Carn's dream of a double
dashed
10.12.08
Robert Emmet’s...1-10
(S. McGlinchey 0-3; M. Lafferty 0-3 (3 frees); N.
McConnell 1-0; D. McBrearty 0-1; M. Curran 0-1; D.
McGlinchey 0-1; E. White 0-1)
Carndonagh...0-7
(D. Burke 0-5 (3 frees); D. Doherty 0-2 (1 free)
by Inishowen Independent
CARN'S hopes of winning a League and Championship
double were dashed in Buncrana on Sunday when a highly
motivated Robert Emmet’s proved too strong for Kieran
Canny’s men. Carn had beaten the same opposition in the
Championship final two months ago and, with promotion
already secured, hopes of adding yet more silverware
were high. But Robert Emmet’s led from start to finish,
and were good value for their six point margin of
victory.
Played on an almost frozen pitch, Robert Emmet’s started
much the better with three points in the opening five
minutes and could afford to miss a first half penalty
and still lead an out of sorts Carn by 0-7 to 0-3 at the
break.
Carn improved in the second half but spurned a couple of
goal chances and hit a succession of wides, some from
scorable positions. Robert Emmet’s never let the margin
fall below three points, and when substitute Niall
McConnell found himself in on goal in injury time, he
calmly rounded keeper Declan O’Donnell and crashed the
ball to the unguarded net to seal the win. |
Physically stronger and
more tenacious in the tackle, Robert Emmet’s dominated
the first period with points from Emmet White, Simon
McGlinchey and a free from Michael Lafferty within five
minutes of the start.
Darren Burke pointed a free after Robert McCartney drew
a foul in Carn’s first meaningful attack, but it barely
caused the Castlefin side to break stride.
With Mickey McGlinchey and Marcus Curran attacking from
half back, and Dean McBrearty and Brian Harvey winning
the midfield battle, the supply of good quality ball
into the forwards kept the scoreboard ticking over.
Michael Lafferty won and converted an eighth minute free
on the left before McBrearty broke through a tackle to
make it 0-5 to 0-1 midway through the half.
Carn spurned the first of two excellent goal chances in
the 16th minute when Garvin McGrenra rose high to
collect a Gerard Doherty shot that dropped short.
McGrenra unleashed a shot from close range, but keeper
Simon McMenamin got a touch on it and pushed it against
the butt of the upright and the Robert Emmet’s defence
cleared it for a 45. |
 |
Darren Burke added a free
from a difficult angle on the right in the 22nd minute,
but Simon McGlinchey responded immediately after good
work by the impressive Michael Lafferty. Marcus Curran
and Darren Burke exchanged points from play and Robert
Emmet’s led by 0-7 to 0-3 at the short whistle.
Carn took control in the third quarter, but they had
only a single Darren Burke free to show for their
dominance and they would pay for their wastefulness.
A foul on Emmet White inside the parallelogram saw
referee Paddy McBride award a penalty to the Castlefin
side. Dominic McGlinchey struck the spot kick well, but
Declan O’Donnell – deputising for regular keeper Martin
Mooney who broke his hand in last weekend’s semi-final
win over Red Hugh’s – dived to his right and used his
left hand to save and the ball out for a 45.
McGlinchey made amends when he pointed after the 45 was
taken short to give his side a double scores lead of 0-8
to 0-4.
Robert McCartney spurned a glorious goal chance soon
after. He raced clear of the Robert Emmet’s defence but
with only keeper McMenamin to beat, he shot to the left
and wide when he might have carried the ball closer to
goal and had a better chance of netting.
Substitute Dominic Doherty pointed with his first touch
to reduce the deficit to three points, but Simon
McGlinchey and Michael Lafferty stretched Castlefin’s
lead to five points by the 54th minute.
Carn were fighting to stay in touch, and Robert
McCartney passed to Darren Burke for the latter to get
his fifth point of the game. A couple of flare-ups
between the sides kept referee McBride busy – he issued
eight yellow cards and one red over the hour – but the
decisive moment came three minutes into injury time when
a mix-up in the Carn defence allowed Niall McConnell
through one-on-one with the keeper and he rounded
O’Donnell and finished to the empty net. Carn added a
free through Dominic Doherty after that, but Robert
Emmet’s claimed the title with a convincing six point
win.
With promotion secured and the Junior Championship title
already in the bag, Carn won’t be too despondent. With
ten under-21 players in the starting 15, this young side
will no doubt develop over the coming years and will
gain promotion from Division 2 in due course.
Robert Emmet’s: Simon McMenamin; Colm O’Doherty,
Conor McConnell, Paul Harvey; Mickey McGlinchey, Rodney
Stewart, Marcus Curran; Dean McBrearty, Brian Harvey;
Johnny McLaughlin, Michael Lafferty, Martin McCrossan;
Emmet White, Dominic McGlinchey, Simon McGlinchey. Sub:
Niall McConnell for S. McGlinchey.
Carndonagh: Declan O’Donnell; Mickey Nelson,
Michael McLaughlin (M), Ryan Davenport; Paddy Nelson,
Cathal Doherty, Ronan O’Connor; Gerard Doherty, Cathal
O’Kane; Robert McCartney, Mark Canny, Liam Shiels;
Garvin McGrenra, Darren Burke, Dara McLaughlin. Subs:
Conor Doherty for R. O’Connor (14 mins); Dominic Doherty
for L. Shiels (43 mins).
For full coverage of all your weekend sport, read the
Inishowen Independent. |
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