Comeback kings start final countdown
ST VINCENT’S CARNAROSS 1-10 0-12
UNDERDOGS St Vincent’s staged an amazing second-half recovery to shock a fancied Carnaross in the first of the JFC semi-finals at Pairc Tailteann on Saturday.
The Ardcath men were staring defeat in the face after only managed a single point in the opening half, and that came from a free as they trailed 0-1 to 0-8 at the break.
They were well off the pace throughout the half and had made three substitutions before the interval. They went further behind within 20 seconds of the restart and their second point also came from a free on 34 minutes.
The inspirational Thomas Field kick-started the revival with their first score from play, a great effort from long range on 36 minutes. Gradually, Ronan Kearns’ side worked themselves back into contention and hit the front for the first time on the stroke of 60 minutes when substitute Jack Byrne finished to the net after a Niall Tallon effort had dropped short.
Midfielder Ryan Hand edged them two clear in added time before Cian O’Reilly converted a free for a shell-shocked Carnaross in the final action of the match.
Carnaross finished with 14 after the influential Frank O’Reilly received a second yellow card following a tussle with Mark Crawley on 56 minutes. He had earlier been booked for kicking the ball away.
O’Reilly contributed six points of his side’s opening-half tally, including two from 45s.
With O’Reilly on target with three points, Carnaross led 0-5 to 0-0 after eight minutes. Full forward Thomas Field had St Vincent’s only score of the half from a free on 16 minutes and Carnaross continued to dominate with the advantage of the breeze.
They were denied a goal when Dermot McGee’s effort was deflected out at the expense of a ’45 close to the break.
Charles Brogan increased the Carnaross lead at the start of the second half before Richard O’Sullivan converted a free at the other end. That effort from Field sparked St Vincent’s to life, and while they conceded another point, scores from sub Eoghan Corry - who played a big part in his side’s revival - and Richard O’Sullivan edged them closer.
At that stage St Vincent’s were totally dominant around the midfield area through the efforts of Bob Tallon, Ryan Hand and Field, but a number of chances went astray before Field pointed a free to reduce the margin to four entering the final quarter.
Further scores from O’Sullivan and Nigel Hand left two between the sides. Keeper Cathal Tallon then had to prove his worth by keeping out an effort from John L McGee, before O’Sullivan converted a ’45 to leave the minimum between the teams with two minutes of normal time remaining.
A Carnaross counter-attack led to a point from Patrick McDermott and that seemed to be the insurance score. However, the game took a final twist with that goal from super-sub Byrne which clinched St Vincent’s place in the decider where they will face Dunboyne. ST VINCENT’S: Cathal Tallon; Mark Crawley, David Tallon, John Corry; Barry O’Sullivan, Niall Tallon, Martin Fox; Bob Tallon, Ryan Hand 0-1; Shane O’Brien, Patrick Arnold, Nigel Hand 0-1; Richard O’Sullivan 0-4 (2f, 1 ’45), Thomas Field 0-3 (1f), Robert Lynch. Subs: Jack Byrne 1-0 for Fox (22), Eoghan Corry 0-1 for O’Brien (24), Patrick McGill for Robert Lynch (28), Andrew McEntee for Crawley (56), Leo Corry for J Corry (57).