St Peter's deserving winners of poor quality contest
Ger Robinson's side pulled away from Wolfe Tones in the second-half
St Peter’s 0-11
Wolfe Tones 0-7
It wasn’t pretty by any means, but in tough conditions, St Peter’s were deserving winners over Wolfe Tones in the Meath SFC on Sunday afternoon. The weather was a small contributing factor in what was generally a poor display of football.
The opening 30 minutes in particular was a tough watch, in fact, Andy McEntee seemed to be the only man in Pairc Tailteann with any exuberance as his constant instructions echoed in an otherwise dull and energy-less HQ.
Halftime substitute Cathal Lacey injected some life into St Peter’s and to their credit, they pulled themselves away from a Wolfe Tones side who in general approached this clash with a deplorable attitude.
The early exchanges of the match was absolutely shocking, in the opening 10 minutes there were seven wides and not one score registered by either side. Finally, Ronan Jones burst through and managed to seal a point from close range.
Five minutes of mediocre football later, Cathal Finn gave St Peter’s a two-point advantage with a mark. Fiachra Ward responded for Wolfe Tones with a mark of his own to get their tally underway.
Kyle Moran brought Wolfe Tones level but his score was immediately cancelled out by a well-taken point from Cathal Finn. Ward followed up with his second before his brother Caolan traded frees with Donal Lenihan to send the sides in at half-time level at 0-4 apiece.
Halftime sub-Cathal Lacey opened the scoring in the second half with a fantastic point with the outside of the boot. Lacey’s enthusiasm seemed to rub off on his teammates and in particular, Jack Kinlough started to really control St Peter’s attacks and he showed why he is considered one of the most exciting young stars in the county at the moment.
St Peters rattled off two points in quick succession courtesy of Finn and David McEntee. Sean Penny pulled one back for the Tones before a Lenihan 45’ and a second point for Lacey put St Peter’s three to the good entering the final quarter.
It was around this stage that things became a little edgy and tense. Maybe it was the fact that one side had started to pull clear, but as hard as he tried referee Ciaran Flynn struggled to keep any flow and momentum in the contest due to the nasty nature of the clash.
St Peter’s moved six points clear with scores from Micheal Murphy and a third from Lacey. In the closing stages, Caolan Ward and Moran pulled points back for Wolfe Tones but it was too little too late as St Peters booked their place in the quarter-final with a second consecutive win in the Meath SFC.
St Peter’s – Liam Byrne; Jack Scannell, Seamus Lavin, Mark Furlong; Craig Lowndes, Shane McEntee, Sean Ryan; Cathal Finn (0-3, one mark), Ronan Jones (0-1); Stuart Lowndes, Jack Kinlough, Luke Carolan; Michael Murphy (0-1), David McEntee (0-1, one mark), Donal Lenihan (0-2, one free, one 45’). Subs – Cathal Lacey (0-3) for S Lowndes HT, Cathal Melia for for Lacey 57m, Cian Duggen for D McEntee 58m.
Wolfe Tones – Ciaran O Gallachoir; Conor Sheppard, Shane Glynn, Sean Considine; Brughach O Fionnagain, Niall O’Reilly; Alan Callaghan, Sean Penny (0-1); Caolan Ward (0-2), Saran O Fionnagain, Thomas O’Reilly; Kyle Moran (0-2), Fiachra Ward (0-2, one mark), Stephen Sheppard. Subs - Alan Lynam for S Sheppard, Adrian Crawford for B O Fionnagain both 48m, Gearoid O’Brien for C Sheppard 59m.
Referee – Ciaran Flynn (Dunsany)