Aidan McAnespies 1-12 Connemara Gaels 0-15
The Gaels and McAnespies played out a very exciting game, at
the end of which a draw was a fair result.
McAnespies will be the happier team with the outcome given that they
played almost all 60 minutes a man down thanks to an early red card to Eric
Finn for a high challenge on Ryan Caffrey.
Coming into the final 10 minutes the Gaels looked to have the momentum
and would make the extra man pay off, however, a late push from the Macs,
combined with a fine late save from Anthony Kidney, saw the points split evenly
between the teams.
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Ballymena to the fore - Eamon Fyffe was on
for in his McAnespies debut.
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The first half ended with the Gaels holding a 2 point
lead. McAnespies lost Eric Finn to a red
card within the first 5 minutes of the game for a high challenge on Ryan
Caffrey, one in which Caffrey lost a tooth which was later retrieved from the
field. The Gaels played some nice football with the
extra man and there were some well worked scores. Tyler Flaherty at corner forward proved to be
a productive outlet for the Gaels. The
man from the Aran Islands pointed 4 times in the opening half, while his fellow
Islander, Colm Brennan picked up from where he left off last week with a solid
display in the middle. It was Kerryman,
Matt Sullivan, who found the mark from midfield for the Gaels with 2, while
Coleman Mulkerrins also got in on the act with 3 from play. McAnespies made the most of their possession
to stay well in the game, despite having to make up for the loss in personnel. Corner forward Eamonn Fyffe was busy and when
in possession usually took not just one, but two Gaels defenders out of the
game. A Fyffe goal kept McAnespies in
the game, and the Ballymena man chipped in with 3 additional points. Anthony Kidney pointed two from frees, and
Nathan O’Brien added another before the break, it was a 0-11 to 1-6 Gaels lead
when the whistle sounded with McAnespies making the extra effort to stay in the
game.
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| Rory O'Connor entered and took over the frees for the Gaels. |
The second half saw McAnespies draw level as a combination
of effort and smartness on the line and on the field saw McAnespies playing
their cards well. McAnespies were
patient on the ball and did not waste precious possession, while Kidney came
out of his goal to create an outfield player when the situation suited. A Croft free was followed by a well worked
Che O’Donnell point from play, and a Kidney free leveled the scores. With Kidney roaming far out his goal at times
to try and aid the efforts going forward, and the subs came in off the line
early to try and keep things fresh on the field. The Gaels, however, started to make their
numerical advantage pay off. Fyffe was
double marked to neutralize the danger and going forward the Gaels started to
support the man in possession to better effect.
Two Rory O’Conner frees were followed by a Pat O’Donnell point, and
things looked to be headed in favour of the westerners. McAnespies had a late rally in them however. Jimmy Rigney pointed after entering from the
line, and was the score followed by another O’Donnell point, and a Jake Foster
free (another who joined play in the second half) made it all square. The last chances to win the game fell to the
Gaels. On the attack with a three on one
advantage, Colm Brennan’s shot was well saved by Kidney, and the rebound was
sent wide of the posts – a point would have been all that was required to claim
both points. No last minute win for the
Gaels this week, and a point that McAnespies will be well satisfied with given
the circumstances.
Macs: Anthony Kidney,
Eoin Delmer, Caolan Harvey, Lorcan Mallon, Robert Piggott, Paul Clifford,
Robbie Croft, Declan Hughes, Nathan O’Brien, Che O’Donnell, Eric Finn, Philip
McCusker, Eamon Fyfe.
Gaels: Eoin Connolly,
Joe O’Shea, David Black, Kieran Killeen, Ryan Caffrey, Christy Cunningham, Matt
Sullivan, Colm Brennan, Pat O’Donnell, Kenny Gavigan, Dave Lynch, Tyler
Flaherty, Coleman Mulkerrin.
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