Second half surge sees St. Nathy’s through to All-Ireland final
St Nathy's Conor Moriarty assesses his options with Mount Saint Michael Rosscarbery's Ben Sheehy blocking his route to goal. Picture: Dermot Lynch
A powerful second half performance in which St. Nathy’s outscored Mount Saint Michael Rosscarbery 1-11 to 0-1 paved the way for the Ballaghaderreen based school to secure their place in the Paddy Drummond Cup (All Ireland Senior B) final for the first time since 2018.
Even though St. Nathy’s led this contest 2-7 to 0-10 at the interval and had the elements in their favour for the second half, victory was by no means a certainty. After all, Ronan Brett and Colm Maye’s side were leading this encounter 2-5 to 0-4 up after 15 minutes but had started to see gaps appearing in their defence.
Their Cork foes had outscored them 0-6 to 0-2 in the second quarter while St. Nathy’s had seen a 25th minute goal from Aaron Duffy chalked off for a square ball. Even though they had wind advantage to come, lesser teams may have felt the walls were starting to close in.
But St. Nathy’s are laced with players, who despite their youth, have experience of competing on major stages. This proved invaluable as they kicked an unanswered 1-4 in the first 11 minutes of the second half to stamp on the collective Mount Saint Michael Rosscarbery fingernails that were dangling on to the St. Nathy’s coat tails.
After that glut of scores, St. Nathy’s cruised through to an intriguing final against Longford’s Cnoc Mhuire Granard with relative ease.
For a Mount Saint Michael Rosscarbery side who were aiming to build on their first Munster Senior B title since 1996, they were dealt a tough hand with Cork U-20 footballer Dylan O’Neill, Jerome McCarthy and Joe O’Donovan all out through injury. But Cork minor Ronan Hayes was in their ranks and in fine form early doors, as he slotted two early scores, including a classy outside of the boot effort.
However, Oran Frain and Casey (free) answered each time before James Cassidy gave his side a lead they would not surrender with a classy left footed effort. The Cork side almost broke through in the seventh minute but Oran O’Donovan rattled the side netting from an acute angle.
That was the first and only warning St. Nathy’s needed as in the next passage of play, Cassidy’s aerial delivery was fielded by Ryan O’Sullivan. The corner forward subsequently engineered the half yard of space he needed before rattling the net. Both sides looked dangerous in attack, but it was St. Nathy’s who possessed the greater spread of players that could inflict maximum damage.
Luke O’Neill was capable of punishing St. Nathy’s transgressions as he nailed a two-point free but with Ronan Brett and Colm Maye’s side gaining the edge in midfield, they struck for a quickfire 1-2.
Frain enjoyed a brilliant first quarter in particular as he and Casey slotted over before the latter almost slipped the former through on goal. Frain spilled possession when in an advantageous position but showed impressive composure under pressure to pick out Conor Moriarty, who produced a bullet like finish to the roof of the net.
In the second quarter, St. Nathy’s began to force the issue too much while at the other end their opponents began to gain belief. Another O’Neill free from outside the arc aided Mount Saint Michael Rosscarbery’s cause while three scores from Hayes and a neat Joe McCarthy effort gave the Munster champions momentum.
Even though Cassidy and Casey (free) arrowed over during this dry spell in attack, when Duffy saw his goal disallowed for a square ball, there was a sense that the tide was beginning to turn.
St. Nathy’s were no doubt happier to hear the shrill blast of Evan Horan’s half time whistle as they regrouped. Casey bagged a quickfire 0-3, including a two-point free, upon the resumption, and even though Jason Puncheon was unable to scramble the ball over the line due to the efforts of Ciaran Campbell in the Mount Saint Michael goal, it wasn’t long until St. Nathy’s struck for goal.
In the 38th minute Moriarty’s effort dropped short, but Declan Duffy beat Campbell to the punch and in the process ended the game as a contest. When O’Neill’s two-point free dropped short, with Sean Buckley finishing off a well worked score on the counterattack, the passage summed up the Cork side’s second half.
Even though Ronan Hayes slotted a free to stop St. Nathy’s scoring run, there was never a sense that the Ballaghaderreen side, who kept their foes scoreless from play in the final period, were in any danger. Buckley produced an exceptional second half as he added a further 0-3, including a two-pointer, while Casey slotted over a score off each foot in the final quarter.
Subs Noah Gill and Ronan Coleman got in on the act as the students of St. Nathy’s answered all questions about their character in impressive fashion. Now, a shot at All Ireland glory awaits.
Scorers – St. Nathy’s College: Dean Casey 0-1-6 (1tpf, 2f), Sean Buckley 0-1-0, Declan Duffy, Ryan O’Sullivan and Conor Moriarty 1-0 each, James Cassidy and Oran Frain 0-0-2 each, Noah Gill and Ronan Coleman 0-0-1 each.
Mount Saint Michael Rosscarbery: Ronan Hayes 0-0-6 (3f), Luke O’Neill 0-2-0 (2tpf), Joe McCarthy 0-1.
St. Nathy’s College: Patrick Gaynor; James Kilroy, Liam Boyle, Harry Dooney; James Cassidy, Declan Duffy, Paudi Gilligan; Oran Frain, Sean Buckley; James Puncheon, Dean Casey, Aaron Duffy; Ryan O’Sullivan, Micheal McTeigue, Conor Moriarty. Subs: Cian Gallagher (for Kilroy h/t), Noah Gill (for A Duffy 48), Patrick O’Dowd (for Gilligan 51), Luke Freyne and Ronan Coleman (for O’Sullivan and Puncheon 60).
Mount Saint Michael Rosscarbery: Ciaran Campbell; Ben Sheehy, Mark McCarthy, Cathal Buchanan; Dylan Scannell, Sean Cuinnea, Ryan Fitzpatrick; Jerry McCarthy, Padraig Tobin; Oran O’Donovan, Seamus Lane, Michael McCarthy; Luke O’Neill, Ronan Hayes, Joe McCarthy. Subs: Joe O’Donovan (for Lane 44), Cormac Ó Donnabháin (for M McCarthy 48), Sean Murphy (for Fitzpatrick 51).
REF: Evan Horan (Kerry).
