Skryne survive stern St Ultan"s examination

The harsh lessons of senior football were once again endured by St Ultan"s on Friday night as they lost out to Skryne in a hugely entertaining SFC encounter at Pairc Tailteann. In their opening game of the championship St Ultan"s were beaten when a defensive error allowed Blackhall Gaels snatch victory from the jaws of defeat with an injury-time goal and in their second outing the Martry men were held to a draw by 14-man Dunboyne. On Friday evening they played the most impressive football of the championship so far in a devastating first-half, but they couldn"t maintain the momentum as Skryne"s superior defensive abilities and cohesion saw them across the finish line. Skryne too contributed to an excellent game, but it was the excellence of St Ultan"s in the opening period that really should have laid the platform for a surprise win. Ultimately the night ended in disappointment and frustration with Declan Galligan departing for a straight red card following his involvement in a tussle with Skryne"s Felim O"Rourke four minutes from the end. That red card ended any possibility St Ultan"s had of over-turning the 0-14 to 1-9 lead Skryne held at the time, but the game was gone from their grasp long before then as they endured a 22-minute barren spell in the second-half without scoring. Skryne fully merited their victory. They were the more determined side and took several magnificent scores to ensure that St Ultan"s were never able to establish a significant lead. Every time the IFC champions managed to put three points between themselves and Skryne the Tara men would close the gap immediately and that ultimately gave them the belief that they could win the game in the second-half. The contest fizzled out after the interval as St Ultan"s failed to maintain the ferocity of their first-half display when Brian Galligan pulled the strings and Cian Rennicks, Gary Gorman, Robert Duffy and Eugene Brady tormented Skryne. After the break it was all Skryne however with Aidan Tuite and David McGoldrick dominating midfield and Mark Battersby, Trevor Giles and James Hegarty causing problems for the stretched St Ultan"s rearguard. The outstanding feature of the game was the magnificent fifth minute goal St Ultan"s scored. By that stage Brian Galligan (free) and Hegarty had traded points, but then St Ultan"s took a decisive step. A superb interchange of passes between Brian Galligan and Brady released Gorman, his quick thinking sent Gearoid Rennicks through and he finished with finesse beyond Paddy O"Rourke. It was one of the best passing moves and finishes witnessed in Pairc Tailteann, but Skryne were not overawed and by the 10th minute points from Felim O"Rourke (free) and Hegarty closed the gap to 0-3 to 1-1. For all of St Ultan"s attacking brilliance it was their defensive frailties that let them down as they conceded silly scores through careless clearances or poor tackling. They adopted the attitude of whatever Skryne score we"ll just score more and it paid off in the first-half as Cian Rennicks and Gorman pointed either side of a Hegarty free before a brilliant Brian Galligan point made it 1-4 to 0-4. The remainder of the half saw the sides exchange points as Skryne closed to within two points four times with scores from Hegarty, Brian Byrne, Giles and O"Rourke while St Ultan"s responded each time through Brady (two) and Brian Galligan to lead by 1-7 to 0-8 at the break. After the break it was a different story. St Ultan"s lost their attacking style. They managed just two points, one in the second minute and the other 20 minutes later as Skryne turned the screw to seal the win and their place in the quarter-finals. Byrne and Cian Rennicks traded scores in the opening two minutes of the second-half, but a mix of poor defending and great shooting allowed points from Byrne, Battersby, Felim O"Rourke and Hegarty push Skryne into the lead for the first time, 0-13 to 1-8 at the three-quarter stage. Tuite stretched that lead to three points before Brady offered St Ultan"s some hope with their second point of the half. However, it wasn"t to be as Declan Galligan was sent-off and Skryne secured the win with injury-time points from Felim O"Rourke (free) and Battersby. Skryne - P O"Rourke; A Curry, V O"Reilly, M Jordan; M Mulvaney, M Harrington, C Lenehan; A Tuite (0-1), D McGoldrick; J Hegarty (0-5, one free), T Giles (0-1), D Ryan; F O"Rourke (0-4, three frees), B Byrne (0-3), M Battersby (0-2). Subs - K Mulvaney for Ryan 51 mins, J Looby for M Mulvaney 51m, Ryan for K Mulvaney 59m. St Ultan"s - A Ball; N Galligan, C Lynch, J Bennett; D Galligan, A Martin, R Duffy; B Mulroe, K Galligan; G Rennicks (1-0), B Galligan (0-3, two frees), K Rogers; E Brady (0-3), C Rennicks (0-2), G Gorman (0-1). Subs - C Rogers for K Rogers 40 mins, P Murray for G Rennicks 46m. Referee - Gerry O"Brien (Wolfe Tones).