Éire Óg lay down a marker with easy victory over Barndarrig

ÉIRE ÓG BARNDARRIG 3-11 0-1

ÉIRE ÓG opened their Arklow Bay Hotel JCFC account with a comprehensive victory over Barndarrig on Thursday night.

Wides were the norm for the Greystones side in the early stages as Barndarrig struggled to get past Éire Óg’s midfield, as plenty of stray passes cost them early on.

Éire Óg were two points up after ten minutes with Luke Bradley and Niall Deeney putting the ball over the bar. They had a good goal chance in this period as Andrew Kiely fired straight at keeper Mannus Quinn after being playing through by the palm of John Coveney.

Barndarrig goalkeeper Mannus Quinn looked calm and composed in the opening phases with some good catches and passes under pressure.

Éire Óg’s full back line were untroubled throughout the majority of the first half with Barndarrig’s attempts of producing successful attacks failing.

Éire Óg could have been out of sight within 20 minutes of the match with many opportunities to take their points, but instead went for glory and go for goal, meaning most attacks subsequently broke down.

23 minutes in and referee Mick Owens blew for an Éire Óg penalty. Full-forward Ciaran McDonald was taken down after some very good play from McDonald, Brian O’Sullivan and Andrew Kiely. William O’Hagen stepped up and netted to the keeper’s right hand side, with Quinn unfortunate not to parry it away.

The Barndarrig defence struggled to cope with Niall Deeney’s driving runs from midfield. Deeney was a potent force in the majority of Éire Óg’s attacks.

Éire Óg led by 11 points at halftime, with Barndarrig not posting a score. Full-forwards Noel Byrne, Bryan Walsh and Graham Wynne struggled to receive the ball. Éire Óg goalkeeper Fran Chatham was a spectator for the first half.

The second half began scrappy with neither side being able to form chances. There was certainly an improvement from Barndarrig, having more possession, but unable to use this to their advantage.

Kurt Stark got the first score of the half after two minutes but this was the only score in the first fifteen minutes of the second half. Éire Óg had many wides with plenty of wasteful finishing from distance.

This period of the game could only be described as dull as there was a huge lack of action or entertainment.

There was finally another score in the second half, as William O Hagen scored a free, adding to his penalty goal in the first half.

Éire Óg netted another goal ten minutes before time as Ciaran McDonald joined in on the scoring proceedings.

His fellow full-forward Kenny Naughton palmed the ball in McDonald’s trail and he drilled the ball past Mannus Quinn.

At this stage, Barndarrig were well and truly out of this encounter, but straight after the blow from the goal, they posted their first score of the game. Corner forward Owen Brennan pointed impressively.

Dermot Blake scored Éire Óg’s third goal of the match, and it was certainly the pick of the scores. Any goalkeeper would have struggled to keep out his sweet strike past Quinn.

Éire Óg ran rampant with a nineteen point victory in the end, scoring 2-10 from open play. This could have been a lot more only for some poor finishing. They looked impressive with some good interchanging play causing the Barndarrig side plenty of hassle.

As for Barndarrig, they did find it difficult throughout the game. They looked decent in periods and could’ve certainly posted a few more scores, but in the end, Éire Óg were well worth their victory.

Final Score: Barndarrig 0-1 Éire Óg 3-11

Scorers – Barndarrig: Owen Brennan 0-1.

Éire Óg: Niall Deeney 0-4; William O Hagen 1-1 (1f), Ciaran McDonald 1-0, Dermot Blake 1-0, Kurt Stark 0-2, Luke Bradley 0-1, Brian O Sullivan 0-1, John Coveney 0-1, Thomas O Brien 0-1

Mannus Quinn; Stuart Williams, Keith Bradshaw, Colm Twomey; Ronan Clarke, Andy Reilly, Michael Owen; Richie Murray, Richard Murray; Owen Brennan, Tom Doyle, Stephen Cullen; Noel Byrne, Bryan Walsh, Graham Wynne. Subs: Declan Kavanagh.

Fran Chatham; Dermot Blake, Gary Dunne, Sean Minogue; Thomas O Brien, William O Hagen, Daniel Byrne; Luke Bradley, Niall Deeney; John Coveney, Andrew Kiely, Kurt Stark; Brian O Sullivan, Kenny Naughton, Ciaran McDonald.

Mick Owens