Carnaross 6-13 Clonard 0-14

Carnaross made the long, arduous trip to Clonard on Wednesday evening for the first time in almost 20 years of adult football.

Indeed this game had a distinct 1990s theme to it with cars lining the sideline, players togging out al fresco, flags being hammered down by a sledgehammer prior to throw in and Ollie Murphy spearheading the Carnaross attack. The travelling men killed the game as a contest in the first half putting 5 goals by the forlorn Clonard goalkeeper.

Clonard began brightly and raced into a three point lead as Carnaross struggled to get to grips with the undulating topography of the pitch. Roaming cornerback Cian Yore shipped a heavy knock, spun around and casually kicked his first competitive goal for Carnaross igniting the hooped men in the process. This lead to an onslaught where Carnaross continuously opened up Clonard at will, with their slick intricate hand passing. Shane Casserly continued the comeback with a point, Paul Donoghue converted a free and Cormac O'Reilly landed the first, of his now customary points from midfield. The evergreen Murphy bagged his first goal by finishing off a free flowing team move that was hand passed the length of the field from a turnover. 5 minutes later, O'Reilly was fouled in the middle sector and using both his powerful right boot and his wealth of knowledge as a geography teacher, he spotted Ollie Murphy had snuck into a hollow at the edge of the square beyond the hapless full back. Murphy rose highest and finished with aplomb to double his tally for the day.

Clonard began a mini revival accounting for the next 4 points but this was cancelled out by the Dirk Kuyt of Carnaross, Stephen Flattery, whose hard work and endeavour was rewarded with a well taken goal after outmuscling his marker and breaking through the heart of the defence. Paul Donoghue was the main instigator of these attacks as he continuously dropped deep despite the protests of stand in manager, our very own Mike Bassett, Tadgh Skelly.  Donoghue converted a free and Cormac O'Reilly grabbed himself a major to leave Carnaross leading 5-4 to 0-9 at the change of ends.

Carnaross introduced their full allocation of substitutes in the second half to reward those who had travelled with some action. Renegade Cian Yore, lined out as a corner back but finished with 1-1 to his name as he followed his man around the pitch. Paddy Smith is the glorified postman of Carnaross as he "always delivers" and he duly delivered when he registered two sumptuous points in the second half to further enhance his growing reputation.  Carnaross' corner forwards' pace was causing their Junior counterparts worlds of trouble and when Liam Day stretched his legs, no-one could catch him as he coolly finished into the corner to end any brief glimmer of hope Clonard held. Paddy Dillon scored 2 points in 60 seconds to ensure he had something to show for his tireless performance. The game petered out in scoring terms with Shane Casserly and Liam Day completing the North Meath men's tally before Clonard knocked over the final 2 points of the encounter.

Clonard fought hard throughout using their superior physicality to great effect but ultimately Carnaross prevailed due to their eye for goal, pace and guile.

Carnaross: Shane McNiffe; Matt O'Reilly, Tomás Plunkett, Cian Yore (1-1); Aidan Lynch, Ian Donoghue, Cian Gillic; Cormac O'Reilly (1-2), John Brogan; Shane Casserly (0-2), Paul Donoghue (0-2fs), Stephen Flattery (1-0); Paddy Dillon (0-2), Ollie Murphy (2-0), Liam Day (1-1, 0-1f); Subs: Dean Connell for Stephen Flattery; Paddy Smith (0-2) for Aidan Lynch; Stephen Dawson for Matt O'Reilly; Brian Comaskey for Ollie Murphy; Colin Yore for Shane Casserly; Tadgh Skelly for Liam Day;

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