Two wins on the bounce for flying An Tochar men

AN TOCHAR COOLBOY 2-12 0-10

AN TÓCHAR made it two wins on the bounce in Group 3 of the Junior A Football Championship with another comprehensive eight-point victory, this time at the hands of Coolboy.

This was Coolboy’s first championship game of the season after what was a long wait, whereas An Tóchar had defeated Shillelagh the previous Sunday.

In what was a very feisty game, Coolboy closed the game out with 13 players.

An Tóchar made the stronger start with a goal a minute and a half into the game.

Brendan Kennedy finished off a well worked move, blasting the ball past Gavin O Brien.

The Roundwood side showed off their quick passing and moving from the opening whistle.

Both teams contested the games with their different styles of play. An Tóchar were the more skilful side, whereas Coolboy showed a more physical and tough side.

Midfielder Gerard Byrne was the most impressive of the An Tóchar’s performers throughout, scoring two good points on the first ten minutes of the encounter.

Coolboy struggled to get the ball up to their full forward line as An Tóchar showed off their strong defence yet again putting good pressure on the opposition.

Coolboy had to settle for efforts from distance, though PJ O Keeffe put over some very accurare scores in the first half to keep their hopes alive.

An Tóchar also showed some good distance scoring, particularly from corner forward Brendan Swords. There was a five-point deficit for Coolboy to overcome with 20 minutes gone. They got higher up the pitch towards the end of the half, getting to within a goal of their opponents.

Before the whistle went for the break, both teams managed a goal chance. Tom Kenna hit the post for An Tóchar and then Michael Gregan went up the other end and hit the crossbar. It would’ve been a massive turning point in the game had either of those chances been put away.

With the scores 1-7 to 0-7 at half time, Coolboy needed to close the gap early on.

Two good scores yet again by PJ O Keeffe dragged them to within a point. Jonathan Smyth intercepted plenty of attacks early in the first half.

A sucker punch came for Cool- boy after 39 minutes, when An Tóchar netted their second goal. Gerard Byrne firing into an empty net, after a one-two with Tom Kenna to take the keeper out of proceedings.

This opened the gap to five points, Coolboy were running out of time to close this.

Three minutes after this goal, Coolboy were reduced to 14 men after Wayne Kinsella received his second yellow card of the clash, both for dissent.

An Tóchar’s goalkeeper Peter Byrne always looked relaxed on the ball as he wandered past his defenders with the ball in his grasp.

Their substitutions also never weakened the team, their fresh legs were a huge advantage in the later stages, as they stretched their lead to seven points.

Tempers began to flare more and more in the last ten minutes, with many clashes occurring across the field.

Two minutes from time, Coolboy were awarded a penalty. This caused a huge melee, with most players getting involved.

PJ Mulhall was given his marching orders after the conclusion of the brawl.

PJ O Keeffe stepped up to take the penalty, only for Peter Byrne to get a strong left hand to it to keep it out, to the delight of the Roundwood outfit.

An Tóchar will be hard beaten in the Championship, but with tough games to come they will have to keep their high standards up. As for Coolboy, good spells in the game can help them to remain positive. Most sides will struggle to cope with their physicality and they will have to use this to their advantage

Scorers – An Tóchar: Gerard Byrne 1-2 (1f); Brendan Swords 0-5 (3f); Brendan Kennedy 1-0; Graham Sutton 0-1; John Kavanagh 0-1; Tom Kenna 0-1; Eamonn Wolohan 0-1; Stefan Collier 0-1.

Coolboy: PJ O Keeffe 0-7 (4f); Adam Barnes 0-1; Wayne Kinsella 0-1; Jonathan Smyth 0-1.

Peter Byrne; Noel Power, Jamie Salley, Colm O Brien; John Kavanagh, Conor Short, Eamonn Wolohan; Gerard Byrne, Liam Gaffney; William Halligan, Brendan Swords, Brendan Kennedy; Graham Sutton, Tom Kenna, David Kavanagh. Subs: Stefan Collier for D. Kavanagh (37 mins); Liam Kenna for Kennedy (45 mins); Stephen Connor for Gaffney (47 mins); Gavin Kenny for Short (57 mins); Luke Power for Sutton (60 mins).

Gavin O Brien; Garrett Gregan, Anthony Holly, James Gregan; Adam Barnes, Daniel Nolan, Jonathan Smyth; PJ O Keeffe, Wayne Kinsella; PJ Mulhall, Michael Gregan, Aaron Kinsella; Bradley Walsh, Johnny Willoughby, Damien O Keeffe.