Cratloe survive Whitegate’s late surge

Cratloe 0-20   Whitegate 2-12

THE final scoreline in this senior championship Round 3 game shows just two points between the sides and while Whitegate will point to some bad misses in the second half, the reality is that they were fortunate to have been as close at the final whistle.
Cratloe dominated the opening half and Whitegate were fortunate to have been just eight points in arrears at the break. The winners were guilty of some bad wides in that period when they dominated most areas and would not have been flattered by a much bigger winning margin.
In the second half, when they had the aid of the wind, Whitegate came much more into the game and a goal from a 20m free by their goalkeeper, Andrew Fahy, early in the final quarter, sparked off a very strong finish, which left Cratloe relieved to head the final whistle.
From the throw-in, Cratloe got the upperhand and had early points from Cathal McInerney and a Liam Markham free before Andrew Fahy made the first of a number of impressive saves when he denied Pádraig Chaplin.
A brace from Damian Browne stretched the winners’ lead before George Waterstone opened Whitegate’s account from a placed ball in the eighth minute.
Damian Browne, Conor McGrath and Conor Ryan added points for the winners before the end of the first quarter by which time they led by six but had also recorded six wides. It was 0-11 to 0-3 at the break with Waterstone the only scorer for Whitegate.
For the second half, Whitegate introduced John O’Brien in place of Trevor Kelly and moved John Buglar from attack to defence but by the three-quarter stage, Cratloe had extended their lead by two points with the score now at 0-15 to 0-5.
A foul on Ian Fahy led to the 20m free, which Andrew Fahy converted for the game’s first goal and this sparked off a strong finish from the underdogs. When George Waterstone blasted home their second goal with seven minutes still to play, the margin was down to three and suddenly Cratloe found themselves under pressure.
Conor Ryan replied with a point but a brace from Michael O’Brien left just two between the sides with four minutes remaining. Conor McGrath replied with a brace, the second a superb score before he forced another great stop from Whitegate goalie Andrew Fahy.
With two big delays due to injury, four minutes of added time followed during which Whitegate pointed twice, the second from Michael O’Brien going over via both uprights.
David Ryan, Barry Duggan, Damian Browne, and Conor McGrath were always prominent for the winners while Andrew Fahy, who made three superb saves, Brendan Buglar, Tommy Holland, Michael O’Brien and George Waterstone did best for Whitegate.

Cratloe: Sean Hayes; John O’Gorman, Barry Duggan, David Ryan; Enda Boyce, Michael Hawes, Liam Markham; Sean Chaplin, Sean Collins; Cathal McInerney, Conor Ryan, Damian Browne; Paudge Collins, Pádraig Chaplin, Conor McGrath.
Subs: Philip Gleeson for O’Gorman (38 minutes), Thomas O’Connor for P Chaplin (52 minutes).
Scorers: Conor McGrath (0-8, 4f); Damian Browne (0-6), Conor Ryan (0-3), Cathal McInerney (0-2), Liam Markham (0-1,1f).
Frees for: 10;  wides:11;  65s: 1.
Bookings: None.
“We made it hard for ourselves. We had chances in the first half, which we didn’t take and that was crucial as it put us under pressure. You can’t relax at any time. We knew that the lead we had at half-time wasn’t enough as goals would get them back into the game. Our lads stuck at it and kept fighting. It’s do or die the next day. We have to win, it’s as simple as that,” Mike Deegan, Cratloe.

Whitegate: Andrew Fahy; Trevor Kelly, John Buglar, Cathal Mulvihill; Tommy Holland, Brendan Buglar, Jason Malone; Patrick Minogue, Tomás McNamara; Eric Minogue, Raymond Cahill, John Minogue; Ian Fahy, George Waterstone, Michael O’Brien.
Subs: John O’Brien for Kelly (half-time); Shane O’Rourke for E Minogue (inj 40 minutes).
Scorers: George Waterstone (1-6, 4f), 1 65’; Michael O’Brien (0-4), Andrew Fahy (1-0,1f); Patrick Minogue, Tomás McNamara (0-1 each).
Frees for: 10; wides: 10; 65s: 1.
Bookings: None.
“There were 15 minutes in the first half when we showed them too much respect and for a team with the class of Cratloe you can’t do that. We knew that it was in our lads and they did much better in the second half but we had three bad wides early in that half and you can’t do that against a team like Cratloe. We now have a huge local derby with Scariff,” Mark McKenna, Whitegate coach.

Referee: Seanie McMahon, Newmarket.