Gaels blown away as the Blues turn twenty-one
NEWTOWN Blues beat Ophelia to the punch by 24 hours, storming to their 21st Louth senior title with a power-packed display at the Gaelic Grounds.
Dundalk Gaels tried to batten down the hatches as always, but were simply blown away by a welldrilled and composed Blues’ outfit.
It wasn’t a pretty or particularly strong advertisement for Louth football, but in difficult, greasy conditions, the Blues executed their gameplan to a tee, winning practically all of the individual duels and plundering their goals at vital moments.
It was the Gaels’ tactics that were supposed to dictate the flow of the game, but Ronan Phillips had a trick or two up his sleeve too.
First and foremost, his team pressed their opponents high up the pitch, before they could settle into their counter-attacking rhythm, and it worked a treat as the Gaels took some 48 minutes to score from play and only managed two in the full 60.
And when in possession themselves the Blues weren’t enticed up blind alleys. They bided their time with a short-passing game and pounced when the time was right.
The goals arrived just when required too - Conor Moore firing in off the crossbar on 20 minutes and Ross Nally looping a lucky strike in over Stephen Faulkner’s head nine minutes into the second-half.
Common wisdom suggested the Gaels needed a good start to fully effect their gameplan.
They stood toe-to-toe with the Blues in a dreadful first-half, but kicked five wides and dropped one shot short inside the opening 15 minutes.
Playing in their first final for a quarter of a century and some 65 years since their last title, stage fright must have been a factor for Malachy O’Rourke’s men.
They like to stick their noses in front and make themselves difficult to pass, but it was the Blues who managed to edge ahead through Robbie Carr in the fifth minute and his brother Kevin on the quarter hour mark.
It was tough to watch at times, but it did all seem to be part of the Blues’ masterplan as they refused to be drawn into the Gaels’ web.
Eanna McArdle eventually opened the Gaels account from a 13m free, but they were caught napping a bit at the back two minutes later.
With the Gaels sitting deep, Fergal Donohoe looked so comfortable joining in the attack in the first period and when John Kermode picked him out with a delightful pass, the full back showed great composure to pick out Moore who fired in off the crossbar.
McArdle and Nally traded frees, but another opportunity slipped by for the Gaels in injury-time when Derek Crilly fashioned a half chance, but had his goalbound shot blocked down.
In a game of such fine margins moments like that can be crucial and while the Blues’ half-time lead of 1-3 to 0-2 didn’t look all that imposing, they adjourned in almost complete control of the contest.
And if that first-half was the shadow-boxing, the Blues’ started to pick their way in behind the Gaels’ guard with increasing regularity after the break.
Similar to their semi-final win over St Joseph’s, they turned the screw in the third quarter and just as he did then, John Kermode started to exert his influence with some powerful runs from midfield.
His turnover yielded the opening point for Ciaran Downey, but the key moment in the match arrived on 39 minutes when Ross Nally’s effort from the right dropped in over Stephen Faulkner’s head at the far post.
Nally was probably shooting for a point, but may have been trying to pick out a man on the square, but either way it was a fortuitous strike.
But more importantly, it opened an eight-point gap, which the Gaels’ looked completely illequipped to close.
Their first attempt at the target didn’t arrived until the 13th minute of the second period and their first score was came three minutes after that from a Derek Crilly free.
And they still hadn’t registered from open play.
Barry Watters did put that statistic right with a fine point off his left, but the Gaels needed a goal to have any hope of mounting a comeback.
The closest they came was a goalmouth scramble that ended with Sean McCann backheeling into the side-netting.
Ger McSorley also spurned a good chance, but he was nowhere near the target with a half volley.
They couldn’t narrow the deficit below six points and in the final few minutes the Blues took off on a early lap of honour as Nally and Downey fired over five points between them in the space of seven minutes.
That either team managed to clock up 2-10 was remarkable given the first-half malaise, but it was the final confirmation that Blues got their gameplan spot on.
But systems and tactics have to be executed and that’s what will please Ronan Phillips most about his Class of 2018.
They are largely a young and inexperienced side with just six starting survivors from their last Joe Ward win a mere four years ago.
There are still a few of those old hands guiding the ship in Kermode, Stephen Moonan, Cormac Reynolds, Colm Judge and Andy McDonnell, but the young guns stepped up to the mark this season despite a very challenging spring that left them fighting for their lives in Division 1.
It bodes well for the long-term future down at Newfoundwell and in the shorter-term they will be bidding to give Leinster a rattle.
That won’t be easy either as they are due to meet the Dublin champions if they can overcome Wicklow’s Rathnew, who they entertain at the Gaelic Grounds on Sunday week.
The Gaels have an entire winter to re-group and they’ll hoping to take a leaf out of Sean O’Mahony’s book. Their neighbours lost their first ever final to St Pat’s in 2015 but bounced back last year in some style.
A tweak here or there and the experience of this year’s journey could make all the difference in 2018.
NEWTOWN BLUES: Jason Lowney; Paul Moore, Fergal Donohoe, Emmet Carolan; Kevin Carr 0-1, Cormac Reynolds, Stephen Moonan; Andy McDonnell, John Kermode; Conor Branigan, Colm Judge, Robbie Carr 0-1; Ciaran Downey 0-3, Ross Nally 1-5 (4f), Conor Moore 1-0. Subs: Hugh McGinn for Branigan (40), Ronan Levins for Judge (BC 53), Keith Lynch for Kermode (59).
DUNDALK GAELS: Stephen Faulkner; David McComish, Jamie Faulkner, Peter McGinnity; Óisín Murray, James Stewart, David Moloney 0-1; Derek Crilly 0-1f, Sean McCann; Eamonn Kenny, Sean Murray, Barry Watters 0-1; Éanna McArdle 0-2f, Gerard McSorley, Chris Sweeney. Subs: Jason Clarke for McArdle (40), Errol Boyle for Sweeney (50), Gerard Fee for Kenny (60).
REFEREE: David Fedigan.