Horeswood leave it late to steer clear of Mary’s
HORESWOOD’S DREAMS of bouncing back to Senior ranks at the first attempt are still alive after two goals in the space of 30 seconds late in the second-half helped them to a dramatic win over St. Mary’s (Rosslare) in their Amber Springs/Ashdown Park Hotels Intermediate football championship semi-final in Innovate Wexford Park on Saturday.
When Lee Devereux slotted over the opening score after the interval to give St. Mary’s an eightpoint advantage, the Rosslare crew looked to be on their way to the final, but Horeswood kept their heads and pared away at the lead, until two quickfire goals from Jamie Myler and Seán Nolan with just over five minutes remaining firmly turned the tide in their favour.
Although the exuberance of youth was key as Myler and Nolan bagged the all-important goals, the introduction of some wise old heads was also a telling factor.
Leigh O’Brien and Darren O’Reilly rolled back the years to add some much-needed coolness in the white heat of battle, while substitute Declan Murphy’s direct running also caused a headache for the St. Mary’s defence.
Rosslare, who also fell at the semi-final hurdle last year, did most things right in the first-half and were full value for their seven-point interval lead, but they became far too ponderous on the ball after the turnaround as they sought to protect their advantage and were guilty of coughing up possession far too easily.
The first-half was a completely different story though, as, despite playing against the breeze, they performed with a swagger that belied their tag of underdogs and they were up for the fight from the off.
They certainly couldn’t have asked for a better start as Tiarnan Rossiter used his left boot to good effect to pick out Danny Furlong, and the former Wexford Youths star showed his soccer skills to slide a first-time effort off the ground to the corner of the net.
When Seán Nolan knocked over Horeswood’s opening point in the ninth minute, few would have envisaged that it would be almost six minutes into the second-half before they worked the scoreboard again, but that’s exactly what happened as St. Mary’s assumed full control.
Inter-county player Tiarnan Rossiter was seeing plenty of the ball and he added three points to their tally, two from placed balls and one from play, while Lee Devereux and Cian Boggan chipped in with scores as they built up a 1-5 to 0-1 advantage by the break.
When Devereux fired over an eye-catching score to stretch the lead to eight straight after the turnaround, most would have thought it was going to be St. Mary’s day, but they began to retreat into their collective shell as the winning line flickered into view.
That said, despite St. Mary’s contributing to their own downfall, Horeswood deserve immense credit for the way they battled back for victory, having looked completely off colour in the first-half.
P.J. Banville was kept quiet in the opening 30 minutes but he began to exert more influence as the game wore on and he saw a shot on goal blocked in the 35th minute, before popping over a free seconds later.
David Larkin then curled over a beauty under pressure and a good goal chance came and went in the 40th minute when Declan Murphy blazed wide after linking up with Colin Nolan and cutting through the heart of the defence.
However, after points from P.J. Banville (free) and Jamie Myler reduced the lead to four, the much-needed major did come in the 54th minute, with the latter doing the damage.
When Myler took a return pass from substitute Darren O’Reilly he still had plenty to do, but he swivelled delightfully before planting the ball past goalkeeper Gavin Morris.
Like a Dublin Bus, after a long wait the second goal arrived in little more than the blink of an eye. David Larkin and O’Reilly moved the ball through the hands quickly to find Seán Nolan in space, and he confidently fired to the net to give Horeswood a 2-5 to 1-6 advantage.
Points from P.J. Banville (free) and Declan Murphy put Horeswood four points up, and although Shea Boggan brought a shellshocked St. Mary’s back to within a goal, Murphy had the final say deep into injury time as his side progressed to a final meeting with surprise packages Crossabeg-Ballymurn.
Horeswood: Conor Swaine; Kevin Parker, Barry Hearn, Seán Stafford; Eddie Shiely, Johnny Keating, David Larkin (0-1); Colin Nolan, P.J. Banville (capt., 0-3 frees); Michael O’Hanlon, Jamie Myler (1-1), Ciarán Deely; Eric Banville, Darren Shannon, Seán Nolan (1-1). Subs. - Declan Murphy (0-2) for Shannon (HT), Leigh O’Brien for O’Hanlon (HT), Shane O’Hanlon for E. Banville (45), Darren O’Reilly for Deely (53).
St. Mary’s (Rosslare): Gavin Morris; Liam O’Connor, Emmet Byrne, Gearóid Byrne (capt.); Cian Boggan (0-1), Shea Boggan (0-1), Seán Finan; Robert Butler, Tiarnan Rossiter (0-3, 2 frees); Paul Kinsella, Naomhan Rossiter, Shane Sinnott; Lee Devereux (0-2), David Murphy, Danny Furlong (1-0). Subs. - Rees Broaders for Finan (49), Larry Morrissey for Sinnott (53).
Referee: James Owens (Kilrush).