Seneschalstown take long route to victory
LMFM Minor Football Championship Division 2 semi-final
Seneschalstown...2-9
St. Patrick’s...1-11
(after extra-time)
Shane Mulvany
Thomas Edison and the Seneschalstown Minor footballers don’t have too much in common, but one thing that ties them together is one of Edison’s quotes – “Our greatest weakness lies in giving up. The most certain way to succeed is always to try just one more time.”
In Dunganny on Monday night, Seneschalstown looked out on their feet during the first period of extra time as St. Patrick’s pulled two points clear and seemed to be in total control momentum wise.
Having trailed by seven points early in the second half, the East Meath outfit forced extra-time with a 59th minute goal and at the change of ends in extra-time lead by two.
Cue ten minutes where this group of Seneschalstown youngsters went to places darker than they’ve been before and when it looked barely doable moments earlier, they summoned one last effort from the depths of despair as bodies were dropping like flies everywhere around them.
When Cormac Reilly blew his whistle for the last time on an unusually calm visit to Dunganny, remarkably Seneschalstown were a point ahead and through to a first Division 2 Championship Final at Minor level since 2014.
St. Patrick’s topped Group B of the competition maintaining a 100 per cent record in the group stages with three wins from three outings. Seneschalstown finished second in Group A, but only on score difference after beating Walterstown and Wolfe Tones and drawing with neighbours Skryne in Round 1, more on them later.
Playing into the clubhouse end on Pitch 1 at the Meath Centre of Excellence, St. Patrick’s started quickly and had two points on the scoreboard in as many minutes. It took Seneschalstown a couple of minutes to settle but when they did, they left a mark.
One of the more notable features to eagle eyed viewers was the fact that both number 14’s on the evening were first and second choice goalkeepers on the Meath Minor panel in 2024, Jamie Norris for Seneschalstown and Cian Murphy for the Stamullen outfit. Norris was about to make a telling impact.
Charles McCarthy had possession on the dugout side of the pitch in the 6th minute and his long delivery into Norris was overhit.
The St. Patrick’s goalkeeper came racing from his goal but a combination of the bounce and pressure from Norris caused him to take his eye off it and leave Norris in a race for the ball with the end line.
The full-forward made sure he got there and had the easiest of finishes, palming the ball into an empty net to get Seneschalstown up and running.
Two minutes later, he was causing the Pats’ defence trouble again as he was fouled on the 13 metre line to the left of the posts and he made no mistake with the resultant free which pushed Seneschalstown two ahead.
Seneschalstown were enjoying a really dominant spell and Charlie Finnegan plucked the resulting St. Patrick’s kickout from the sky and he tore up the ground in front of him and casually chipped over from 20 metres to extend the lead. A St. Patrick’s point at the other end right on the 15 minute mark left that early Norris goal between the teams.
While scores weren’t exactly coming freely, the level of work rate from both sides was commendable and Seneschalstown had to wait until the 23rd minute to score again.
Midfielder Finnegan spotted an unmarked run from deep from centre half-back Charles McCarthy and Finnegan’s pass left McCarthy in on goal but his rasping drive was always rising and cleared the crossbar, rather than taking the net off which no doubt the Pats’ were relieved to see.
Three minutes later, Cian Hoise popped over off his right foot after a swift move upfield which started in the corner back position and went through numerous hands before the centre forward applied the finishing touches to the move.
St. Patrick’s answered down the other end but Seneschalstown received a major fillip on the run in to half-time.
Charlie Finnegan sent nothing more than a hopeful punt forward in the direction of the St. Pat’s goal and it was taken second time around by Norris. Norris was fleet of foot and got away from the full back before driving the ball low into the bottom left hand corner for his second goal of the game and match a feat set by his brother Joe two years ago.
In the 2022 LMFM Minor Football Championship Division 1 semi-final against Oldcastle, it was two goals from the older Norris that were the difference in sending the club into a first ever Division 1 final at the grade as a single entity. Obviously that night Jamie was watching closely that night and took note.
It was those two goals that were the difference at the interval and with no wind to speak of, Seneschalstown looked well set to push on.
After the break, Seneschalstown stretched the lead out to seven points when the unerring Hosie spilt the posts from a routine free 30 metres out after Aran Carey was dumped to the ground. This however, seemed to only spur the coastal club on as Seneschalstown would not register another score for 20 minutes.
Alan Finnegan’s men did however, defend resolutely during that time and didn’t allow St. Patrick’s in for any goal chances. They did manage to narrow the gap with four points on the bounce as the work Senechalstown have done defensively shone through.
There was three points in after 52 minutes when Seneschalstown, who did throw away some other scoring opportunities in the intervening period managed to give themselves some breathing space again.
