Fagan to the fore as goals give Marist the edge over Carlow

A winning margin of four points was an accurate reflection of the superiority exercised by Marist College, Athlone, over Carlow CBS in this hard-fought Leinster Colleges SF 'A' Championship 1st round tie at Dr Cullen Park, Carlow, last Wednesday. Played in a constant downpour, the Westmeath side held a few distinct advantages over the home school. They showed a greater team ethic, were generally a little stronger on the ball and had more stand out performers than a gallant CBS side. Marist enjoyed a greater share of the possession, with the diamond formed by centre-back Conor Fitzgibbon, midfielders Aidan Connaughton and Rob Henshaw and centre-forward Callum McCormack, providing a very strong sector which Carlow failed to counteract. And in full-forward David Fagan, the Marist had the best player on view. The talented Tubberclair clubman finished with 1-3 from play and his overall contribution, in terms of linking with colleagues and awareness of scoring chances, was admirable. The Westmeath visitors were in early arrears when CBS hit the front with a brace of points from play by left full-forward Mark Fitzgerald and No 12 Simon Doyle. The response from Marist was for the talented Callum McCormack to convert a free and then the centre-forward, fed by Fagan, was himself one-on-one with Carlow goalie Shane Lowry. The Marist centre-forward finished superbly to the top of the net. With that early breakthrough on the goal front, the Athlone boys sensed there were more goals in this game for them and they were proved correct. The fact that they raised two green flags in each half was a tribute to the forward line - with four separate attackers finding the net. But it was also an indictment of a leaky home defence which allowed their opponents far too much latitude. The Marist would not want to run away with any idea of infallibility - they will come up against sterner defensive set-ups than encountered on Wednesday. Then there was the soft concession of two goals to the Carlow full-forward Graham Delaney, which both arrived in the second half. The tall No 14 emerged as his side's top scorer with 2-1, all from play. So there is need to tighten up matters in the Marist full-back line. The second Marist goal came on 19 minutes when David Fagan breached the Carlow defence, cut in along the left wing and was content to seek a boxed point. The ball hit the upright, came back into play and right full-forward Joe Cunniffe responded quickest to send a low shot to the net. By half-time, Marist led 2-3 to 0-5. Just before the interval the Westmeath college mentors were absolutely furious with Kildare referee Bob Monahan when left full-forward Adrian Gleeson appeared to be clearly fouled in the large square. But no whistle sounded for a penalty award - it was a let-off for Carlow. Encroachment unto the pitch by incensed Marist sideline people was over the top, as were the confrontations with the referee when half-time sounded. Within seconds of the restart, a long ball from midfield was touched to the net by Graham Delaney and it was really 'game on' a couple of minutes later, when Dale Byrne, the CBS centre-forward, pointed a 30-metre free. With the sides now deadlocked, Marist raised their game and in the 38th minute they struck for a third goal. This was the game's best movement started in his own area of responsibility by impressive left full-back Luke Kelly. The small, tigerish No 4 played the ball along the left wing to midfielder Rob Henshsaw, who carried on the move before placing Callum McCormack. He transferred to corner-forward Adrian Gleeson who smashed home a superb goal. The ball had gone the full length of the field without a touch from a Carlow player. The fourth Marist goal came on 44 minutes when Conor Fitzgibbon gained midfield possession and sent in a high ball which was a nightmare for the home defence given the wet conditions. Two Marist forwards combined cleverly to outwit two Carlow defenders, sending David Fagan scampering in on goal and the full-forward's finish was clinical. Carlow never gave up the ghost and had the better of matters in the last five or six minutes as wing-back Paul Costello picked off a fine point which was supplemented by two fine white flags from Dale Byrne. But by that stage, the contest had been decided and Marist had deservedly booked a place in the next round. In a game where both sides scored eleven times, it would be hard to reach any compelling conclusions about the merits of this Marist side. They will need to improve on this display but will be very pleased to have achieved a first round victory on 'foreign' soil. They will be unhappy with a tally of nine wides - against two for Carlow - but on the positive side, this was an indicator of the visitors' superiority in general play. The most satisfying aspect of the victory was the knack of Marist to strike back when most in need of a score, underlined by the manner in which they set up their third goal. With forwards like Callum McCormack and David Fagan spearheading their forward line, the Marist have an attack which will test many back lines. MARIST COLLEGE, ATHLONE: Eoin Carberry; Nigel Farrell, Paul Fuery, Luke Kelly; Mike Irwin, Conor Fitzgibbon, Donal O'Riordan; Aidan Connaughton, Rob Henshaw; Brian Gill (0-1), Callum McCormack (1-2, 0-1 free), David McCormack; Joe Cunniffe (1-1), David Fagan (1-3), Adrian Gleeson (1-0). Subs: Kevin Horan for Cunniffe (53); Pascal Grennan-Joyce for D. McCormack (55). CARLOW CBS: Shane Lowry; Kevin Barrett, Conor Lawler, Colin Hanley; Paul Costello (0-1), Jamie Kenny, Niall Lawler; Eoin Brennan (0-1, free), Liam Kearney; Niall Dermody, Dale Byrne (0-4, 2 frees), Simon Doyle (0-1); David Cleary, Graham Delaney (2-1), Mark Fitzgerald (0-1). Subs: Eoin Stynes for C. Lawler (injured, 39); Seamus Harmon for Cleary (43); Sean Wogan for Kenny (injured, 51). REFEREE: Bob Monahan (Kildare).