Another day out after quarter-final thriller

Éire Óg 3-8   Doonbeg 2-11

THIS game had a liberal mix of most elements associated with championship football: great scores, soft goals, a disputed point and controversy over an incident involving Enda Doyle and Brian Frawley.

Having played pulsating football in the opening 22 minutes, scoring three goals, Éire Óg found themselves three points down, 10 minutes from time, in a Frank O’Dea-inspired second-half Doonbeg display.

A morale-shattering defeat looked inevitable but, instead, Éire Óg dug in and outscored Doonbeg 0-4 to 0-1 in the closing 10 minutes.

Between the 22nd minute of the first half and the 18th of the second period, Éire Óg were held scoreless despite having led by eight points, 3-3 to 1-1, eight minutes from half-time.

After conceding three goals against Clondegad in their last game, Doonbeg were again caught out defensively. Graham Glynn deflected his first goal to the Doonbeg net in the second minute, connecting with a high, diagonal ball from Eoin Glynn, who ran at Conor Whelan.

Seán O’Meara, placed by Liam Corry, pointed four minutes later to underline Éire Óg’s positive start. Much of their early work was undermined almost immediately though when an under-hit Eoin Slattery hand pass to Seán Crotty was intercepted by Doonbeg, leading to Shane Ryan firing a superb shot into Slattery’s right corner at the scoreboard end in Kilmihil.

The goal fest showed no sign of letting up, however. Another high delivery from Eoin Glynn eluded Doonbeg goalkeeper Eamon Tubridy and ended up in their net, while a foul on Glynn resulted in Shane Daniels kicking Éire Óg into a 2-2 to 1-0 lead. David Tubridy and David Russell traded points before Graham Glynn blasted the goal of the game to the Magpies’ net. Stephen Hickey found Glynn with a diagonal pass. The Éire Óg dual player linked with Seán O’Meara before he buried his second goal.

 

A minute after Shane Ryan pointed with his fist, David Tubridy capitalised on Éire Óg turning over possession at the back. The Doonbeg full-forward netted coolly to deflate Éire Óg following their superb start. Late points from Brian Egan and Colm Dillon left the Ennis men leading 3-3 to 2-4, despite having outplayed Doonbeg for at least two-thirds of the first half.

Were it not for Tubridy’s goal and the industry of Shane Ryan, one of the few Doonbeg men to take the game to Éire Óg in the first half, the town team would have been much further ahead at half-time.
Doonbeg needed somebody to step forward and lead them back from the abyss. Remember, they fell to Doora-Barefield at the quarter-final stage last year. Led by Frank O’Dea, who stormed into the game at midfield, Doonbeg outscored their opponents 0-6 to 0-1 over the following 19 minutes.

Tubridy kicked three frees, while O’Dea, Colm and Brian Dillon added points from play. Seán Corry put over Éire Óg’s lone reply in that period, which was their first score in 25 minutes.

At this stage Doonbeg, who led 2-10 to 3-4, were completely on top in the middle third, while Éire Óg couldn’t win either primary possession or a break.

Two Shane Daniels frees pulled the deficit back to two points, while Enda Doyle blocked a goal-bound Brian Frawley shot. Tubridy pointed Doonbeg back into a two-point lead after good work involving Ryan and Brian Dillon.

With time running out, Seán O’Meara pointed a free to keep Éire Óg hopes alive. At this stage they were winning more ball around the middle and were virtually camped inside the Doonbeg 45’. This pressure told when Dean Ryan calmly kicked the equaliser two minutes into the injury time. It was a top-class score under the circumstances.

Ryan had a decent game in the Éire Óg half-back line, while Seán Crotty enjoyed an outstanding first half at midfield, though he faded thereafter. Up front, Graham Glynn and Eoin Glynn bamboozled the Doonbeg defence during the opening 20 minutes although, with their supply limited, they weren’t as active in the second half.

Shane Ryan was at his best when Doonbeg were struggling in the opening half, while David Tubridy, Frank O’Dea and substitute Brian Dillon contributed significantly to Doonbeg’s display.

The incident referred to earlier, involving Enda Doyle and Brian Frawley, occurred 18 minutes into the first half as Conor Whelan was taking a line ball at the dressing room end, opposite the stand. Frawley ended up on the ground but whatever happened was not seen by referee Michael Talty, who was awaiting the taking of the line ball. Éire Óg were collectively furious and lost their composure for a while thereafter.

Another moment of drama centred around umpire Pat ‘Butcher’ McCarthy, who confidently signalled that a 47th minute Colm Dillon point was over. The umpire didn’t hesitate for a moment but some Éire Óg supporters in the stand, who had a decent view of the ball flight, were certain that it was wide.

Éire Óg manager James Hanrahan said, “We got a great start but then gave away a couple of soft goals. It was tight after that but we showed good composure to stay in it when we were three points down. We kept pushing forward and kicked a good equaliser.”

Doonbeg mentor Declan Conway said, “We gave away two handy goals. We expected the backs to do a bit better. There was a bit of a lack of communication between our goalkeeper and the full-back line. But we have to be happy enough and maybe lucky, with the two goals we got back. It happened the last day against Clondegad as well, though. We’re leaking goals, which we’re going to have to deal with.”

Éire Óg: Eoin Slattery; Saran Butler, Donie Lyne, Francie Keane; David Russell, Dean Ryan, Seán Corry; Brian Frawley, Seán Crotty; Seán O’Meara, Shane Daniels, Liam Corry; Eoin Glynn, Stephen Hickey, Graham Glynn.
Scorers: Graham Glynn (2-0), Eoin Glynn (1-0), Shane Daniels (0-3f), Seán O’Meara (0-2, 1f), David Russell, Seán Corry and Dean Ryan (0-1 each).
Frees for: 21; wides: 10; 45s: 0.
Yellow cards: Eoin Glynn, Shane Daniels, David Russell and Stephen Hickey.

Doonbeg: Eamon Tubridy; Richie Vaughan, Padraig Gallagher, Conor Whelan; Joe Blake, Paraic Aherne (captain), Eoin Conway; Frank O’Dea, Enda Doyle; Brian Egan, Colm Dillon, Shane Ryan; Jamie Whelan, David Tubridy, Conor Downes.
Subs: Brian Dillon for Jamie Whelan (43) and Paul Dillon for Brian Egan (58).
Scorers: David Tubridy (1-5, 4f), Shane Ryan (1-1), Colm Dillon (0-2), Brian Egan, Frank O’Dea and Brian Dillon (0-1 each).
Frees for: 18; wides: 2; 45s: 0.
Yellow cards: David Tubridy.
Referee: Michael Talty, Kilmurry Ibrickane.