A town rejoices on Gorey’s greatest day
Naomh Eanna dethrone the holders as backs create platform for glorious win
THE STIRRING scenes that unfolded in Innovate Wexford Park on Sunday offered compelling evidence that sporting dreams often come true, and some things are really worth fighting for.
The magnificent journey of Naomh Eanna in the Pettitt’s Senior hurling championship saw them reach the pinnacle with a superbly-prepared team as they made history with a thoroughly deserved fourpoint win over titleholders St. Martin’s.
It’s always a special occasion when first-time winners are crowned, and the 6,988 spectators bore witness to an afternoon of unbridled joy for the people of Gorey and their new-found heroes.
There was no denying that victory went to the superior all-round side, with a supreme defensive effort laying the foundations for an achievement that will only start to really sink in for the players plus mentors Willie Cleary, Louis Cullen, Pat Doyle and Pádraig Cronin over the coming days.
Bearing in mind that Naomh Eanna had conceded four goals in that nervy semi-final win against Oylegate-Glenbrien, to hold a forward line with the potency of St. Martin’s to a mere six points from play was an admirable turnaround in just a fortnight.
The losers only managed eight points in total along with five from placed balls, with defender Michael Codd and midfielder Joe O’Connor also contributing, but Rory O’Connor was the only attacker to register more than once in open play as the Naomh Eanna shut-down laid the platform for ace attacking trio Conor McDonald, Cathal Dunbar and Pádraig Doyle to get the scores that mattered.
Mac came up with the goods in the form of the two decisive goals in the seventh and 55th minutes respectively, while Doyle provided the assist for the first and also chipped in with three points from play.
Of course, the ‘will he or won’t he play’ saga that enveloped Dunbar was only settled on Saturday night when the DRA gave clearance to allow him line out in the biggest game in the county’s club hurling calendar.
And the lengths Gorey went to in order to have him available certainly paid off as he contributed four points from play which proved to be the margin that divided the sides in the end.
Naomh Eanna had heroes all over the field, from calm and composed veteran goalkeeper Barry Kinsella right the way down to free-taker Darragh Hughes whose deployment in the left corner was a masterstroke by the winning mentors.
No doubt they were expecting that Daithí Waters would be marking his physical match, Hughes, with Willie Devereux given the task of keeping tabs on Dunbar.
And by placing Dunbar on the left wing rather than in the corner, it meant an immediate change of scenery for Waters whose influence was immediately negated by being confined in the unusual position for him of right corner-back.
The six Naomh Eanna backs, to a man, were defiant and worked superbly as a unit, with their repeated bursts out of defence and relieving clearances inspiring their colleagues time and time again.
Second cousins Brendan and Peter Travers, the elder statesmen of the group, used all of their vast experience to marshal the ultra-talented young guns around them, and it was a particularly special day for magnificent corner-back Eoin Molloy who claimed the official man of the match award.
He hoovered up a huge amount of ball in the first-half in a sweeping role, and he was equally as effective in the second period when the man directly in front of him, Jack Cullen, was so good that it seemed as if the ball was glued to his hand at certain stages.
Eoin Conroy limited Rory O’Connor to only brief flashes of what he is capable of, while the diminutive Seán Doyle worked like a beaver along with his brothers, Aodhán and Pádraig, around the middle third.
Gary Molloy’s immense workrate at midfield was every bit as important as the contribution made by his younger brother, while Charlie McGuckin and David O’Brien also put in tremendous shifts despite not getting on the scoresheet.
The tag of favourites didn’t sit well with a St. Martin’s side minus the services of joint captain and left half-back Paudie Kelly owing to injury, and their quest for first-ever back-to-back titles looked in trouble from a relatively early stage.
They did start a lot better, as one would expect given that Gorey were guaranteed to be afflicted by some early nerves.
Jack O’Connor opened the scoring after just 14 seconds from a Jake Firman lay-off, and those Naomh Eanna jitters were best exemplified when Pádraig Doyle mis-hit an early scoreable free and Willie Devereux was able to take the ball down with his stick and clear his lines.
Eoin Molloy prospered despite walking a tightrope after a fourth-minute booking for a late hit on Joe O’Connor after conceding a free that the latter’s cousin, Jack, converted.
And the lead increased to 0-3 to nil when a Ciarán Lyng catch and handpass led to a neat finish from Harry O’Connor with a high and accurate strike over the Clonard end posts.
Naomh Eanna needed a score to settle them, and it came from a familiar source. Not alone that, it was an equalising goal rather than a point, and the confidence started to surge throughout the team after talisman Conor McDonald produced one of his trademark finishes.
It was to Pádraig Doyle’s great credit that he immediately forgot about that fluffed free, because his sublime long pass gave his full-forward the opening to get around Patrick O’Connor and blast the ball to the net in the seventh minute (1-0 to 0-3).
Indeed, Doyle then gave his side the lead with a fine point, before Cathal Dunbar showed the first sign of his pace and finishing ability midway through the opening quarter.
Eoin Molloy’s pass was controlled superbly on his stick before he soloed away from Willie Devereux and claimed a lovely point.
Barry Kinsella did well to catch a dangerous high delivery from Jack O’Connor before the concession of a needless free off the ball was punished by Ciarán Lyng.
Pádraig Doyle intercepted a crossfield strike from Daithí Waters to make it 1-3 to 0-4, but St. Martin’s had drawn level again by the 20th minute courtesy of Jake Firman and another Lyng free.
There was no flow to their game though, with Naomh Eanna digging in and really prospering in the approach to half-time when they outscored the favourites by 0-4 to 0-1.
