Irelands shake off stiff Roche challenge to reach JFC final
THIS junior semi-final won’t be winning any awards for entertainment value, but that won’t worry Dundalk Young Irelands in the slightest as they remain on course for an instant return to the Intermediate grade.
After taking the lead in the ninth minute, they never relinquished it, but they did make hard work of shaking off a Roche side forced to field without talisman and top scorer Barry O’Hare.
Shane Byrne and Kevin Callaghan ensured Emmets didn’t miss their ace marksman from dead balls, scoring eight between them, but as a focal point to the attack from open play O’Hare’s absence was sorely apparent.
Similarly, Young Irelands suffered a big loss just before half-time when Dean Maguire retired injured, and while it didn’t scupper their chances of reaching the final, Adrian O’Donoghue and his selectors face an anxious wait to see if the speedy attacker recovers in time for the decider against Glyde.
Maguire opened the scoring on eight minutes after being teed up by his brother Derek, but Kevin Callaghan hit back with a free for Roche almost immediately.
Until Shane Byrne pointed in the 46th minute, Roche’s resistance relied exclusive on the dead ball expertise of Callaghan and Byrne, but they were stil very much in the game at the break, trailing 0-4 to 0-3.
The excellent Cian O Nairigh kicked finished off two flowing Young Irelands moves and Dermot Mone converted a free to keep the Irelanders noses in front at the break.
The Dundalk outfit pressed on a bit more after the interval and were rewarded with points from Derek Maguire and Mone to make it 0-6 to 0-3.
They were able to maintain that three-point gap as the second-half progressed with Mone and Jordan O’Donoghue proving just as accurate as Byrne and Callaghan.
But it was a precarious lead and Roche should have made them pay when Dan O’Connell broke through on goal and forced a superb save from Fergal Sheekey, albeit with players lining up on the egde of the square in front of an empty net.
But that was Roche’s big chance to nick a final spot and moments later Mone put three between the sides again. Roche could only muster a late Callaghan free in reply, but on clam reflection they will accept that the better team scraped through in the end.
DUNDALK YOUNG IRELANDS: Fergal Sheekey; Peter McCourt, Ciarán Murray, Stephen Bellew; Aidan Sheekey, Derek Maguire 0-1, Cian O Nairaigh 0-2; Sean McLaughlin, Derek Rogers; Johnny Lynch 0-1, Dermot Mone 0-3 (2f), Jordan O’Donoghue 0-2f; Cian O’Donoghue 0-1, Mark Savage, Dean Maguire 0-1. Subs: Peter Nixon for Dean Maguire (30+2), Kevin Keelan for Aidan Sheekey (BC 31), Aaron Murray for Cian O’Donoghue (43).
ROCHE EMMETS: Jamie O’Hare; Andrew Carroll, Harry O’Connell, Dermot Carthy; Liam Dawe, David Quigley, Joe Bishop; David O’Connell, Dan O’Connell; Enda Murphy, Liam Carthy, Niall McArdle; Kevin Callaghan 0-5f, Eugene Murray, Shane Byrne 0-4 (3f). Subs: Evin Quigley for McArdle (40), James Tiffney for Bishop (51).
REFEREE: Noel Hand.