Gaels fightback falls short as Shrule/Glencorrib keep on winning
Eastern Gaels wing-back Charlie Johnstone attempts an unusual tackle on Shrule/Glencorrib's Shane Mellett.
Shrule/Glencorrib made it three wins from three in the group stages after keeping Eastern Gaels at bay to secure a home quarter-final last Saturday evening in Hollymount.
The terrible weather conditions meant free-flowing attacking football was very much at a premium and the midfield battle became a crucial factor, as well as the strong wind. Shrule/Glencorrib had it to their advantage in the first-half and Stephen Heneghan opened the scoring, followed by a two-pointer from Luke Lydon.
Michael McGarry got the Gaels first point on eight minutes before Heneghan made it a three-point game again a minute later. As the inclement weather worsened, the scores began to dry as the slick surface and the O’Neill’s made it increasingly difficult for either side to gain control.
Evan Godfrey was in on goal after a quick one-two with Luke Mannion helped set-up the shot. His effort was saved but Senan Guilfoyle was able to tag on his first free after the referee pulled the play back for a foul in the build-up.
Shane Mellett and Senan Guilfoyle, a free, traded points in the 21st and 25th minutes before the border men tagged on 1-3 in the closing stages of the half. The goal came on 27 minutes when Luke Lydon’s pass over the Gaels defence played in Cillian Ryan and the full-forward’s stunner left Ronan Forde with no chance. Lydon, Mellett and Evan Cawley, a free, left it 1-8 to 0-3 in favour of Shrule/Glencorrib at the break, but Cawley was withdrawn at half-time due to injury.
Now with the wind at their backs, Eastern Gaels would have wanted a quick start, and they almost got that moments after the restart. McGarry pounced on a loose ball on the Shrule 45-metre line and played it into Guilfoyle, but the former Mayo minor blasted over the bar with the goal at his mercy.
Shrule/Glencorrib struck the first score of the second-half on 35 minutes through Heneghan, one of only two points they would get in the second 30 minutes of play.
David Smith and Evan Godfrey cut the deficit to six as both sides began missing chances. After Godfrey missed a two-point free, he then hit a booming two-pointer from play to bring the gap back to four and the Eastern Gaels tails were up after Guilfoyle nailed two frees, one from outside the arc, to make it a one-point game on 55 minutes.
It looked like there was only one winner, but Shrule/Glencorrib would get the next – and final – score of the game. Eastern Gaels were caught in possession in their own half and Heneghan set up Liam Higgins for the killer goal. Ronan Forde saved it but referee Kevin Corcoran spotted an infringement in the build-up and Heneghan sent over the free to make sure of victory for Shrule/Glencorrib.
Scorers – Shrule/Glencorrib: Stephen Heneghan 0-0-4 (1f), Cillian Ryan 1-0-0, Luke Lydon 0-1-1, Shane Mellett 0-0-2, Evan Cawley 0-0-1f.
Eastern Gaels: Senan Guilfoyle 0-1-4 (1tpf, 3f), Evan Godfrey 0-1-1, Michael McGarry and David Smith 0-0-1 each.
Shrule/Glencorrib: John Murray; Joe Hughes, Joe Flood, Evan Gibbons; TJ Canavan, Johnny Naughton, Micheál Glavey; Luke Lydon, Joe Geraghty; Ross Gibbons, Evan Cawley, Shane Mellett; Liam Higgins, Cillian Ryan, Stephen Heneghan. Subs: Colin Gibbons (for Cawley ht, inj), Adrian Moran (for Geraghty 44), Eoghan Hennelly and Shay Travers (for R Gibbons and Ryan 56), John Sheridan (for Garvey 60+3).
Eastern Gaels: Ronan Forde; Micheal Finnegan, Tony Alyward, Jarlath Concannon; Charlie Johnstone, Brian Kelly, Henry Concannon; Luke Mannion, Michael McGarry; Ethan Owens, Eva Godfrey, Darren Concannon; Shane Glynn, Jack Ronayne, Senan Guilfoyle. Subs: David Smith (for Owens 37), Nathan Hession (for Kelly 41), E Owens (for Glynn 42), Dean McGarry (for J Concannon 60).
REF: Kevin Corcoran (Islandeady)
