Updated: Wednesday, 27th January, 2010 4:49pm

Comments () | Print | Email |

End of the road

by Conall Collier

Castlegregory 1-16, Longwood 0-8

John Cullinane in the thick of the action for Longwood at the Gaelic Grounds, Limerick against Castlegregory on Sunday.

What is it about the Gaelic Grounds and Meath teams? Less than two years ago Meath travelled to the Limerick venue for an All-Ireland SFC qualifier and were dismantled by the home side.

On Sunday Longwood made their way to the Treaty City and were comprehensively out-gunned by Kerry side Castlegregory in the All-Ireland JFC semi-final.

To complete a forgettable afternoon Rory Maguire was red-carded just before the end after an exchange of words with the referee.

All the indications were there before the start that this would be a difficult assignment for Mark McDonagh's men.

The Kerry side contained five players who turned out for the Kingdom at u-21 level. That fact alone should have set off alarm bells even for the more optimistic among the Longwood supporters.

Yet those who made their way down to Limerick waving white and black flags would have been greatly encouraged with the way their team started.

There was just 20 seconds gone when Mickey Burke set up Aaron Ennis and he confidently slotted the ball over the bar.

With 10 minutes on the clock Longwood were ahead by 0-2 to 0-1 and were still very much in contention, matching their opponents in most sectors.

However, from then on the afternoon got progressively worse for Longwood as they became bogged down in a vain attempt to contain a well-organised, lively Castlegregory outfit.

By the time Castlegregory equalised to make it 0-2 apiece there were ominous signs appearing for their opponents. Little cameos that indicated all wasn't right.

Passes went astray, possession was coughed up and moves that had started promisingly invariably ended up in cul-de-sacs.

Suddenly there were difficulties for Longwood all over the pitch and one of the most problematic was at midfield.

In previous games Burke and John Cullinane conducted affairs from there. This time around the area was flooded by Castlegregory who won most of the kick-outs with what must have been alarming ease for the Longwood management and the increasingly concerned supporters.

Obviously the Kerry side had studied the videos and they focussed in on Burke for special attention, almost all of it legitimate.

When the Meath midfielder got the ball he was surrounded by two, sometimes three players. He never got the latitude to spark attacking moves or the chance to run at the defence. The Kerrymen had done their homework.

Time and again Longwood kick-outs were snapped up by a number of towering Castlegregory players who floated around the central section including Michael O'Shea, Alan Fitzgerald and JB Spillane.

This all meant that there was ever more intense pressure on the Longwood defence which creaked before eventually cracking.

With 27 minutes on the clock Castlegregory launched a concerted attack with their full-back Joe Scully involved in the forward surge.

The ball was worked to full-forward Alan Lynch, who showed a neat turn for a big man. It was a move that deceived his marker Enda Dixon. Lynch shot goalwards and he looked as surprised as anybody in the attendance of about 1,500 when the ball looped over the outstretched hands of Jarlath Cully and into the net.

It was a goal that had been threatening for some time and it was a big factor in providing Castlegregory with a morale boost going into the break when they led by 1-5 to 0-5.

Throughout the game Longwood struggled to get their normal, swift-moving game going. They were not helped by their tendency to give the ball away, something they did needlessly and all too frequently.

The Kerry side played at a ferocious pace, their defenders gave little away at the back while their attackers carried a real threat when the ball was played into them which it was on a regular basis.

The one Longwood player who gave Castlegregory plenty of think about was Aaron Ennis. He had the measure of his man from very early on. He was adept at getting out to the ball quickly, making a yard or two of space and slotting over the bar.

His ability helped him carve out three points from play in the opening half. He got few opportunities to add to that in the second-half simply because the supply of ball dried up.

It was significant that Ennis was the only Longwood player to score from play. Maguire garnered all his four points from frees while the busy Wayne Leonard contributed a point from a free in the second-half.

The nearest Longwood came to finding the net came just before the break when Maguire, who occupied his usual roving role, and Ennis combined to get the ball to Karl Ennis. For a split second the goal chance was there. However, Castlegregory quickly closed the door and their goalkeeper managed to turn the ball away.

Then there was a half-chance of a goal midway through the second-half when Leonard threaded his intended pass to Ger Ennis. The pass just carried a little too much pace and the chance was gone.

At that stage Longwood badly needed a goal to revive their flagging fortunes. The chance was gone and instead Castlegregory continued to pile on the scores and end their opponents dream of making it to Croke Park.

It was significant that all but one of the Castlegregory forwards got on the scoresheet. It was one of the statistics that underlined what was a bad day at the office for the holders of the Matthew Ginnity Cup.

SCORERS

Castlegregory - A Lynch 1-3; C O'Mahony 0-3; A Fitzgerald 0-4, all frees; J B Spillane 0-2; S Hennessy 0-1; S O'Mahony 0-1; S Browne 0-1; R Kelliher 0-1.

Longwood - R Maguire 0-4, all frees; A Ennis 0-3; W Leonard 0-1, free.

THE TEAMS

Castlegregory - S Kenny; G O'Connor, J Scally, J O'Connor; S O'Mahony, S Browne, A Finn; M O'Shea, R Kelliher; S Hennessy, A Fitzgerald, J B Spillane; C O'Mahony, A Lynch, A McNamara. Subs - C Sills for Finn 36 mins; D Heasman for O'Shea 38m; L Maunsell for McNamara 55m.

Longwood - J Cully; C Greene, E Dixon, J Colgan; B Hanna, V Byrne, C Lynch; J Cullinane, M Burke; E Lynch, M Weir, K Ennis; A Ennis, W Leonard, R Maguire. Subs - S Mahon for Byrne 42 mins; G Ennis for K Ennis 42m; I Keenan for Weir 55m; J Dorran for Lynch 58m; D Maguire for Hanna 58m.

THE Referee

Eamonn O'Grady (Leitrim).