Sat. 11.30. Intermediate Championship @ Strokestown.
Boyle 0.10 Eire Og 0.10.
Since the consensus amongst Boyle supporters was that a draw
was a reasonable result for Boyle then perhaps the reality was that we were a
tad lucky to come away with a point in the end. Again Boyle had a good first
half and led at half time on the score Boyle 0.7 Eire Og 0.6. The quality of
play fragmented in the second half as chances were not converted and long
intervals existing between rare scores punctuated by wides on both sides. While
Eire Og, playing with a breeze- on an ideal evening in a fine Strokestown pitch-
started with a point Boyle matched their score with a good point, from
Lochlainn Conboy, on 3 minutes. Eire Og went ahead a minute or so later but a
very good move led to Jim Suffin finishing with a very good point on 8 minutes
for Boyle. Eire Og went ahead by 2 points but these were pegged back by Conboy
and Donie Smith points on 15 and 17 minutes. In fairness the quality of the
play, on both sides, was good as the teams strove to play decent football with
good efforts at appropriate passing and plenty of effort. Tactics also came into
play and in this the roving Colm Brennan shone, hovering up a lot of loose ball
and moving it forward with a tidy economical effort. Boyle went 2 points ahead
with 2 Donie Smith points, one a free and the second a fine effort following a
fine pass from his brother Enda. However Eire Og stayed in the game and
equalised having missed a real goal chance mid- way through the half. Boyle
would have been satisfied when they went in a point up following a Conboy free.
Boyle 0.7 Eire Og 0.6.
The second half did not have the quality of the first. When Donie
Smith put Boyle further ahead things looked good but it was Eire Og who pulled
back with 3 points (2 frees) and they led 9 points to 8 after 9 minutes. Then
there followed a scrambling scoreless period of 10 minutes or so. Boyle missed
converting a good goal opportunity but Donie Smith levelled matters on 19 minutes with
a fine point from near the side-line. The result became a lottery and Mark O’Donohoe
saw a good opportunity come back off the post. Boyle looked to have stolen the
result with a Conboy free in injury time but Eire Og levelled matters from another
free, with the last kick of an interesting game.
This very new Boyle team looks like the team we will be
seeing, for the most part, into the future. The absence of the leadership and
driving qualities of Seanie Purcell was certainly missed and it seems as if he
will be an absentee for the campaign. Goalkeeper Ciaran Beirne did very well with
one particularly fine save in the first half. The full back line was stretched
by a lively Eire Og full forward line but Boyle held out though the frees proved
costly. Indeed through the field it was more or less parity of esteem with
Boyle’s quality performances coming from Donal Smith, Colm Brennan, Ciaran Beirne
and Darren O’Connor. David O’Callaghan had one particularly majestic catch in
the second half. Hopefully we will see more of that. The management too deserve
credit for good prompt decisions here. Awareness and concentration are key when
the two man full forward line is in play, with either side, as a ‘loose man’
creates confusion on marking systems.
I might as well abandon my mission for FISTED
POINTS, through which I had hoped we would become a market leader, as it has patently
not attracted any devotees. There were a couple of very good opportunities for the
medium in this game.
Anyways, in summary, a good first half, a messy and pretty
unproductive second half, a reasonable result and we now have to go to Fuerty (whose
result this week end against St. Barry’s has to go into the computer to see
where things stand) next week end and get a positive result and that will not
be too easy.
The Boyle team: Ciaran Beirne, Colm Brennan (probably my ‘Man
of the Match’), Kieran Supple (good to see him back), Marc Goldrick, Aaron Sharkey,
Killian Cox, Michael O’Donnell, David Callaghan (Capt.), Enda Smith, Mark O’Connor,
Cian Smith, Jim Suffin, Donal Smith, Darren O’Connor, Lochlainn Conboy with
Karl Feighan, Mark O’ Donohoe and Cian Beirne. The referee Paddy Neilan had a
good game and looks like a serious referee for the future. Strokestown deserve
credit for their fantastic facilities. This
was a lot better than a depressing wet evening last Autumn when Boyle had two
bitter defeats at the same venue. t.c.
