CAHILL TO THE FORE
Declan shines as Valleymount squeeze past An Tochar
VALLEYMOUNT AN TOCHAR 2-10 1-10
VALLEYMOUNT did it the hard way, lived a little close to the edge, but ran out deserved winners in extra time where their fitness and experience from the bench carried them over the line, just!
An Tochar got off to the perfect start in this Junior ‘A’ footbal championship semi-final with Brendan Kennedy fisting over a composed point with the first play of the game which was quickly matched by a James Fitzpatrick equaliser.
Kennedy was having a strong start and An Tochar responded with a swift flowing move through the middle, straight from a short kick out won by Conor Davis and finished by Kennedy.
The opening quarter was tit for tat, low scoring, but littered by several bad wides especially by the westerners who hit five wides in concession.
The Mileys did steady the shooting with good scores from Jack Miley playing wing back, Liam Miley from midfield and goalkeeper Paul Miley with a monster point from a 45.
The second quarter of this match was decisive and changed the course of the match, on 23 minutes with Valleymount one point to the good, An Tochar’s Graham Sutton was shown a straight red for a dangerous tackle which appeared harsh.
However, An Tochar rallied and almost immediately scored a decisive goal, well taken by Tom Kenna and set up by the excellent Brendan Kennedy.
An Tochar dropped deep with their numerical disadvantage and Valleymount struggled to break them down, in fact, Valleymount failed to score in the second quarter. The game was very stop and start which was not helped by some overzealous refereeing. The first half finished on a scoreline of 1-3 to 0-4, with An Tochar holding a two-point advantage.
The second half opened with An Tochar dropping their entire half-forward line back and also their danger man Kennedy, at times playing with two forwards and playing on the break through the middle. But before they could set up defensively, Valleymount scored a great team point with Stephen Byrne at full-forward laying off for Miley to tap over.
The game took another unlikely turn when Stephen Flanaghan was shown red mid-way into the second half, another harsh decision by the referee, but a psychological tonic for An Tochar.
The game was in the melting pot and An Tochar went into the closing moments with a twopoint advantage. Valleymount needed something special and they reached to their bench, Glen Cullen winning a high punt in the full-forward line and laying it off for the onrushing James Miley to find the net. Great goal.
An Tochar had to respond and they did through Kennedy, who won a free to level the game. An Tochar had one last chance in normal time to wrap up the victory but missed a gettable free, a soft free at that, final score 1-7 apiece. To extra time…
With both teams back to 15, fitness levels and the respective benches would influence the outcome of extra time.
From the restart James Fitzpatrick put Valleymount ahead, however, it’s goals that win games. Brian Flynn, who was introduced in the second half, worked the ball well through the middle, a couple of fist pass passes, Glen Cullen involved and buried low into the corner by Declan Cahill. Game over. An Tochar closed the gap to three points but Valleymount held out.
Valleymount 2-10 to An Tochar 1-10 – After extra-time.
It’s precisely 20 years since Valleymount last won the Junior ‘A’ championship, are they destined to lift the Tutty Cup in 2018, Kilcoole may have other ideas…a great final awaits.
Man of the Match: Declan Cahill
Scorers - Valleymount: James Fitzpatrick (0-4), Liam Miley (0-2) Jack Miley 0-1, Paul Miley (0-1), Jamie Miley (1-1), Declan Cahill (1-0), Glen Cullen (0-1).
An Tochar: Brendan Kennedy (0-2), Graham Sutton (0-1), Graham Sutton (0-1), Tom Kenna (1-0), Brendan Swords (0-3), Eoghan Wanel (0-1), Conor Shortt (0-1), Conor Davis (0-2)
Peter Byrne, Stephen Connor, Jamie Salley, Colm’ O’Brien, Eamon Wolohan, Conor Shortt, Joe Goffney, Stephen Collier, Conor Davis, Ger Byrne, Bren Swords, Bill Halligan, Graham Sutton, Tom Kenna, Brendan Kennedy. Subs: Liam Gaffney, Eoghan Marah, John Kavanagh, David Kavanagh, Liam Kenna, Gavin Kenny
Paul Miley, Robbie Behan, Steven Cahill, Jeff Kemmy, Darragh Browne, Stephan Flanaghan, Jack Miley, William Kavanagh, Liam Miley, Declan Cahill, James Miley, Mark Carroll, James Fitzpatrick, Steven Byrne, Brian Miley. Subs: Brian Flynn, Gary Walsh, Glen Cullen, Mick Richardson, Diarmuid Nugent.
Stephen Fagan