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Ennistymon CBS eased their way in the semi-finals of the Munster Colleges Senior C Football Championship with a dominant display against their Kerry opponents in this replayed tie.
These sides couldn’t be separated after their initial clash, but 1-8 from the boot of Kealan Guyler helped ensure their passage to the last four.
Playing with the aid of a considerable wind in the opening half, the North Clare side had a dream start. Dual inter-county minor star Guyler got on the end of a well-worked move to palm the ball home inside five minutes after he had opened the scoring from a free.
The Kerry men responded with a point of their own but this was quickly followed by a fine long distance score from Eoin Rouine. The big midfielder then powered through the centre to hammer home a brilliant goal and establish a lead that Ennistymon CBS would never lose. Brendan Rouine added another point soon after before St Joseph’s struck for a goal of their own. There was some suspicion that the ball may have crossed the end-line before being finished to the net but it was allowed to stand.
From here, the Clare school took over and reeled off another 3-6 before their opponents would score again. Gary Twomey and Guyler kept the scoreboard ticking over before a clever finish from Enda Collins registered their third goal of the game after just 17 minutes of play. Guyler added another free and just moments later there was another green flag as Brendan Rouine became the latest Ennistymon CBS man to find the back of the net after being sent through by Guyler. Another brace of points from Guyler came either side of a Ryan Barry score and a well taken goal from new Clare senior hurling panellist Aidan McCarthy to leave the North Clare outfit leading by 5-10 to 1-2 as the game approached half-time.
Ballybunion showed their scoring threat as they finished a quickly taken free to the back of the net and added a point soon after, but at the break, it was Ennistymon CBS who were in a commanding position.
This trend continued after the break and even though the rate of scoring dropped, the hunger shown by Brian Dillon’s side never waned. Guyler, Twomey, and Collins all added further points before Brendan Rouine pounced for his second goal of the game.
The Kerry side kicked the final two points before the full-time whistle but it was purely cosmetic as Ennistymon CBS ran out comfortable winners.
FT: Ennistymon CBS 6-17 St Joseph’s Ballybunion 2-7
Ennistymon: Thomas Barry (Inagh/Kilnamona); Mark O’Loughlin (Corofin), Dara Conneely (Ennistymon), Ciarán McMahon (Ennistymon); Cian O’Loughlin (Corofin), John Murphy (Ennistymon), Jack O’Regan (Ennistymon); Aidan McCarthy (Inagh/Kilnamona), Eoin Rouine (Ennistymon); Gary Twomey (Ennistymon), Brendan Rouine (Ennistymon), Ryan Barry (Ennistymon); Cillian McGroary (Corofin), Enda Collins (Corofin), Kealan Guyler (Ennistymon).
Scorers: Kealan Guyler (1-8, 0-4f), Brendan Rouine (2-1), Aidan McCarthy, Eoin Rouine and Enda Collins (1-1 each), Gary Twomey (0-3), Ryan Barry (0-2).
