Focused Saints withstand sustained Moylagh surge

JFC

Losing a county final is a big thing for any team and can hurt deeply. St Vincent's lost out to Dunsany in last year's JFC showdown and appear fired up to make amends this time around.

The team certainly showed in this quarter-final encounter at Rathkenny on Saturday that they are on a mission; on a quest for redemption and it helped them subdue a stubborn, highly motivated Moylagh side who were in contention right to the end.

Those who made it their business to be in attendance at Rathkenny were certainly royally entertained with St Vincent's just about doing enough to make it across the line with the highly effective Adam Tuite showing the way for them with eight points, including three two-pointers from play.

Certainly few teams have experienced the kind of contrast in fortunes St Vincent's have in recent years. They won the 2021 JFC only to be relegated the following year. In 2023 they flirted with relegation before drawing clear. Last year they got to the final and went very close to winning the title once more.

Now they are on the march again with Ballinlough waiting them in the last four. Paul McManus's side led almost all the way in this contest, helped greatly by a second-minute goal scored by Conor Harford. They were in front at the break by 1-11 to 1-5 and had a healthy lead of eight early in the second episode.

Then they had to withstand a whirlwind revival from Peadar Byrne's spirited Moylagh side who were level on 50 minutes and just a point behind on the hour mark. However, in the four minutes of added time allowed by referee Peter O'Halloran, only one more point was scored - and that came from St Vincent's Eric Callaghan.

The Saints were adept at winning breaking ball around midfield. With players such as Matthew Tuite, Conor Harford, Adam Tuite and Conor O'Brien always on the look out for tasty morsels.

The were also very good at stretching the play, moving the ball out wide and causing Moylagh to shift out of their defensive positions. "Width, width, width" was a mantra often heard from the St Vincent's contingent on the sideline.

With their mixture of young players mingled with warriors like the irrepressible Joe Melia, Moylagh certainly put up a brave battle. They did particularly well to give themselves a chance in the final furlong after falling those eight points behind, sometimes putting together fast paced moves that had the Saints at full stretch.

Their first goal was bagged on 14 minutes when a clever Sean Reilly pass was secured by Shane Gibney who did the rest. Their second was scored on 38 minutes and was a fine individual effort by Darren Gibney, who flew in from New York the previous day. He neatly side-stepped a defender before hitting the target with shot, soccer style.

That was a big factor in their revival with Reilly's extensive influence on the game reflected in the way he registered eight points including two two-pointers from frees. Dara Tuite was another big player for them. He hit three points and narrowly shot wide in the second-half when a real goal chance was presented to him.

The determination of the Saints was typified in brave blocks by Niall Tallon and David Tallon in the second act to prevent Moylagh scores. In such moments also games can be decided.

St Vincent's - Evan Conor; Ryan Hand, Niall Tallon, Mark Crawley; Shane Caffrey, David Tallon, Gary Tuite (0-4 one free, one two-pointer); Matthew Tuite, Conor Harford (1-1); Adam Tuite (0-8 three two-pointers), Conor O'Brien (0-1), Adam Andrews; Nigel Hand, Bob Tallon, Matt Griffin.

Subs - Shane Andrews for Griffin 47m, Eric Callaghan (0-3 one two pointer) for A Andrews 54m, Conor White for R Tallon 56m.

Moylagh - Steven Ward; Sean Peyton, Ciaran Burke, Feargal Flynn; Nathan Gibney, Sean Quirke, Mark Gibney; Darren Gibney (1-0), Sean Reilly (0-8 two pointer frees, four frees); Dara Tuite (0-3), Joe Melia, Shane Gibney (1-1); Patrick Kevin, Eanna Briody, Jamie McGee. Sub - Niall McLarney for McGee 57m.

Referee - Peter O'Halloran (Drumconrath).