Minors through to Co. Final

Post date: Sep 20, 2011 9:20:43 AM

Edenderry 1-12

St Vincent’s 1-10

Against all the odds, Edenderry Minor footballers qualified for their first Minor final since 2008 with a hard fought win over Daingean Parish outfit St Vincent’s.

Going into this semi-final, St Vincent’s were the 2011 Minor League Champions, and they topped their Championship group winning three out of their four outings. The form guide suggested that St Vincent’s would overcome the Edenderry challenge with ‘relative ease’, according to local reports.

Despite playing against the wind in the opening period, St Vincent’s grabbed the first point. But The Reds soon settled, and Sean Moriarty opened his sides account with a great point after turning his marker in front of the hill. St Vincent’s then went in front with two good points. Full-forward Sean Doyle pulled a point back for Edenderry, before substitute Oran Lawton levelled the scoring with a great point. St Vincent’s went back in front with a point, before Sean Doyle scored an excellent goal after rounding the St Vincent’s goalie. The goal spurred the young Reds as they dominated the scoring for the remainder of the half, scoring four unanswered points. The first came from Peter O’Neill who kicked a majestic point from a side line ball in front of the St Vincent’s dug-out. Sean Doyle grabbed the next point, before Sean Moriarty kicked a brilliant point from a 45 metre free. Oran Lawton kicked the last score of the half to give Edenderry six point halftime lead.

Halftime, Edenderry 1-07 St Vincent’s 0-04.

At the start of the second half, Sean Doyle extended Edenderry’s lead with a great point. St Vincent’s pulled a point back before Oran Lawton grabbed another point for his side. St Vincent’s blasted a goal and a point in quick succession, to reduce Edenderry’s lead to three points. At this stage The Reds were under a bit of pressure, but Edenderry’s centre-back Dan Nolan showed great leadership, as he came up the field and kicked a relieving point after a great team move. Soon after that score, the chief scorer for the day Sean Doyle added another point to leave five points between the teams. St Vincent’s then cut Edenderry’s lead down to two points, after they kicked three unanswered points. Oran Lawton scored another superb point, to give the Reds a much needed three point cushion with time running out. At this stage St Vincent’s needed a goal to salvage a draw, but the Edenderry defence stood firm, while St Vincent’s had to settle for one more point before referee Martin Carty sounded the final whistle, much to the delight of the Edenderry players.

Edenderry had some great performances all over the field from 1-15, and substitutes. But man of the match goes to a player who may not grab the headlines like the forwards, but his contribution on the day with some fine fielding, some hard hitting and winning some very important dirty ball was Edenderry’s big midfielder Cian Lawton.

Edenderry GAA would like to wish the team and management the best of luck in the County Final against Ferbane/Belmont.

Team: Cormac Hurley; Matthew O’Grady, Shane Cronin, Declan Fitzpatrick; Gary Blong, Dan Nolan (0-1), Aaron O’Connell; Cian Lawton, Evan Kelly; Mikie Clear, Peter O’Neill (0-1), Sean Moriarty (0-2); Mark Nolan, Sean Doyle (1-4), Andrew Forde.

Substitutes: Oran Lawton (0-4) for Matthew O’Grady (inj), Aaron McDonnell for Declan Fitzpatrick, Jamie Dolan for Mark Nolan, Eoghan Kelliher, Ciaran Farrell.

Referee: Martin Carty (Walsh Island).