Tones win battle on points
Wolfe Tones 1-1-22 (27)
Seneschalstown 3-3-5 (20)
There’s an old saying that goals win games. You could add to the observation that so do points. That’s especially the case when a team is focused on getting as many of the them as they can, as Wolfe Tones were in this SFC contest at Rathkenny on Saturday evening.
Already guaranteed to finish as group leaders Shane McCoy’s side appeared to employ a pre-decided strategy to steadily add to their points tally every chance they got rather than go for goals – and it was an approach that yielded a rich harvest.
As it turned out they did bag one goal, sharply finished by Tom Gavigan in the second-half, but there were several other times during this lively, entertaining encounter when the Tones cut through the beleaguered Seneschalstown defence and opted to fist or shoot over when a green flag was a real possibility.
Seneschalstown did manage to get three goals – two scored by Dylan Keating and one by Séimí Byrne – but even that bountiful haul wasn’t enough to put a dent in Wolfe Tones’ march.
This was yet another manifestation of a Tones team in rich form. Using the tremendous pace and power in the team McCoy’s undefeated side once more marked themselves down as real contenders with a series of concerted, fast-paced moves that would have stretched any defence.
The level of the threat they posed was underlined in the way 11 of their number got on the scoresheet. Danger lurked in every corner as far as bottom side Seneschalstown were concerned.
It took a little while for the Tones to get moving but once they did they were indeed something to behold. They led by 0-14 to 2-4 at the interval and it was clear then it would take a remarkable comeback by Seneschalstown to turn things around.
David Hosie’s team lacked for nothing when it came to shedding sweat for the cause but they were dealing with a team right on tune here in the Tones.
Thomas O’Reilly showed the way for the winners with five points including a booming two-pointer after the break while Kyle Moran and Sarán Ó Fionnagáin were next in line when it came to ensuring the umpire with the white flag was kept busy. They bagged seven points between them.
One warning for the Tones is contained in the way they conceded the three goals. They laboured under the high ball with two of the Seneschalstown goals coming from skyscraping centres. Their third strike late on was the end product of a super-charged attack finished superbly by Keating.
Another feature of Seneschalstown’s display were massive two-pointers from Ronan Conneely, Keating and Cian Commons but there was no stopping the points-hungry Tones.
Wolfe Tones : Ciaran Ó Gallachóir; Conor Sheppard (0-1), Shane Glynn, Andrew Crawford; Brughach Ó Fionnagáin (0-1), Ross Gallagher (0-1), Sean Penny (0-2); Adam O’Neill, Fiachra Ward (0-1); Oisin Martin (0-1), Thomas O’Reilly (0-5 one two-pointer), Caolan Ward (0-4 one free); Saran Ó Fionnagáin (0-3), Tom Gavigan (1-1), Kyle Moran (0-4). Subs : Eoin Donegan for Penny 28m, Cian O’Neill for F Ward 40m, Ben Reilly for Moran 46m, Padraic Diamond for Glynn 48m, Sean Kendall for Crawford 54m.
Seneschalstown: David Gordon; Conor McDonnell, Danny Waters, Simon Rooney; Séimí Byrne (1-0), Woodley Nicholson, Eamonn Finnegan; Darren O’Brien, Sean Carey; Ronan Conneely (0-2 two-pointer), Cian Commons (0-4 one two-pointer), Alan Mulvaney (0-1); Cathal Finnegan (0-2 one free), Dylan Keating (2-2 one two-pointer), Robbie Finnegan. Subs: Ryan Finnegan for C Finnegan 47m, Brian Maguire for R Finnegan 48m.
Referee: Kieran Olwell (Moynalty)