Munchies off to a bright start

Junior Football Championship round 1

Munterconnacht 0-18

Swanlinbar 0-10

Kevin Óg Carney

Munterconnacht made good their opening tilt in the JFC at a pristine Butlersbridge pitch with a convincing win over a fast-fading Swanlinbar side on Friday evening last.

The winners were good value for their eight-point winning margin; achieving their goal with the aid of the smotherer’s pillow as opposed to the swordsman’s rapier.

Swad were their usual all-heart ‘selves and were arguably the better outfit in the opening quarter but once Munterconnacht began to stretch their legs in the run-up to the half-time break, the portents weren’t good for the Fermanagh-border crew.

On a perfect evening for football (with no interference from the elements) the contest fitted neatly into the ‘game of two halves’ category with Munterconnacht’s dominance after the restart as vivid as it was unexpected.

The game promised much more in the early stages in what turned out to be an entertaining if, ultimately, a luke-wam contest played in amidst a still, dry air.

The initial tit-for-tat nature of the play made for an intriguing spectacle with the sides on level terms on three separate occasions inside the opening quarter.

Swanlinbar attacked the village end of the ground and edged matters on the possession front but their shooting in that period - especially given the perfect playing conditions – was poor in recording five wides.

Danny Nolan’s 21st minute point gave a slightly lop-sided look to proceedings as it eased the Munchies into a rather flattering 0-5 to 0-3 lead but, in truth, the writing was on the wall.

Swad’s were competitive, energetic and genuinely threatening at times but their reliance on the finishing of Gerard Clyne was ominous. By contrast, Munterconnacht’s stand-out marksman, Enda O’Shea, had a lot better support structure to feed off.

Indeed, Swad found themselves threading deep water once Danny Nolan arrowed over points in the 19th and 21st minutes to help ease his side to a 0-7 to 0-4 interval lead and then, three minutes after the restart, when the aforementioned O’Shea made it a four point game.

Swad were forced to largely work off the backfoot for the last three-quarters of the match as Munterconnacht’s greater workrate, superior fitness and division of labour at the business end of the pitch came starkly into view the longer the second half went on.

Swad seemed stunned by their opponents’ transformation on the restart as they laboured to keep sight of the Munchies.

Munterconnacht had a clear advantage on the possession front in the third quarter but, more importantly, on the scoreboard too with points from Sean Nolan and Corey Gilsenan complementing a brace from Enda O’Shea amidst a flurry of six points between the 34th and 41st minutes before Gerard Clyne’s free (42) stopping the rot for Swad.

Propelled by full back Sean Clarke and helped on by messrs. Nolan and O’Shea in the middle, Munterconnacht kept on the front foot with even corner back Cejay Reilly being allowed the luxury to meander forward and make it 0-15 to 0-6 with a neat 52nd minute point.

Swad emptied their bench in a bid to win their game of damage limitation and they struck intermittently with a hat-trick of Clyne points in the dying embers of the game but the horse had long since bolted before the teams made their way down the back straight.

Munterconnacht: Gary Rock; Cejay Reilly (0-1), Sean Clarke, Fergal Keoghan; Stephen Gargan, Conor Meehan, Cian O’Shea; Danny Nolan (0-2), Eoin O’Shea; Stephen Sheridan, Sean Nolan (0-4, 1f), Paddy Matthews; Corey Gilsenan (0-2), Enda O’Shea (0-9, 5f), Oscar Erickson.

Subs; Brian Cullen for O Erickson; Fionn O’Reilly for S Sheridan; Tadhg Morrissey for C Reilly; Shane Hetherton for F Keoghan; Jason Gilsenan for E O’Shea.

Swanlinbar: Gerry Scollan; Conor McGoldrick, Liam Leydon, James McGovern; Adrian McGovern, Sean McGovern, Thomas O’Brien; Bhreiffne McKiernan (0-2, 1f), Dillon O’Brien; Mark O’Reilly, Damian Leydon (0-1), Darragh McGoldrick (0-1); Joseph O’Brien, Breffni O’Reilly (0-1), Gerard Clyne, 0-5, 4f).

Subs; Cathal O’Sullivan for T O’Brien; Rory McBarron for D McGoldrick; Donal McGovern for B O’Reilly; Oisin Gilheany for M O’Reilly; Pauric Lyons for B McKiernan; Ciaran Hurley for D O’Brien.

Ref; Paul Kerr (Killinkere)