Comments (0)PrintEmail

St Aloysius advance to another Connacht final

A determined St. Aloysius College disposed of the earnest, but limited challenge, of Castlerea CS in this Connacht Colleges SF 'C' semi-final played in spring-like conditions, at an ideally appointed Knockcroghery venue.

Eight points was the margin of victory as referee Declan Hunt signalled an end to proceedings at St. Dominic"s GAA headquarters.

Which now qualifies the Shannonside college for a final appearance against either Athenry or Strokestown - where they will lay their provincial title on the line, in an eagerly awaited confrontation.

St Aloysius entered this penultimate tie minus four of their playing panel, due to injuries, but lost no time in asserting their authority. However, a cause of concern for their supporters and management team of Bobby Purtill and Willie Hegarty was wayward shooting in those tentative early stages. Camped in their opponents" half, they deservedly took the lead (5th minute) when Dara Lennon punished a Castlerea defensive misdemeanour with a pointed free. Persistent pressure from the Athlone side paid off in the 11th and 12th minutes, when wing-backs Aaron O"Connor and Niall Keenan respectively made the roads for Dara Lennon and Donal Beirne to both point from play.

It was requiring all the guile and resistance of, in particular, outstanding centre-back Ciarán Cafferkey to keep Castlerea in the contest against the relentless pressure applied by the defending champions, who almost goaled when corner-forward Kevin Quinn combined with Cathal Shine in a defence-splitting move, but the latter"s missile flew across the face of the goal and wide. Castlerea finally got on the scoresheet in the 18th minute when centre-forward Stephen Murrin pointed on the run, but the Shannonside response would be rapid and ruthless.

A golden 6-minute spell, which produced an unanswered 1-3, would go a long way towards deciding the outcome of the semi-final. A spellbinding build-up, started by Dara Lennon progressed via Eoin Connaughton and Donal Beirne, was completed in tremendous fashion by emerging hero Stephen Callan, whose parting shot gave goalie Smith no chance, while a triduum of points, per Dara Lennon (following hard work by Daniel Qualter), Lennon (free) and Kieran Brennan brought the Athlonians" total to 1-6. After St Aloysius goalie Naos Connaughton made a superb fetch from a dangerous Christopher Dineen centre, Castlerea full-forward Donal O"Connell made the opening for midfielder Michael Sweeney to score Castlerea"s second point two minutes into injury-time, but Aloysius still looked quite comfortable when ahead by seven points (1-6 to 0-2) at half-time.

Barely two minutes into the second moiety, Dara Lennon picked out Donal Beirne who pointed from play, but, with thoughts now on a possible closing out of the contest by the Green and Gold brigade, Castlerea had other ideas. They proceeded to come much more into the contest, shrugging aside their earlier lethargy, and taking the game to their opponents. Once again, Dineen tested goalie Connaughton, but strong Castlerea pressure would steadily pay off on the scoreboard. St. Aloysius, though it must be said that they never looked in real danger, seemed to take their foot off the pedal. They would go 20 minutes of the second half without raising a flag as the West Roscommon lads staged a mini-revival. A trio of points - per Michael Sweeney (free), Ciarán Cafferkey and wing-forward Vincent Hanley - ensued in their most fruitful spell of the match, though they were also frustrated by poor marksmanship (both teams ended this game with 10 wides each). As this semi-final entered the final quarter, only five points separated the protagonists - would we have a grand-stand finish at Knockcroghery?

The answer wouldn"t be long in coming. Cathal Shine, now operating in the midfield sector, helped to break Castlerea"s spell of resistance, and, with the central diamond of John Harney, Daniel Qualter, Kieran Brennan and Dara Lennon re-establishing control, the pendulum swung back in the Athlone side"s favour. Augmented by the indefatigable Donal Beirne and man-of-the-match Stephen Callan, St. Aloysius quickly established control. Tenacious defender Andy McNamara joined his attacking colleagues for Kieran Brennan to break that 20-minute barren scoring spell (52nd minute) with a fine point, Stephen Callan replicating this with a similar score two minutes later.

From the kickout, Castlerea went swiftly upfield for Fintan Kelly to register what would be their last point of the afternoon, but it would prove of only damage limitation value as St. Aloysius" would take the final scoring plaudits.

Midfielder Daniel Qualter, corner-forward Stephen Callan, wing-back Niall Keenan and wing-forward Donal Beirne all featured in a delightful bout of play culminating in a Beirne point, while Stephen Callan linked up with Andy McNamara before completing the scoring with a smashing point. In a fitting denouement to a terrific display, a late-late Castlerea rally was cleared from his own goal-line by none other than top scorer Stephen Callan, thereby rounding off a splendid day at the office for the right corner-forward.

And son the young Shannonsiders have reached another final, but there is still more in this fine side, and if a tendency to go out of the game for spells can be mastered, they will take some beating. Goalie Naos Connaughton was soundness personified between the posts, and had sterling last-line defenders in Danny McCormack, Kevin Naughton and Andy McNamara, while in a rearguard which only conceded three points from play over the hour, John Harney was an excellent pivotal defender, flanked superbly by Niall Keenan and Aaron O"Connor. The strong midfield duo of Daniel Qualter and Kieran Brennan displayed a high work ethic for the greater part of the game, while, in an attack where the leading scorers were Stephen Callan, Dara Lennon and Donal Beirne, Cathal Shine was a tower of strength in winning crucial possession and orchestrating a series of forward forays, with Eoin Connaughton, Kevin Quinn and sub Francis McManus also figuring prominently at various stages.

SCORERS - St. Aloysius: S Callan 1-2; D Lennon 0-4 (2f); D Beirne 0-3, K Brennan 0-2.

Castlerea CS: M Sweeney 0-2 (1f); S Murrin, C Cafferkey, V Hanley, F Kelly 0-1 each.

St. Aloysius College, Athlone: Naos Connaughton (capt); Danny McCormack, Kevin Naughton, Andy McNamara; Niall Keenan, John Harney, Aaron O"Connor; Daniel Qualter, Kieran Brennan; Eoin Connaughton, Dara Lennon, Donal Beirne; Stephen Callan, Cathal Shine, Kevin Quinn. Sub: Francis McManus for Quinn (37).

Castlerea CS: Michael Smith; Denis Barron, Alan Grogan (capt), Padraig Groarke; Brian Cafferkey, Ciarán Cafferkey, Thomas Flynn; Seán Morris, Michael Sweeney; Vincent Hanley, Stephen Murrin, Ross Timothy; Christopher Dineen, Donal O"Connell, Fintan Kelly. Subs: Shane Smith for Murrin (44), James Finan for B Cafferkey (58).

Referee: Declan Hunt (Roscommon).