St Pats Mens team kicked off the championship in style
July 07, 2014
St Pats got off to a winning start.
St Pats Mens team kicked off the championship in style with a one point win over a much fancied Toronto Gaels team in Centennial Park on Sunday.
St Pats played with a strong wind in the first half and went in at HT with a one point lead 1-06 to 8 points. The Pats midfield pairing of Fitzpatrick and Mulvany dominated around the middle, fielding and distributing ball to the inside forward line while also kicking a few points between them. A long ball into the square was flicked on by Martin Hoey on the edge of the square to give Pats the all-important goal going in to the half time break.
The second half started as the first half finished with high intensity football played from end to end. Toronto Gaels always looked menacing when their full forward line got on the ball. The pace and accuracy of them caused Pats some problems throughout the day and they were rewarded with a goal on 40 minutes. Finnegan then moved Aspell from full forward to the middle of the field to slow down that ball into the Gaels forward line, and this proved decisive as Aspell commanded the middle sector while also leaving space inside for the Pats forward line to run at Gaels. And this decision paid dividends soon after, when Pats replied with a goal of their own, moving the ball through the hands from one end of the field to the other and Seamus Garrity showed maturity well beyond his years to dummy the keeper and slot home expertly to keep Pats in the game.
As the game entered the final stages, St Pats led 2-12 to 1-14 and seemed to have done enough, but again Gaels moved the ball in quickly and their inside full forward struck viciously to the back of the net to give Gaels a 2 point lead with seconds on the clock. A trademark long kick out (against the wind) from O Connor made its way to McEnroe who was fouled 30m out and the ref signalled it to be the last attack of the game. Between the two Cavan men (McEnroe and Mulvany), they moved the ball short and fast into Sean Kinsella. Even though he isn't renowned as a natural forward, Kinsella was phased by the pressure and he sidestepped one tackle and shot from a near impossible angle to the top corner of the net to give St Pats a one point win - 3-12 to 2-14.
Tenacious defending from the full back line and some decisive attacks from the half back line, especially Shane O Brien, helped set up a platform for the forwards to create scoring chances. O Brien went off late on with a serious injury, so best wishes to him on a speedy recovery. Strong running from Garrity, McEnroe and Kerins caused Gaels defensive problems all afternoon long and the subs that were introduced kept that pressure on right to the final whistle, with Peter Byrne coming back from injury to score a long range point.
The game was played in the highest of spirits and Gaels have to be commended on a fine display in a game which neither team deserved to lose. St Pats now look forward to pushing on after this first step and they take on Durham next weekend.
Team: Barry O Connor. Pat Batt O Sullivan, David McMurchy, Shane O Brien. Sean Gibbons, Frankie Cussen, John Boland. Kevin Mulvany (0-2), Colm Fitzpatrick (0-2). Cian McEnroe (0-4), Sean Kinsella (1-0), Chris Kerins (0-1). Martin Hoey (1-0), Michael Aspell (0-1), Seamus Garrity (1-1).
Peter Byrne (0-1), Ross McElhone, Ian Barry, Richard Hickey, Sean Morley, Declan Drew, Lorcan McGonagle Tweet
Most Read Stories
