St Mary’s win at a canter but it’s immaterial
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Homeland SFC
Group One – Round Five St Mary’s 1-25 Curry 0-11
THE Sligo GAA Competitions Control Committee could have – but didn’t – put a sign on the gates of Tubbercurry’s Kilcoyne Park last Sunday to describe this Homeland Senior Football Championship Group One dead rubber.
Nothing to see here, move along. With St Mary’s (county semi-final) and Curry (relegation semi-final) aware of their contrasting fate prior to this round five game, there was nothing to be learned.
St Mary’s looked sharp, as they have done for most of the competition, and are more that just silverware hopefuls, even without Kyle Cawley’s pace and acumen in attack.
Curry boss Kenny Morley was already looking ahead to this Saturday’s relegation semi-final with St Farnan’s and so rested the team’s stars, Adrian Marren and Alan Reilly. The absence of these forwards puts this result into context, but the 17-point win was still a fine afternoon’s work from St Mary’s.
Nathan Rooney bagged eight points for St Mary’s, with the impressive Michael Munnelly shooting 0-5, and Patrick Maher scored the game’s only goal after 18 minutes.
That goal was one of 13 scores from St Mary’s in the first-half. They were 10 points clear at half-time, 1-12 to 0-5, in a game where intensity clearly absent.
Curry were competitive in the opening 10 minutes and trailed by a point, 0-3 to 0-2. There was a point each from Oisin Murphy, who would be Curry’s top scorer on the day with 0-5, and
ST MARY’S: After the joy of scoring 26 times last Sunday, Mark Breheny’s side can expect a different encounter against Group Two runners-up Drumcliffe-Rosses Point in the county semi-final on Sunday week, October 2 (Markievicz Park, 2pm).
CURRY: Survival is the name of the game for last year’s county semi-finalists – they take on west Sligo’s St Farnan’s this Saturday in the Homeland Senior Football Championship relegation semi-final.
Brian Byrne.
At the stage St Mary’s were simply warming up – Paul Kilcoyne, Emlyn Mulligan and Michael Munnelly were on target.
By the 16th minute St Mary’s were in pole position after six points without reply. Nathan Rooney was kicking points with aplomb, so too Michael Munnelly.
Curry’s Oisin Murphy scored the opening score of the second-half – one of six points that Curry managed in the second period – but proceedings continued to be one-sided and St
Mary’s regularly attacked with pace and precision.
The Ballydoogan outfit kicked an impressive 13 points in the second-half at the south Sligo venue.
St Mary’s will also be pleased with goalkeeper Jack Teape’s contribution – he delivered booming kick-outs and he also converted three frees to be one of 11 scorers for the winners.
Player of the Match: Michael Munnelly
St Mary’s: Jack Teape (0-3, 3f), Ryan Feehily, David Phillips (0-1), Fionn O’Hehir, Johnny Martyn, Luke Nicholson (0-1), Conor Darcy, Paul Kilcoyne (0-1), Tony O’KellyLynch, Michael Munnelly (0-5), Emlyn Mulligan (0-2), Patrick Maher (1-0), David McGovern, Nathan Rooney (0-8, 3f), Jay
Cox (0-2)
Subs used: Gerard O’Kelly-Lynch, Stephen Henry (0-1), Sean Clifford, Ryan Madden (0-1), Adam Lynch
Curry: Sean Marren, Michael Jennings, Craig Gallagher, Dylan McLoughlin, James Walsh, Michael Gordon (0-1), Cathal Brennan (0-1), Oisin Higgins, David McDonagh (0-1), Jack Duffy, Oisin Murphy (0-5, 4f), Keith Feeley, Jason Marren (0-1), Brian Byrne (0-2, 1f), Tommy Henry
Subs used: Eoghan Sweeney, Tommy Stenson, Denis Coffey, Stephen Donoghue Referee: Gus Chapman