Red Óg stars as Curry have too much for Saints
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Homeland SFC
Group Two – Round One Curry 1-15 St Mary’s 1-10
DETERMINATION will only get you so far in the top tier, especially for the previous campaign’s Intermediate winners whose main priority is usually survival amongst the big boys.
But Curry – last year’s Connacht Gold Intermediate Football Championship winners – are no starry-eyed newcomers to the Homeland Senior Football Championship.
They can talk the talk, as all Intermediate winners must do when they move up a grade, but – crucially – they can walk the walk, especially with players such as Red Óg Murphy, Alan Reilly and Adrian Marren in their ranks last Saturday evening.
Their first scalp of the 2021 campaign was that of St Mary’s, thanks to a five-point margin, 1-15 to 1-10, to make Group One the Group of Unpredictability because of Calry-St Joseph’s toppling of CooleraStrandhill at Markievicz Park.
With Red Óg Murphy dictating matters from midfield and impacting impressively on the scoreboard too (he bagged nine points, including eight frees), Curry had a star performer but also consider the valuable contributions of Cathal Brennan, James Walsh, Michael Jennings, Alan Reilly and Adrian Marren at Nace O’Dowd Park.
CURRY: They’ve a potential humdinger against south Sligo neighbours Tubbercurry tomorrow, Friday, evening at Tourlestrane (8pm). ST MARY’S: Their silverware hopes could hinge on them beating Calry-St Joseph’s at Markievicz Park tomorrow, Friday (7pm).
Despite being 0-3 to 0-1 down after seven minutes, Curry eventually took charge. They led 0-11 to 0-6 at half time and were almost assured victory when Alan Reilly goaled with a powerful finish in the 49th minute.
Reilly had hit the crossbar with an even better shot earlier in the second-half after Red Óg Murphy and Tommy Henry carved open a St Mary’s defence that was depleted beforehand (because wing-backs Gerard O’KellyLynch and Tony O’Kelly-Lynch were absent) and also during proceedings as the injuries piled up for manager Aidan Rooney.
Although beaten by five points, generally off the boil and missing a number of players, St Mary’s still showed flickers of promise as the rain fell and the crowd kept in touch with happenings at Croke Park.
It would be strange if forwards Emlyn Mulligan and Nathan Rooney didn’t pose a threat – and they did, shooting 0-3 and 0-5 respectively. Mulligan opted to take a fisted point rather than go for goal from a sharp move involving Kyle Cawley and Paul Kilcoyne.
Centre-back Luke Nicholson – who was St Mary’s best player – powered through for a big first-half point but that score’s wow factor was equalled 60 seconds later by Curry’s Adrian Marren, who booted the ball over from long-range after he was picked out by Red Óg Murphy’s perceptive pass. St Mary’s continued to chase the game in the second-half. Still, Emlyn Mulligan saw a goal shot blocked after Patrick Maher and Nathan Rooney combined. Mulligan later set up Rooney for a blaster than came off the crossbar and Rooney had another goal attempt saved by Curry netminder Sean Byrne.
It clearly wasn’t Rooney’s evening because another goal effort was blocked by Red Óg Murphy, with Paul Kilcoyne netting from the rebound.
Player of the Match: Red Óg Murphy Curry: Sean Byrne, Craig Gallagher, James Walsh, Kevin Reilly, Michael Jennings, Keith Feeley, Michael Gordon, Denis Coffey, Red Óg Murphy (0-9, 8f), Brian Byrne, Alan Reilly (c) (1-1), Cathal Brennan (0-1), Tommy Henry (0-1, 1 mark), Adrian Marren (0-3), Oisin Murphy
Subs used: Jason Marren, Tommy Stenson, Eoghan Sweeney, Adam Gallagher, Oisin Higgins
LEFT: Prior to last Saturday’s Homeland Senior Football Championship Group Two game at Collooney’s Connolly Park between Geevagh and Drumcliffe-Rosses Point were George Wall (Geevagh captain), John Gilmartin (match referee) and Neil Ewing (Drumcliffe-Rosses Point captain).