Carnaross 1-13 Oldcastle 1-10

Carnaross picked up a valuable 2 points away in Milbrook on Saturday evening. Oldcastle rallied late on and valiantly tried to sneak an undeserved share of the spoils but the Carnaross rear-guard held firm picking up their 3rd win of the campaign.

Oldcastle set up quite defensively attempting to disrupt and stifle the Carnaross attack with energy and sheer numbers but Frank O'Reilly set down a marker rifling over the first score with barely 40 seconds on the clock. Oldcastle responded to draw the teams level but were struggling to match the intensity levels of the visitors. The half forward line of Niall McDonnell and the 2 O'Reillys, Frank and Cormac, were dominating possession around the middle sector and this afforded Dermot McGee and Frank O'Reilly the opportunity to kick two scintillating scores from distance, merely bypassing the blanket. The freedom afforded to Frank O'Reilly as a centre forward enabled him to roam around Milbrook utilising his pace and he added to his growing tally with 2 more points.

Oldcastle were dangerous on the counter attack however, and the heroic efforts of Cian Gillic's last gasp block denied Oldcastle a certain goal. However he was later forced off due to an injury that occurred during that process and was ably replaced by style merchant John Brogan. Oldcastle countered again and made no mistake this time around, scoring a well worked goal making use of their overlap. Liam Day converted a free and Cormac O'Reilly brought the half to a close with a monumental effort to leave Carnaross leading by 2 points at half time, 0-7 to 1-2, after blitzing their North Meath opponents. Carnaross felt aggrieved not to be leading by more and knew that Oldcastle were going to up their performance levels in the second half.  Cillian Comaskey was instrumental throughout this game. His ball winning ability in the air was worth the admission fee alone. He was continuously out in front winning primary possession and the Oldcastle defence never got to grips with the Carnaross talisman. With Oldcastle employing a sweeper, the deadly accurate passing from distance by Niall Mc Donnell, Dermot McGee and Frank O'Reilly into the lively and tireless Day and Comaskey was reaping reward.

The second half began with a bang when Stephen Flattery raced into the opponent's box and was unceremoniously upended resulting in a penalty which Dermot McGee converted. Oldcastle responded with a point but ferocious Carnaross defending kept them at bay. Dermot McGee converted a free and Liam Brogan ventured up the field to extend the lead to 6 with 15 minutes remaining. An Oldcastle purple patch was ominous and 4 points in as many minutes lead to an exciting and tension ridden conclusion. Carnaross had lost the lead in their previous 3 league games and were determined not to let this one slip away.

Frank O'Reilly added two frees and a delightful score from play on the turn stemmed the blue tide but Oldcastle fought on with two points of their own. With 5 minutes remaining, Conor McHugh fielded expertly on the end line and bared down on goal but he was denied by the feet of goalkeeper Shane McNiffe. Oldcastle could not penetrate the stout Carnaross defence and had to settle for 2 points to keep the scoreboard ticking over. Dermot McGee concluded the scoring with a fine effort on his left after a free had landed short, putting 3 points between the North Meath teams. Oldcastle recently grabbed a last minute equaliser against Bective (which even had the Aguero injury-time goal commentary of 2014 added to the video, for comedic effect) and with this fresh in their minds, they desperately set about repeating these heroics. They peppered the Carnaross square with high deliveries but alas the maroon and saffron men held firm and killed the game out as a contest.

Carnaross lost their first 8 games of the league last year and naturally confidence was down and the players began to question their ability. In a brutally honest team discussion, we all agreed that if we could eradicate one individual error from each of our performances, results would improve. Dermot needed to stop attempting shots with his weaker foot and Liam Brogan needed to stop shooting with the outside of his boot! Liam Brogan kicked a bedamnedable  beauty with the outside of the right to extend the lead to 6, his 3rd point in 4 games and McGee later, with the game in the balance, kicked over the final score with his supposed weaker foot.

The confidence is back in the Carnaross camp and the brief era of self-doubting is gone and long forgotten. They left Milbrook content with their 2 points after a string of disappointing conclusions in the previous 3 league matches.

Carnaross: Shane McNiffe; Ian Donoghue, Thomas Nugent, Liam Brogan (0-1); Peter Shay Farrelly, Tomás Plunkett, Cian Gillic; Dermot McGee (1-3, 1-1f), Michael Brogan; Niall McDonnell, Frank O'Reilly (0-7, 0-3f), Cormac O'Reilly (0-1); Liam Day (0-1), Cillian Comaskey, Stephen Flattery; Subs: John Brogan for Cian Gillic; Shane Casserly for Liam Day; Paul Donoghue for Stephen Flattery;

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