Four goals for Ward as Tones cruise

Cian Ward contributed 4-4 as Wolfe Tones saw off Duleek / Bellewstown"s stubborn challenge in this high-scoring SFC quarter-final at Pairc Tailteann on Sunday evening. The gifted attacker has produced some fabulous scoring performances in recent years, but this surely topped them all. It might have been an even more impressive haul of scores because Ward had a third minute penalty saved by Ricky Nolan as Tones started the contest at a whirlwind pace and threatened to turn it into a cakewalk. They looked hungry, cohesive and sharp in the first-quarter as they raced into a 2-2 to 0-0 lead, but they failed to maintain that early momentum and Duleek / Bellewstown, to their credit, battled away despite the enormity of the challenge. The 2006 champions played only in snatches after that, but they always looked capable of upping the tempo if required and with Ward a constant threat they possessed a lethal scoring weapon who tormented the losers" defence. Duleek / Bellewstown were struggling in most sectors as Tones dominated from the word go and Ward demonstrated that he was on song inside the first 30 seconds when he pointed. Within two minutes Alan Fox was fouled close to goal, but Nolan got down well to save Ward"s penalty which probably proved that he is fallible after all. Duleek / Bellewstown had been let off the hook, but as if to prove a point Ward rattled the net in the sixth and 12th minutes to point Tones firmly in the direction of the winning post and demonstrate what a great finisher he is. Ward"s brilliance put Stephen Sheppard through and his shot was saved by Nolan, who was penalised for a foot block. This time Ward tucked the penalty away with clinical precision and Tones were on their way. Six minutes later Eoghan Harrington provided the pass and Ward produced a great run and a stunning finish for the sort of goal that has become his trade mark. Duleek / Bellewstown were struggling to come to terms with the pace and intensity of the exchanges and when Paul Byrne stretched the lead to eight points a rout looked to be on the cards. But Tones eased off the gas, started to over-elaborate and Duleek / Bellewstown out-scored them by 0-4 to 0-1 for the remainder of the first-half to trail by 0-4 to 2-3 at the interval. They still had a mountain to climb, but Tones looked vulnerable on the restart when Karl McDonnell"s point attempt came back off the upright and Daire Ferguson blazed across the goalmouth from the rebound. However, Tones possess the ability to inflict serious damage in a short space of time and they proved it when they killed off any hopes of a Duleek / Bellewstown revival by pushing 4-3 to 0-6 clear nearing the end of the third-quarter. Sheppard charged forward in the 39th minute, passed to John Tiernan and he provided the ammunition for Ward to twist and turn before scoring his third goal. Tony Kearney"s team was in cruise control again and after Darren McGrath blasted wide from a glorious opportunity, Ward netted again despite Nolan"s best efforts to stop his shot. With a nine-point cushion the issue was beyond doubt and the teams merely went through the motions after that. Duleek / Bellewstown had Paul Martin sent-off five minutes from the end after he appeared to lash out at McGrath and when Peter Curran netted from a late penalty after substitute Michael Dowling was fouled and Darren Mills and Dowling tagged on points they were no more than consolation scores. SCORERS Wolfe Tones - C Ward 4-4; P Byrne 0-1; A Fox 0-1; D McGrath 0-1. Duleek / Bellewstown - M Collins 0-4; P Curran 1-1; P Howard 0-3; Daire Ferguson 0-1; D Mills 0-1; M Dowling 0-1. THE TEAMS Wolfe Tones - D Nolan; R Brady, C McLoughlin, A McKeever; N McLoughlin, E Harrington, S Sheppard; S Corrigan, G Beggy; A Fox, D McGrath, D O"Neill; P Byrne, J Tiernan, C Ward. Sub - D Browne for O"Neill 53 mins. Duleek / Bellewstown - R Nolan; D Crosby, K Smith, J Martin; S McArdle, P Martin, G Hynes; K McDonnell, T Cunningham; P Curran, P Howard, Donard Ferguson; Daire Ferguson, C McGinley, M Collins. Subs - D Teeling for McArdle 17 mins, C Carney for McDonnell 36m; M Dowling for McGinley 43m, D Mills for Daire Ferguson 52m, J Devereux for Crosby 52m. REFEREE David Coldrick (Blackhall Gaels).