Gaels ease through to last four

SFC quarter-final

Cavan Gaels 1-11

Laragh United 0-10

Paul Fitzpatrick at Kingspan Breffni

Cavan Gaels advanced to the last four with the minimum of fuss after this quarter-final which never really caught light.

Laragh came into this one as 4/1 underdogs against a Gaels side who were unbeaten in the group stages, a run which included a draw with Crosserlough and a big win against Castlerahan.

Star player in the latter victory was Gearoid McKiernan, who landed a magnificent 2-10 and when word began to filter round the ground pre-match that the county star was out through injury, suddenly it seemed that an upset was possible, despite the town side having an able replacement in the form of Robert Maloney-Derham.

However, the shock did not materialise as the Gaels turned in a professional performance which was spoiled only by poor shooting. The highlight was a brilliantly taken goal by a player who has scored many of them over the years, Paul O’Connor, whose return to fitness is a timely boost for Kieran Donnelly’s side.

At the first water break, the Gaels were ahead by the odd point in seven after what was a cagey, intriguing opening quarter. The Gaels employed a high press on Fergal O’Rourke’s kick-out and enjoyed some success, notably for their third point from Paul O’Connor, but in general the Laragh netminder was able to find his man.

At the other end, the Gaels had a blanket defence in place and, playing against the wind in the first half, Laragh – looking to work the ball as close as possible to the goals – played into their hands as some excellent Gaels defending allied to poor decision-making from Laragh resulted in numerous turnovers.

Jack McKenna, who was otherwise well marshalled by Barry Fortune, sent over the opening score from a tight angle and Cavan Gaels had four wides registered before landing their first, a great effort from Niall Smith in the ninth minute.

The Terry Coyle Park men added two more in a minute, Luke Fortune running 70 metres before knocking over an excellent point and O’Connor booting over from 40 metres but Laragh responded well.

Good work from Ian Leddy was finished by Paul Smith with a lovely finish and Smith split the posts with a super strike a minute later to tie the game.

A 40-metre free from Padraig Sexton just before the water break left a point between them but the Gaels owned the second quarter.

After Evan Kelly spurned a good chance, Gaels custodian Alan O’Riordan went long, Luke Molloy knocked it down and the pacy Smith had his second.

Disciplined defending, helped by Laragh over-playing the ball and poorly executing passes, resulted in several turnovers. After one, the Gaels broke at lightning pace; O’Connor, in space, burned off Shane O’Rourke and blasted home a tremendous goal.

Good work from Jack Tully was finished by Maloney-Derham and when Molloy sent over a classy score, it was 1-7 to 0-3 approaching half-time before Paul Smith had the final say of the half with a free.

With the wind at their backs, Laragh were the better team in the third quarter as the Gaels’ poor shooting continued (they finished with 11 wides, all registered in the first 45 minutes). Fergal McKenna drove through the middle and squared for Paddy Rudden to palm over just after the restart and on 39 minutes, Jack McKenna, who looked hampered by injury, kicked a super score.

And when Shane O’Rourke thumped one over after a well-worked move, it was a one-score game and Laragh were growing in confidence – by this stage, ref Conor Dourneen had awarded them 16 frees out of 23, although that tally was well evened up by the long whistle.

However, the Gaels showed their experience as they upped the ante with four points in succession. A foul on sub Emmanuel Shehu was punished by O’Connor and Gearoid McKiernan then landed three in a row (two frees) to put seven points between the teams again.

Laragh finished strongly with a 45-metre point from play by the impressive Smith, who then added a free. Shane O’Rourke, on the loop, swung one in as the game entered injury time and Ian Leddy had a decent attempt on goal as they pressed late on but Cavan Gaels were never really in trouble and deservedly ran out four-point winners to advance to another semi-final.

Laragh United: Fergal O’Rourke, Stephen Cooney, Fergal McKenna, Ciaran Cooney, Lee Reilly, Jason Walsh, Ian Leddy, Evan Kelly, Shane O’Rourke (0-2), Jack McKenna (0-2), Paul Smith (0-5, 2f), Jamie Cooney, Sean Tierney, Patrick Rudden (0-1), Pauric O’Reilly

Subs: Eoghan Cooney for Tierney (45 mins), Evan Brady for J Cooney (53)

Cavan Gaels: Alan O’Riordan, John Fortune, Barry Fortune, Shane Fortune, Darragh Sexton, Kevin Meehan, Luke Fortune (0-1), Paul Graham, Robert Maloney-Derham (0-1), Niall Smith (0-2), Padraig Sexton (0-1), Luke Molloy (0-1), Paul O’Connor (1-2), Jack Tully, Andrew Graham

Subs: Emmanuel Shehu for D Sexton (43 mins, inj.), Gearoid McKiernan (0-3, 2f) for A Graham (45), Bradley Okaidja for P Sexton (60), Levi Murphy for O’Connor (60)

Ref: Conor Dourneen