Waiting game pays off for Seneschalstown

Arguably the most exciting part of this SFC encounter on Saturday evening was in the few minutes after the final whistle was blown. Despite their impressive win over Duleek/Bellewstown the Yellow Furze side couldn't be sure that they had made it to the knock-out stages until they heard the result from the Simonstown v Donaghmore/Ashbourne game in Skryne. Once the final whistle had blown anxious Seneschalstown players and officials stood around the entrance to the tunnel, some with mobiles in hand, awaiting news from Fr McManus Park. Up in the stand the supporters stood patiently waiting for the news that would either mean their team's hopes had ended or that they were still alive. There was a tense wait of a few minutes under the floodlights before the news filtered through. And it was all good for Seneshalstown. With Simonstown losing their game it meant that the Yellow Furze side advanced on score differences. There were cheers and even a few hugs. This has been a chequered campaign for Seneschalstown so far, but they gave indications that they are coming back to the kind of form they showed when they won the Keegan Cup two years ago. They were particularly impressive in the opening half and they certainly deserved their 0-10 to 0-5 interval advantage. They played the more decisive, free-flowing football and it was significant that all but one of their opening half scores came from play, a pointed free from Shane Clarke. Gary Conlon was Seneschalstown's sharpest forward in that first-half, slotting over three points with Stephen Finnegan (two), Joe Sheridan, Damien Sheridan and Brian Clarke also contributing. Duleek/Bellewstown at times struggled to stay in touch with their opponents and it took them 12 minutes to trouble the scorekeeper when Gordon Hynes powered forward to slot over. Points from Mark Collins, Micheal Dowling and Peter Curran (two frees) made up their opening half account. Just like they did at the start of the game Seneschalstown made a bright beginning to the second-half and within six minutes they had engineered their first goal. Shane Clarke sent the ball into Brian Sheridan who was clearly hauled down in the square by Ricky Nolan. Up stepped Joe Sheridan to drive the ball past Nolan to the net. A minute later Brian Sheridan was again involved. He won the ball close to goal and off-loaded to Brian Clarke who fired a low shot to the corner of the net. It was game set and match. The goals put Seneschalstown 2-12 to 0-5 ahead and you always knew that there was only going to be one winner after that. In fairness to Duleek/Bellewstown they never stopped battling and it is that quality that may see them through the relegation play-off they are now facing. They rattled off six points in quick succession in the closing stages most of them coming from placed balls converted by Curran. They almost found the net late on with a Padraig Howard got himself in a good position a few metres out, but his effort was scrambled off the line by Joe Sheridan. A goal then would have made it interesting. It was the kind of incident that can make or break a championship campaign and on this occasion Seneschalstown benefited. Duleek/Bellewstown made a string of changes, but the fact that they could only manage two points from play after the break, one each from Curran and Darren Mills, told a tale. Strong defensively and always carrying a threat in attack Seneschalstown were impressive apart from the final quarter. Brian Clarke, Brian Sheridan and Shane Clarke, who got five of his six points from frees, made up a formidable threesome up front. They and their colleagues will go into their game with Skryne feeling they have a very good chance of success. Duleek/Bellewstown, who had good displays from Nolan and Curran, have a different agenda as they prepare for a relegation dog fight with Walterstown and Rathkenny. Seneschalstown - D Lyons; P Carey, A Collins, G Sheridan; M Carey, J Cowley, S Sheridan; J Sheridan (1-1), D Sheridan (0-1); G Conlon (0-3), C Macken, S Finnegan (0-3); B Clarke (1-1), B Sheridan, S Clarke (0-6, five frees). Subs - A McCann for S Clarke 51 mins; D Byrne for Macken 57m; C Duffy for Cowley 57m. Duleek/Bellewstown - R Nolan; D Moore, J Martin, D Crosby; G Hynes (0-1), K Smith, P Martin; K McDonnell, D Gaffney; M Collins (0-1), T Cunningham, P Curran (0-9, seven frees, one '45'); C Carney, M Dowling (0-1), P Howard. Subs - J Devereux for Moore half-time; K McCann for Hynes 37 mins; D Mills (0-1) for Dowling 37m; D Ferguson for Carney 37m. Referee - Gerry O'Brien (Wolfe Tones).