Sun July 16 - Senior Football: Aidan McAnespies v Shannon Blues

Shannon Blues 3-18 Aidan McAnespies 0-12

Shannon Blues scored an emphatic win over Aidan McAnespies Sunday afternoon and one that will alleviate any worries following last week’s stunning Galway comeback.  The Blues got on top early and did not let up for the remainder of the game.  A step ahead of their opponents, and enjoying a wealth of possession, the Blues forwards feasted on the supply.  The game was still an open affair for the first 40 minutes, but the Blues opened up an unassailable lead making the last 15 minutes a formality.



The Blues left McAnespies looking for another result for a playoff spot.

Just like the week before, the Blues came out of the gates strong.   Kieran Hurley was on song at corner forward, and with the Blues winning most of the midfield possession, there was plenty of supply for Hurley and his cohorts in the Blues forward line.  Lee O’Donoghue was also involved up front for the Blues, and a score in which Brian O’Seanachain made a bursting run from the middle of the field to point underlined the Blues advantage.

McAnespies made the changes early, and at least for a time it did not seem to make much difference.  The points still flowed over the bar for the Blues as they relentlessly attacked the McAnespies goal.  Seven unanswered points went over the bar before Bryan Magee interrupted the flow with McAnespies second point.  A burst of scores just before the break reduced the gap between the teams as Michael Walsh and Danny MacBride saw more of the ball.  Two points from McBride an another from Adam  Trainor brought the Blues back into view. At the half it was a four point Blues advantage, 0-10 to 0-6.

The second half saw the Blues extend their lead and kill off the game in the 15 minutes after the restart.  A flurry of 1-5 to a point for McAnespies set the Blues up for the victory.  Wayne Guthrie in the middle of the field was under everything, and O’Seanachain proved to be an effective partner.  McAnespies worked hard to get something going in the right direction, but the Blues defenders were on top of every threat.  Hurley, Denis McElligott and Trevor Wallace pointed and the goal that effectively killed off the game came from Hurley who netted on the second attempt following a good save by Paddy Coakley from the initial shot.



The Blues tagged another 2 goals in the run in to the final whistle as the final 15 minutes was a formality.  Darren Wallace and subsititute Maurice Young each netted.  McAnespies were playing to restore a bit of pride at that stage, and despite their best efforts for a major to put a gloss on things, could not breach the Blues goal.  So, it goes to the final round of games to decide who will be the last team into the semi-finals. A result against the Wolfe Tones in their final game will see McAnespies though to a quarter final.    

Blues:  Dara O’Shea, Fionn Herlihey, Trevor Wallace, Denis McElligott, Barry Hartnett, Brian Fanning, Wayne Guthrie, Brian O’Seanachain, Greg Horan, Darren Wallace, Lee O’Donoghue, Kieran Hurley, Josh Ryan.  Subs:  Maurice Young, Steven Conroy

Macs:  Paddy Coakley, Eoin Delmer, Niall Rooney, Brian Breslin, Paul Clifford, Fergal McGeough, Martin Mongan, Bryan Magee, Michael Walsh, Dan McBride, Tommy Brereton, Robbie Croft, Adam Trainor.  Subs:  Seamus Breslin, Jimmy Rigney, Rhys Quinn, Dean Flood.

By Rory O'Donnell