|
U-16 Quarter Final
Athy 1-15 vs Maynooth 1-07
By Brendan Coffey
ATHY powered their way into the semi-finals of this year’s minor championship but the defending champions had their work cut out for most of the game.The south Kildare side were on the back foot after just two minutes when Maynooth’s full-forward Conor Davin pounced in front of goal to find the net after a brilliant break from midfield involving Martin O’Connor and Josh Gunne.Davin, who’s just out of the under14 ranks, showed great strength to hold off his marker before clipping his shot in off the left post.Three minutes later Mark Donnellan added a point to complete the ideal start for Maynooth, who knew they were up against a formidable force in the shape of the three-in-a-row chasing Athy.
Boasting two county players in midfield the elegant Liam McGovern and the powerful Kevin Feeley it wasn’t long before they recovered the lost ground and by the ninth minute they had two points on the board courtesy of McGovern and another county minor, Niall Kelly.A typically lung-bursting run from John Comerford yielded another Maynooth point as they kept their noses in front but they were reeled in by the 21st minute when Feeley pointed a free. McGovern kicked Athy in front two minutes later but it was level at the break (1-4 to 07) when Niall Kelly and Comerford traded points.
The resumption brought stalemate for eight minutes until McGovern finally opened the second half scoring with a fine point off his weaker right foot but it was all square again with 11 minutes remaining as Maynooth continued to frustrate their opponents.
While Athy were wasteful in front of goal in the first half kicking eight wides it was Maynooth’s turn to miss in the second period.Although only four shots went wide, they coughed up possession on numerous occasions during the course of promising attacks. Twice their forwards could have fisted over simple points but elected to hunt for goals instead a policy that yielded nothing but frustration.When Athy finally took control, they did so in style. In the space of two minutes they kicked over four points, two from the irrepressible Niall Kelly, and in a flash they were four clear, 0-13 to 1-6. After two more points put the game to bed, Michael Keogh added the coup de grace with a well-taken goal in the 57th minute.All Maynooth’s hard work had been undone in six minutes a sign of just how good Athy can be when they get going. Their three-in-a-row ambitions look in safe hands.
Senior League Division 1
Allenwood 1-11 vs Athy 1-08
The conditions in Allenwood were nothing but testing with a strong wind blowing directly down the field and rain threatening on a regular occasion. It was Allenwood who were playing with the wind in their backs and they took full advantage of it. Both teams opened with wides but the first score came from Allenwood with a John Doyle free. He then doubled this with a similar conversion before Athy opened their account as James Eaton sweetly kicked with the outside of the boot to land the ball over the black spot. Doyle made it a hat trick of converted frees by the 10th minute and with more pressure mounting on the away side, eventually after a long line ball, Joe Kinahan could only break the ball where John Cross snapped at the chance. He pulled swiftly on the ball which flew low past Stephen Davis and rattled the net. This led to a considerable gap early on which would be hard to claw back for Athy. To compound the effect of the goal Doyle was accurate again with a free. Allenwood had punished Athy for every foul and continued to do so. James Eaton scored his and Athy’s second to try and keep in touch but before the break Allenwood outscored Athy 2 points to 1. At the midway point the score was 1-06 to 0-03 with Athy trailing. Allenwood’s only score from play was their goal with Doyle’s accurate free taking providing the 6 points. To have a chance of winning Athy would have to be more efficient in moving from defence to attack and cut reduce their foul count.
Athy introduced Ken Brophy who was returning from a serious knee injury and hoped his experience would settle the team. After John Doyle converted yet another free and Cormac O’Sullivan socred his own point, the break through Athy needed and desired arrived. Some intricate passing by Emmanual Kennedy and Brophy led to James Eaton being faced with only Shane Mc Cormack in front of him. He kicked across the goal and nestled the ball in the bottom corner bringing a huge lift to his team. He followed up with a close range free. For the next 10 minutes Athy retuned to something like the form they have been having and Ross Bell showed his hunger and determination setting an example. He scored a point and created a point, both as a result of interceptions. James Eaton scored a long range point from play under pressure from Michael Mullen to bring the gap to a minimum. They had clawed back and almost drew but Ross Bell’s effort flew wide with 15 minutes left. Realising the threat to their lead, Allenwood increased their pressure to fight hard for possession and ball time. This paid dividends and scored 3 more points before the end. Paddy Dunne had Athy’s last score to his name with one minute left but time was not on his team’s side. On the final whistle the score was 1-11 to 1-08 with the gap at 3 points. Reflecting it can be said that the 6 frees that John Doyle gladly converted were a huge contributing factor to the less. It can’t be ignored that if discipline had been better for Athy, the final result may have been better for them also. However both teams did have spells where they were on top but it was Allenwood who who more efficient especially in the first half.
Allenwood:
1.Shane Mc Cormack,2.Daragh Johnson,3.Michael Mullen,4.Michael Mc Cormack,5.John Aungier,6.Mark Hogarty,7.David Hughes,8.Noel Casey,9.John Doyle(0-9,8F),10.Eric Judge,11.Cormac O’Sullivan (0-1),12.Kenneth Swords,13.John Cross (1-0),14.Eanna O’Neill,15.David Burke.
