St Nicholas shine bright against Éire Óg Greystones
ST. NICHOLAS booked their place in the Minor ‘A’ football championship after a devastating display against Éire Óg on Monday evening last in a game full of passion and drama right up to the final whistle, where pure football was the real winner.
Goals win matches they say, well we had nine in an action-packed encounter. St Nicholas started the brighter with Sean Doyle landing the opening score with a fine point.
St Nicholas added another before Sean Doyle rifled home the first major of the game in the seventh minute.
The lively Joe Pendergast got Éire Óg up and running when he landed a brace of points. The Greystones side were guilty of dropping a number of shots short into Meithéal Cleary, who cleared his lines on a number of occasions.
Dylan Prendergast was in flying form for the Donard-The Glen/Dunlavin combination side
throughout the game.
Both sides lost a player on a black card before Ollie Matthews dispatched a penalty past Cleary to put Greystones back in the mix in the 20th minute.
A rousing closing quarter followed with Joe Mills and Dylan
Prendergast each raising white flags. Taylor O’Sullivan missed a sitter of a goal in the next attack for Éire Óg. They were punished when Conor Manifold harvested St Nicholas’ second major, moments later, as the play ebbed and flowed up and down the field.
Dylan Maher had another goal chance brilliantly saved by Meithéal Cleary, whose parried shot was put over the bar by Ollie Matthews as the half-time whistle sounded at 2-4 to 1-5.
St. Nicholas landed 1-3 without reply in the opening five minutes
of the second half to build up a nice cushion. Joe Pendergast and Joe Mills traded points. A dashing run by Mikey O’Rourke yielded Nic’s third major, but moments later Colin Condron was brought down in the box and Ollie Matthews fired home his second major of the evening to leave three points between the teams going into the closing quarter.
Dylan Prendergast, one of St Nicholas’ top preformers all evening, was causing havoc for Greystones, and a trio of unanswered points followed for the west team.
Éire Óg burst back into the game with a brace of points and a goal from Roy Byrne to blow the game wide open, 4-10 to 3-10, with 55 minutes played. It was a pulsating finish to the game with both sides landing majors, as St. Nicholas got over the line and now will meet Blessington, in an all-west final.
ST. NICHOLAS: Meithéal Cleary; Ronan Kelly, Rory Martin, Cian Fox; Mikey O’Rourke (1-0), Ciaran Geoghan, Sean O’Sullivan; Tadgh McCarthy, Willie Eager; Conor Manifold (2-1), Eoin Sheridan, Dylan Prendergast (1-2); Sean Doyle (14), Joe Mills (0-4,2f), Cian Deering (0-1). Subs: Adam Byrne, Riain Waters.
ÉIRE ÓG GREYSTONES: Sean O’Neill; Max Scully, Neil Burke, Spenser O’Connor; Mark Hayden, Conor O’Donovan, Colm Shortt (1-0); Chris Stewart (0-1), Roy Byrne (1-00); Ollie Mathews (2-2, one pen), Joe Pendergast (0-4,1f), Oisin Shanahan; Taylor O’Sullivan (0-1), Colm Condron (0-1), Dylan Maher. Subs: Charlie Leahy (0-1), Colin O’Shea
REFEREE: Eddie Leonard (St. Patrick’s)