A short pass by Darragh Hughes was finished by Pádraig Doyle for his third point before Cathal Dunbar also added his second from play, and the only respite came in the form of a Jack O’Connor free from where the ball landed after Conor McDonald was booked for a downward slap on Willie Devereux.
A push on David O’Brien near the stand sideline led to Darragh Hughes firing over a fine free from 67 metres, and Naomh Eanna went in leading by 1-7 to 0-7 at the break after Dunbar darted away from a scrum of players with the ball and fired over for the third time.
The second-half was riddled with stoppages for injuries and, while it won't matter one iota to the Gorey contigent it wasn’t one of the better country finals in terms of overall quality.
Barry O’Connor didn't get hold of a shot within seconds of the re-start, although Barry Kinsella still had to be on his toes to keep it out.
It was followed by a brilliant over the shoulder point from the left sideline under the stand by Conor McDonald another indication that this was going to be Gorey’s day.
St. Martin’s simply weren't allowed to dictate the terms at the terms at any stage, because opposition had players really stepping up and producing what was required all over the field.
Wing-back Michael Codd did pull back an excellent point from distance but Pádraig Doyle cancelled that from a free after no advantage accrued when Darragh Hughes shot wide after being fouled (1-9 to 0-8).
A Rory O’Connor pass into space on the left led to a Ciará Lyng point, and the margin was reduced to two when Lyng returned the compliment and the young gun split the posts.
St. Martin’s had taken off full-back Patrick O’Connor in between, with Mark Maloney initially going back to the edge of the square briefly before Daithi Waters went in to lock horns with Conor McDonald.
The half grew increasingly tetchy as it wore on, with referee Gearóid McGrath taking a very lenient view to some indiscretions that perhaps merited more than the yellow card he continually produced.
David O’Brien and Eoin Conroy (twice) were in the wars, but the stop-start nature of the game didn’t do the eventual winners any harm in the longrun.
Still, it remained tense after Darragh Hughes pointed a free that was brought forward for dissent before Rory O’Connor whizzed a shot over the bar as we entered the 53rd minute (1-10 to 0-11).
Naomh Eanna squandered a giltedged chance on their next attack when McDonald floated a beautiful pass inside the cover to the unmarked Charlie McGuckin, but his shot struck the right post and went wide when his superb ball-winning earlier in the game really deserved a better outcome.
The Gorey contingent didn’t have to wait much longer for the clincher all the same. Cometh the hour, cometh the man, and when Gary Molloy’s delivery was caught by Conor McDonald, there wasn’t a shadow of doubt that the ball was ending in the onion sack (2-10 to 0-11).
Joe O’Connor pulled back a point, only for Cathal Dunbar to grab his fourth after a Seán Doyle clearance broke initially off McDonald.
Brendan Travers took a necessary yellow card to prevent a goal chance for Harry O’Connor, and Jack O’Connor’s low free from just outside the 20-metre line struck one of the seven defenders in his way and flew over.
Although over nine minutes followed, including seven of added time, St. Martin’s couldn’t find a way through and neither side scored again.
Jack and Rory O’Connor brought their wides tally to eleven from a free and a ’65 respectively, while Mikey Coleman had a hopeful shot blocked as the Gorey defence shut up shop.
A Jack Cullen solo clearance, a Brendan Travers catch, and a Gary Molloy block all prompted their supporters to raise the rafters at various intervals before, in a nice touch, their mentors managed to get three more long-serving clubmen on to the field, albeit briefly, in added time.
It was a sea of green and near-bedlam after that, with Brendan Travers going on to make the first acceptance speech entirely
‘as Gaeilge’ that I can recall on this day of days for Naomh Eanna.
For the record, they hit nine of the game’s 20 wides and the sides were awarded 13 frees apiece, while Joe, Jack and Rory O’Connor plus Joe Coleman collected second-half yellow cards and were joined by Eoin Molloy, McDonald and Brendan Travers in the notebook.
Naomh Eanna: Barry Kinsella; Eoin Molloy, Brendan Travers (capt.), Peter Travers; Jack Cullen, Seán Doyle, Eoin Conroy; Aodhán Doyle, Gary Molloy; Charlie McGuckin, Pádraig Doyle (0-4, 1 free), Cathal Dunbar (0-4); David O’Brien, Conor McDonald (2-1), Darragh Hughes (0-2 frees). Subs. - William Cullen for O’Brien, inj. (46), Lee Kinsella for Hughes (60+5), Jack Cushe for A. Doyle (60+6), Conor Hughes for McGuckin (60+6), also Seamus O’Donnell, John O’Brien, Joseph O’Connor, Gearóid Cullen, Seán Delaney, Tom Stafford, Nathan Byrne, Evan O’Dwyer, Conor Levingston, Ross Murphy.
St. Martin’s: Luke White; Daithí Waters (joint capt.), Patrick O’Connor, Conor Firman; Willie Devereux, Aaron Maddock, Michael Codd (01); Mark Maloney, Joe O’Connor (0-1); Rory O’Connor (0-2), Jack O’Connor (0-4, 3 frees), Barry O’Connor; Jake Firman (0-1), Ciarán Lyng (0-3, 2 frees), Harry O’Connor (0-1). Subs. - Mikey Coleman for B. O’Connor (33), Ben Maddock for P. O’Connor (40), Joe Coleman for J. Firman (48), Conor Coleman for H. O’Connor (60), also Paudie Kelly (joint capt.), Dylan Byrne, Darren Codd, Jack Devereux, Eoin O’Leary, Philip Dempsey, Sam Audsley, Ben Stafford, Adam Cantwell, Kyle Firman.
Referee: Gearóid McGrath (St. James’).