Gorey seal a remarkable six-in-a-row with a clinical second half display
Gorey C.B.S. 4-7 Rathangan 1-6
Gorey C.B.S continued their domination of the Allianz Cumann na mBunscol Rackard League Roinn A football competition on Wednesday last when they sealed an impressive six-in-a-row of county titles in St. Patrick’s Park. This historic achievement did not come easy however as standing in their way was a talented Rathangan team who were determined to do all within their power to end their run. What resulted was an enjoyable game that featured exciting free flowing passages of play, plenty of full blooded challenges and intriguing battles all over the pitch.
Gorey were the first to get off the mark when Ben O’Connor passed to Eddie O’Brien-Murphy who kicked over the bar. Rathangan corner forward Cillian Byrne replied almost immediately when he got on the end of a dangerous ball on the edge of the square and punched just over. Both sides then exchanged frees to keep honours even for the first ten minutes.
The game almost got its first goal when Dylan O’Brien slipped past the Gorey defence with an amazing jinking solo only to shoot agonisingly wide but instead it was Gorey who took the lead when corner forward Darragh Levingston scored from an acute angle. Rathangan responded with an extended period of pressure on the Gorey goal that was eventually rewarded when playmaker centre forward Barry Roche set up Dylan O’Brien for a superb goal that rattled the Gorey net. Minutes later this newfound lead was extended by another point when the same duo linked up again. Gorey did not lie down however and finished the half strongly by scoring two points through Eddie O’Brien-Murphy and Darragh Levingston. A Dylan O’Brien point for Rathangan in between these scores saw Rathangan leading 1-4 to 0-5 at halftime.
The second half proved to be a completely different affair when Gorey signalled their intent from the very start. Two minutes in, they snatched their second goal of the game from an almost impossible situation when Cian Molloy somehow found room to finish from the end line into the far bottom corner of the Rathangan goal. Jack Molloy and Eddie O’Brien-Murphy clipped over two more points before Rathangan had a chance to get their first score of the half through a Dylan O’Brien free in the 11th minute.
The decisive blow came five minutes later when Eddie O’Brien-Murphy grabbed his own rebound and slotted home Gorey’s third goal. Rathangan responded with another well taken Dylan O’Brien point only to see Gorey midfielder Michael Dunne carry the ball back up the field again and set up a second Cian Molloy goal. For the remainder of the half Rathangan bravely chased the game and put the Gorey defence under extreme pressure forcing two smart saves from Ryan Gibney and some great Gorey defending. The icing on the cake came when impressive midfielder Ben O’Connor scored a spectacular breakaway goal to seal what was another memorable day for the Gorey C.B.S. footballers.
Gorey C.B.S.: Ryan Gibney, Billy Kavanagh, Ross Padoe, Ryan Keogh, Brendan Morris, Calleum Travers, Michael Kennedy, Ben O’Connor, Michael Dunne, Darragh Molloy, Jack Molloy, Steven Mordaunt, Cian Molloy, Eddie O’Brien-Murphy, Darragh Levingston, Jack Ryan, Cathal Stokes, Evan O’Dwyer, Sean O’Brien-Murphy, Aaron Byrne, Caleb Byrne Murphy, Dylan Molloy, Sean O Loughlin, Matthew O Brien, Darragh Cousins, Jack Wilson, Cian Brown, Ryan Connolly
Rathangan: Shane Kirwan, Peadar Byrne, Michael Carroll, Darragh Furlong, Conor J. Ryan, Kevin Breen, Conor M. Ryan, Dylan O’Brien, Kyle Kennedy, Eoin Ryan, Barry Roche, Gary Sinnott, Cillian Byrne, Peter Cleary, Finn Bennett, Jamie Somers, Sam Seery, Jack Byrne, Liam Schokman, Jack Donovan, Luke Kelly, Rory O’Shea, Niall Kent, Jack Cloney-Power
~Seán Óg Whelan