Another Naomh Eanna first
Minors lead from pillar to post to secure Premier title
THE FUTURE of football in Gorey looks every bit as promising and secure as hurling if the impressive display that secured a first-ever Wexford People Minor Premier championship title for Naomh Eanna in St. Patrick’s Park, Enniscorthy, on Saturday is anything to go by.
They were pillar-to-post victors against a Starlights side looking to atone for the disappointment of losing the classic hurling equivalent under the Rapparees banner a fortnight earlier, producing a very composed and controlled display in the process.
The Enniscorthy lads had won by 1-13 to 2-7 when these sides clashed in the Juvenile Premier decider last year, but the tables were turned quite emphatically as Naomh Eanna never looked back after county Minor Jack Doran picked out full-forward Barry Levingston for a well-worked goal in the second minute.
After winning the toss and opting to play against the wind first, it proved a smart move by the north county side as Starlights struggled to find their shooting boots and didn’t get off the mark until the 22nd minute courtesy of Craig Peare.
Prior to that, Naomh Eanna – who had a particularly impressive defender in Ryan Connolly – had added three points to that early goal courtesy of frees from Jack Doran and Cian Browne, plus a neat effort from play by George Slattery.
And they went on to lead by 1-5 to 0-2 at the break, with Barry Levingston fisting a Cian Molloy delivery over the bar before Browne split the posts under pressure with the second-last kick of the half.
In between, midfielder Seán Breen doubled the Starlights’ tally after a one-two with Dominik Morycki but, while both sides shot five wides before the break, the eventual losers were more culpable of missing from scoreable positions as they failed to judge the wind to their advantage.
The local team did improve during the third quarter when they shaded the exchanges by 0-5 to 0-3, with a run of three scores on the trot giving them brief momentum before it was killed off with a brace of game-winning Gorey goals.
County Minor top scorer Lee Jordan (free) and his Wexford colleague, Jack Doran, exchanged early points before an unmarked Cian Molloy had the handy task of extending the Naomh Eanna lead to 1-7 to 0-3.
Cian Hanley and George Slattery went on to swap scores, the latter on the end of a breakaway after Rory Tubritt made a fine save from a Craig Peare shot.
Starlights then started to show promise as two Lee Jordan frees and a left-footed effort by half-time substitute Kalem Dobbs reduced the deficit to 1-8 to 0-7.
Naomh Eanna needed to nail down their dominance again, and they did so in emphatic fashion with those two goals in less than three minutes.
The first was a marvellous solo effort from Jack Doran, as he used his low centre of gravity to secure possession close to the right sideline and raced in to the danger zone before planting the ball past Starlights joint captain Anthony Larkin.
And Doran provided the assist for the third Gorey goal in the 52nd minute, with his high free from the left fisted to the net by Barry Levingston (3-8 to 0-7).
Starlights did manage a consolation goal from Lee Jordan after Naomh Eanna gave the ball away cheaply from a free in a rare lapse.
However, county Minor Larkin needed to be at his best to prevent J.J. Twamley from responding quickly to that strike at the other end.
The losers lost Cian Hanley to a second yellow card in added time, and another defeat was a bitter pill to swallow after their tremendous contribution to the hurling final.
On this occasion, those aimless early wides set the tone and they were always playing second fiddle thereafter.
In becoming the first-ever winners of the Minor grade as an Under-17 competition, Naomh Eanna also added this Premier title to the club’s growing honours list.
The only previous championships at this top level to come to the town were annexed by Gorey
Blues in 1942 and 1947, and by the Young Emmets in 1962.
And Naomh Eanna’s captain, Seán Dowling, was also the first to accept the magnificent new Joe Brennan Memorial Cup, a fine piece of silverware to honour the memory of a founding member of the Clonard club whose passion for Wexford football saw him serve as an under-age county selector, and also attend inter-county Senior games all over Ireland even in his advancing years.
I’m sure he would have been particularly happy to see two town teams contesting the final, given the sterling work he undertook for the G.A.A. himself throughout his lifetime in a large urban area.
Naomh Eanna: Rory Tubritt; Ryan Connolly, Michael Kennedy, Brian Cushe; Cathal Stokes, Seán Dowling (capt.), Cian Kenny; Cian Molloy (01), Darragh Canavan; J.J. Twamley, Jack Doran (1-2, 0-1 free), Kevin Budeanu; George Slattery (0-2), Barry Levingston (2-1), Cian Browne (0-2, 1 free). Subs. - Cormac Doyle for Budeanu (53), Mikey Cushe for Slattery (60+1), Darragh Levingston for Twamley (60+2), Thomas Wheatley for B. Levingston (60+3), also Scott Murphy, James Doran, Lee Cushe, Seán O’Callaghan.
Starlights: Anthony Larkin (joint capt.); Matthew Balfe, Mick Delaney, Floyd Murphy; Mick McGrath, Oran Carty, Evan Murphy; Seán Breen (01), Jack Kirwan; Ben Kidd, Dominik Morycki, Oisín Pepper; Craig Peare (0-1), Lee Jordan (joint capt., 1-3, 0-3 frees), Cian Hanley (0-1). Subs. - Kalem Dobbs (0-1) for Kidd (HT), Marcus McCarthy for Morycki (48), Bill Peare for Pepper (53), Adam Sheridan for Delaney, black card (55), also Conor Byrne, Aaron Browne, Mikey McVeigh, Jack Walsh, Tommy McVeigh, Pa Byrne, Pa Dwyer, Evan Foley, Regan Treacy.
Referee: Kevin Carty (Sarsfields).