicked the ball long into him at every opportunity and he won it more often than not. Behind him Stephen Hurley finished the day with an eight point haul, a few beauties amongst them.
Arklow, and more specifically Hurley, started the game with three points in six minutes. First Andrew Maher ran at the heart of the Éire Óg defence and popped it off to the centre forward to casually raise the first white flag.
Moments later Arklow pinned Éire Óg inside their 45 and stripped them of possession for the second point before Andrew Maher won the kick out and found Healy who was fouled. Hurley made no mistake from the free.
Éire Óg responded with a couple of points to make it three points to two after ten minutes. Darragh Shiels got the first and then a poor kick out went straight to Craig Smullen and he got the second. If there was one aspect of Arklow’s performance that wasn’t wonderful it was their kick outs.
Éire Óg would only score once more however in the next thirty minutes during which time Arklow added 1-06. Stephen Hurley scored four of the six points, two of them as good as anyone will see on a football field.
The first was a long range free from about fifty-five metres and the second was kicked somewhere close to the first carriage of the train trundling along above the pitch, an outrageous shot to take on the wrong side of the pitch for a right footed kicker.
He traded points with Éire Óg’s Fintan O’Shea, a potential goal chance the Greystones man fisted over the bar, and then Arklow got their goal. Philip Healy, once again, won a long ball into him and Cormac O’Shea was sprinting in support like he was late for Mass. O’Shea moved the ball to Dara McBride and he smashed it into the back of the net.
Éire Óg had a few late chances in the half to add to their three point tally but they went wide or fell short to Kyle O’Connor.
Arklow tagged on three points to begin the second half, JP Hurley, Healy and Stephen Hurley with a point each, and they led by 1-09 to 3 points. Éire Óg outscored the home side by four points to one in the final ten minutes to reduce the final deficit.
Scorers – AGB:
Éire Óg: AGB: Eire Og: