Senior Reserve League Division 1
Round 3
Fr. Manning Gaels 0-7 Colmcille 1-07
Venue: Monaduff
Referee: Emmet Masterson
2/4/2016 19:00
Fr. Manning Gaels were disappointingly defeated by Colmcille on Saturday evening last in a rain sodden Monaduff. The Gaels played the better football for the majority of the match, but the old adage of “goals win games” rang true. Colmcille got that vital score courtesy of Declan Farrell who burst through and fired past netminder Gabriel Higgins midway through the second half.
Colmcille started the game brightly with 2 quick points and it could have been worse for the Gaels after 4 minutes were it not for a terrific save from Gabriel Higgins which prevented a certain goal. This, along with the ferocious tackling and blocking of Leon McKeon, woke the team up and the Gaels got on the scoreboard thanks to a Petie Collum free. Collum then levelled matters with a fisted effort, after being cleverly picked out with a soccer style pass from Anthony Kane. The home side then took the lead in the 15th minute after a great move involving David Cassidy and Seán Whelan. Seán found his brother Kevin who the curled over a great point. The Gaels were in control at this stage and an excellent point from play from Collum out on the left put Anthony McKeon’s men 0-4 to 0-2 up. Colmcille managed to pull one back from a 21 yard free but then centre forward David Cassidy fired over an impressive point from distance off the offside of the boot which left the score 0-5 to 0-3 at half time in favour of Fr. Manning Gaels. This was a deserved lead and really should have been more given how much more possession they had.
Substitute James Breslin had an immediate impact on the resumption with a fine point from a tight angle into the dressing room end. The difficult underfoot conditions made free flowing football impossible but at this stage the Gaels were adapting the better. In the 40th minute a speculative 45 metre free from David Cassidy almost ended up in the Colmcille net when it managed to hit the underside of the crossbar. The visitors defence picked up the break and counter attacked immediately and this well worked move brought the score to 0-6 to 0-4. This spurred Colmcille on and then the pivotal moment of the match arrived. Former county player Declan Farrell found the net when firing a powerful shot into the top corner which then put Colmcille into the lead. The Gaels got the perfect response when hard working midfielder Kevin Whelan got his second point of the match after a well struck kick from distance. This levelled proceedings at 1-4 to 0-7. This, however, was as good as it got for the home side as Colmcille kicked on in the last 10 minutes with 3 unanswered points to emerge 1-7 to 0-7 winners.
Fr. Manning Gaels Team and Scorers:
Gabriel Higgins, Stephen Cosgrave, Derek McCormack, Leon McKeon, Mickey Kelly, John Paul Farley, Ciarán Cooney, Kevin Whelan (0-2), Seán Whelan, Nigel Kiernan, David Cassidy (0-1), Anthony Kane, Petie Collum (0-3(1f)), Paul Donnelly, Mark Prunty.
Subs used:
James Breslin (0-1)