Carnaross 2-10 St. Vincent's 2-10

St. Vincent's second half reprieve reaped reward when they snatched a draw at headquarters with the last kick of the game. The failure of Carnaross to put the men from Ardcath away when chances arose proved decisive as St. Vincents finished the stronger to earn a draw. 

The early exchanges were split evenly between the teams with Carnaross utilising the wind to their advantage delivering early ball into full forward Charles Brogan who was terrorising the 2016 Junior B champions. Points from Frank O'Reilly, Brogan and an outrageous effort from Stephen Flattery when he drew a boot on a bouncing ball, left the teams tied at 3 points apiece after 12 minutes. Carnaross were dominating possession but were failing to dominate the scoreboard until they hit a purple patch in the last 10 minutes of the first half. Frank O'Reilly converted 2 frees along with one from play which was his fourth of the half. A well worked move resulted in Dermot McGee squaring it to Charles Brogan who made no mistake when he slotted the ball into the Vincent's net to leave it 1-7 to 0-3 at half time. Carnaross might have been further ahead but a combination of wayward shooting and poor decision making ensured Vincent's remained in touching distance with the wind to come in the second period. 

St. Vincent's scored the first 4 points of the second half to reduce the deficit significantly. Their unerring accuracy from dead balls coupled with two missed one on one opportunities from the North Meath men changed the complexion of the game completely. The Carnaross defence were dealing expertly with the long ball tactic but struggling when Vincent's broke out of defence at pace. A point from Dermot McGee and a free from a difficult angle from Frank O'Reilly ensured the Carnaross men remained 5 points ahead halfway through the second half. However St. Vincent's began to punish Carnaross for wasting opportunities earlier in the game with a quickfire goal and a point to leave the teams level with 10 minutes to go. Carnaross regained their composure to re-establish their lead through the trusty right boot of O'Reilly but Vincent's replied instantly. Charlie Brogan once again stood up and looked to have put the game beyond doubt when he finished with aplomb to bring his tally to 2-1 for the day with a mere 3 minutes remaining. St. Vincent's broke forward in a desperate attempt to force a draw but on numerous occasions the Carnaross rear-guard stood up admirably. However a failure to stretch the lead out to an unassailable 4 points proved to be critical as Vincent's launched an optimistic delivery that fortuitously ended up falling to an unmarked forward 5 yards out who made no mistake. 

Carnaross were never fronted in this encounter but failed to put their opponents away when numerous opportunities arose. The plucky St. Vincent's side stuck in the contest when they were struggling and fought back admirably to snatch a draw. Carnaross handed a full debut to the in-form Aidan Lynch who aquitted himself admirably throughout this keenly fought encounter. A frustrating evening in Páirc Tailteann for the hoops but they look forward to a ferocious battle against Junior Finalists Dunsany in the next round.

Carnaross: Shane McNiffe; Aidan Lynch, Tomás Plunkett, Liam Brogan; Cian Gillic, Ian Donoghue, Sam Reynolds; Michael Brogan, Cillian Comaskey; Niall McDonnell, Dermot McGee (0-2), Stephen Flattery (0-1); Thomas Nugent, Charles Brogan (2-1), Frank O'Reilly (0-6, 0-4fs); Sub: John L McGee for Stephen Flattery.

 

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