Athy:
1.Stephen Davis,2.Mark Beaver,.3Joe Kinahan,4.David Dunne,5.Trevor Clancy,6.Timmy Dunne,7.David Holligan,8.Paddy Dunne (0-1),9.David Mc Govern,10.Ross Bell,11.Emmanual Kennedy (0-1),12.Daniel O’Keefe (0-1),13.Conor Ronan,14.James Eaton (1-5,3F),15.James Kelly.
Subs: HT,Ken Brophy For James Kelly, 55mins Shane O’Brien for Trevor Clancy
Senior League Div. 1 Round 8
Athy 0-13
Kilcock 1-09
Ref: Brendan Hickey
Athy were without Brian Kinahan, but were boosted by Daniel O’Keefe, Mick Foley and Paddy Dunne returning. After a very good performance with the Kildare Juniors, James Eaton continued his excellent play by opening the scores for Athy on the first minute with a free. David Wynne promptly replied with a point of his own. Eaton doubled his and Athy’s score just 2 minutes later with another converted free. Darroch Mulhall was next to score for the home team with yet another free. After 8 minutes Eaton had a hat trick of points from frees and it seemed that the Kilcock defence were finding it hard to deal with the Athy inside line of Eaton and Mulhall. Andy Gavin stepped up to score from his own self-created free to keep his team in touch. For the next 10 minutes a bare patch in the game prevailed with neither team scoring a single score. A physical style from both teams led to some broken play and Kilcock were the first team to suffer as a result. Their full forward, Owen Flanagan, was forced to leave the field of play with a seriously broken finger after he and David Mc Govern contested a high ball. In this period it emerged that Cian Flanagan at wing –half forward was going to pose the biggest threat to Athy as he won ball ahead of David Holligan. All of Athy’s scores had been from frees until Mick Foley advanced from midfield to clip an inch perfect point over the bar from underneath the stand. His inside forwards had been working hard to support each other and this paid off when Darroch Mulhall rounded behind Eaton under pressure to receive a fist pass and snap the ball over the bar. He added another to his tally when he gather 60 yards out, advanced ahead and then his shot cleared the attempted block of Andrew Quinn to sail between the sticks. Even though it seemed Kilcock had fallen out of the game, 2 wins, 2 losses and a draw from their last 5 games would lead indicate that they were capable of more. They kept in touch with a Brian Thornton free just before half time, leaving the score 0-07 to 0-03 in favour of Athy.
The away team continued in the same vain and after winning the throw in, almost hit the net but Stephen Davis was alive to the threat from the dangerous Cian Flanagan. From the resulting 45’ a scoring chance was created for centre back Declan Mc Inerney. They kept the pressure on and in the third minute their hard work paid off. A high ball reeking of danger landed just outside the square. Stephen Davis and David Mc Govern challenged but their efforts could not prevent Andrew Quinn from snatching on the ball down low to fist in in the net. It was game on and the Athy line was left with no gap between them and their opponents. Mulhall restored the lead with a free and Eaton followed up with a similar point. Ross Bell was on hand when Cian Reynolds found himself surrounded and duly took his point after receiving a fist pass. Despite their effort Athy could not shake Kilcock Andy Gavin and Brian Thornton scored a point each from frees. Athy introduced Sean Kinahan for Paddy Dunne to reinforce the midfield which was directly followed by the sending off of Barry O’Keefe for Kilcock, after 2 yellow cards. This would make their task even harder and require more effort. Mulhall converted another free to be replied by Eamon Fitzpatrick. There was no sign of Kilcock lying down and corner back Austin Tighe punched the air as his attempt at a point was successful raising the white flag to draw level. To Athy’s despair Kilcock took the lead through right-half back Ronan Devine. Time was ticking with only 7 minutes left. Conor Ronan, playing between the half back and full back line was ordered to push forward in order to create and extra option and a channel for scores. This paid off and a long pass found the on form Mulhall who is ever consistent. His point drew Athy level with 4 minutes remaining creating a nail biting conclusion. Both teams battled for possession, trying to make every tackle and pass count. The deciding score came courtesy of Ross Bell bringing relief to Athy. He kicked across the ball from 40 yards out to guide the ball with the outside of his boot over the crossbar of Kieran Henehan. When Brendan Hickey blew the final whistle a sense of relief fell on the Athy sideline with Kilcock just loosing out by the minimum. Nevertheless they can take plenty of positives showing heart and hard work after going a man down. On the Athy side, they will be content with the points after beating St. Laurences last week, but certainly have room improvement if they are going to continue contesting.
Athy:1.Stephen Davis,2.Mark Beaver,3.David Mc Govern,4.Joe Kinahan,5.Ross Bell,(0-2)6.Timmy Dunne,7.David Holligan,8.Mick Foley,(0-1)9.Daniel O’Keefe,10.Brian Cardiff,11.Cian Reynolds,12.Paddy Dunne,13.Conor Ronan,14.James Eaton,(0-3F)15.Darroch Mulhall.(0-7,0-4F)
Kilcock:1.Kieren Henehen,2.Austin Tighe,(0-1)3.Cormac Davey,4.Barry O’Keefe,5.Ronan Devine,(0-1)6.Declan Mc Inerney,(0-1)7.Eamon Fitzpatrick,(0-1)8.Dave Mc Tiernan,9.Andrew Quinn,(1-0)10.Cian Flanagan,11.David Wynne,(0-1)12.Neil Gannon,13.Andy Gavin,(0-2F)14.Owen Flanagan,15.Brian Thornton.(0-2F)
|