Charles McCarthy did well to carry possession when winning a kickout and move it down the line to Aran Carey. Carey still had a lot of work to do when he got the ball near the sideline outside the 20 metre line but he burrowed his way in and his fisted effort just had enough in it to land over the crossbar and nudge Seneschalstown further than the goal ahead once more.
A St. Patrick’s point in the 55th minute cancelled out Carey’s score and Seneschalstown were visibly starting to tire as they struggled to win possession off their own kickouts and if they did, they couldn’t create any clear cut opportunities in front of goal.
It looked like they might have done just enough to hold out and earn a final berth but there was to be one final twist when St. Patrick’s did well to cut through the defence and worked their way in for a goal chance.
The connection with the shot didn’t seem to be the cleanest, but despite the best efforts of Cathal Reilly the ball ended up in the corner of the net and all of a sudden Seneschalstown were now holding on for dear life.
It looked like curtains for the Yellow Furze side when St. Patrick’s were awarded one last free to win it in normal time but the ball went across the goal to the left and wide one minute into stoppage time. Cormac Reilly blew for full-time and both sides had to go again for a further 20 minutes having finished level at 2-06 to 1-09.
Having forced the two additional periods of ten minutes, the Stamullen side started with a spring in their step and showed no sign of wilting when just like in normal time, they kicked the opening two points of extra-time. Indeed, Seneschalstown were blessed to see the second point flash over the bar after they were slow to react to an initial shot which hit the upright.
With so many bodies flagging, it was somewhat remarkable that Seneschalstown were only two points down at the break in extra-time and they needed something special in the final ten minutes to pull themselves back into it. They looked like a boxer on the ropes and another big shot would have certainly finished them off.
However, what they gave their teammates, family, friends and supporters in the final stanza was otherworldly. Slowly but surely they pulled themselves up off the canvass and gave it one last go.
Four minutes into the final half, Jamie Norris won a free and beautiful caressed it over from just outside where the D’ meets the 20 metre line on a beautiful angle for a right footed kicker. If Seneschalstown were a cat, they were definitely onto their ninth life but that score sparked something in them.
All of a sudden it was St. Patrick’s who couldn’t get out of defence and if the ball did get beyond halfway it was more often than not intercepted by the tremendous Mattie Cowley, who is still probably running around Dunganny right now having covered every blade of grass.
After that Norris free, Seneschalstown thought they had one foot in the final as the drama continued in the 75th minute. A high ball into the St. Patrick’s square caused consternation and it bounced around and off a few bodies.
It was eventually bundled over the line from the most unlikely of sources in full-back Eoghan McGauran who wheeled in celebration to the delight of everyone in blue and yellow. However, the umpire drew the attention of Cormac Reilly to the possibility of a square ball and after a brief discussion the goal was ruled out. It looked like a further hammer blow to Seneschalstown but they just kept plugging away with their new found energy.
The hard work of the forwards provided Seneschalstown with another opportunity as they forced a St. Patrick’s player to throw the ball deep in their own half and from a near identical position Norris was cool, calm and collected under severe pressure to tie the teams up once more from the free. At this stage, having been in Dunganny for so long and seeing the game on Pitch 2 start later and finish before this one, supporters were probably wondering if they would have to come back at some point over the next week for a replay, not that they would have minded given the fare on display.
Alas, in keeping with the spirit shown for the previous 79 minutes, Seneschalstown had the wherewithal to fashion one more attack. The ball came down the left hand side in a move involving both wing backs, Mattie Cowley and Bradley Kirwan. Cian Hosie made a dart into a pocket of space and managed to get clear of a defender and despite the tricky angle on the wrong side for a left footed kicker, he managed to squeeze the ball over the bar and send the Seneschalstown support into raptures.
There wasn’t even time for the kickout to be taken as Cormac Reilly blew his whistle for the last time, and now Seneschalstown could breathe again knowing they had left everything out on the pitch and earned a place in the Final of Division 2 the LMFM Minor Football Championship the hard way, but deservedly so. An incredible game, in which St. Patrick’s played their part in and one that will live long in the memory of Seneschalstown supporters.
Remember the mention of the Round 1 draw with Skryne? Well, Seneschalstown will book end their Minor Championship campaign against their near neighbours in the showpiece in a couple of weeks as the Tara side defeated Dunderry in the other semi-final on Monday night. The date, time and venue are yet to be confirmed but if that Round 1 clash is anything to go by, it promises to be an absolute cracker.
Seneschalstown - Cathal Reilly, Colm McDonnell, Eoghan McGauran, Tom Concannon, Bradley Kirwan, Charles McCarthy (0-01), Mattie Cowley, Charlie Finnegan (0-01), Aran Carey (0-01), James Sharkey, Cian Hosie (0-03, 1f), Adam Clarke, Cathal Clarke, Jamie Norris (2-03, 2fs), Jamie Barry. Subs - James Heery, Keith Finnegan.