Naomh Eoin-O’Curry’s make history

Naomh Eoin-O’Curry’s 6-7   Wolfe Tones 0-8

HISTORY was made at Ennistymon on Sunday evening when the amalgamation of Naomh Eoin-O’Curry’s won their first county underage football title at A level.

 

An impressive team performance resulted in a well deserved U-16A victory over a fancied Wolfe Tones side on an evening when a strong wind blew directly down the pitch and made conditions very difficult for the players.

Playing against that wind, the penninsula amalgamation put down a marker from the outset, racing into a two-point lead, with corner-forward Odran Lynch kicking both scores after impressive moves involving a lot of players.

Named at full-forward, Cathal Downes started at centre-back, leaving team captain Conor Tevlin to play the role of an extra defender. These two, together with midfielder Conor Magner, were the launch pad for many of their attacks and Wolfe Tones had great difficulty in coping with their play.

Points from Brian O’Connor (free) and Sean Costelloe had the Shannon side on level terms by the end of the first quarter.

They were still level five minutes later, after Liam Keating and O’Connor had exchanged points.

Seconds later, the winners struck for their first goal when Nigel Murray found the net after good play by Cathal Downes and from here on, the winners held the upperhand. Murray had a second goal five minutes from the half-time whistle and this helped his side to lead at the break, 2-3 to 0-4.

To their credit, Wolfe Tones piled on the pressure when the second half got underway and, despite facing the strong wind, they caused a number of problems for their opponents.

However, they only managed two points before Jim Marrinan struck a big blow for the Westerners with his team’s third goal as the end of the third quarter approached.

Conor Magner’s 45m free dipped under the crossbar for his team’s fourth goal four minutes later and there really was no way back for the Shannon side after this.

They added further goals from substitute Enda Greene and from captain Conor Tevlin before the final whistle sounded. Their goal tally would have been greater but for the fact that Wolfe Tones goalie Shane Russell pulled off a couple of excellent saves in the second half.

Conor Tevlin, Conor Magner, Nigel Murray and Cathal Downes were outstanding for the winners throughout, while Shane Russell, Ross O’Connor, Dean Devanney and Brian O’Connor tried hard for the Shannon side.
After the game, Jane Larkin, Bord na nÓg PRO, presented the cup to the winning captain, Conor Tevlin.

Naomh Eoin-O’Curry’s: James Murphy; Brian McMahon, Tomás Crotty, Stephen Kelly; Conor Downes, Conor Tevlin, Andrew McMahon; Conor Magner, David Aston; Douglas Lynch, Nigel Murray, Liam Keating; Jim Marrinan, Cathal Downes, Odran Lynch.
Subs: Alan Walsh for B McMahon, Enda Greene for Keating, Sean Bonfil for A McMahon and Eoin Lynch for Marrinan.
Scorers: Nigel Murray (2-0), Jim Marrinan, Conor Magner, Conor Tevlin (1-1 each), Enda Greene (1-0), Odran Lynch and Liam Keating (0-2 each).
Wolfe Tones: Shane Russell; Shane Nihill, Shane Mullaney, Eoin McAllister; Brian Conway, Ross O’Connor, Mark McPhillips; Jack Cunningham, Dean Devanney; Luke Cahill, Sean Costello, Ian Collins; Aaron Rudd, Jamie Mulcahy, Brian O’Connor.
Subs: Cian Collopy for Mulcahy, Eoghan Gough for Cunningham and Ronan Dooley for Nihill.
Scorers: Brian O’Connor (0-4), Eoin McAllister, Luke Cahill, Sean Costello and Aaron Rudd (0-1 each).
Referee: Johnnie Healy, Smith O’Brien’s.