Finuge (Kerry)
0-09
Monasterevin (Kildare) 0-05
On a bitingly cold day
at the Gaelic Grounds in Limerick, Kerry and Munster champions Finuge advanced
to the AIB All Ireland Intermediate Club Football Championship final after a
hard earned, but well deserved, victory over Kildare and Leinster champions
Monasterevin.
At the end of a low
scoring first half, Finuge had played against a very strong wind and would have
been happy to reach the half time break on level terms. In the second half, the star names in their
team such as Paul Galvin, Eamon Fitzmaurice and Maurice Corridon came to the
fore and started to dictate matters.
Even though they had a substantial wide count in this second half they
had the necessary firepower to drive them to victory in the end. Monasterevin, although very spirited
opponents, were very Kildare-esque in that they failed to covert large periods
of possession in to scores, particularly in the first half when playing with
the very significant wind.
Finuge made one change
to the team selected with Stephen Power coming in for Jack Corridon at wing
forward while Monasterevin made two changes with Christy Dempsey coming in for
Cormac Brady at wing forward and Wayne Fitzpatrick replacing Gavin Holligan at
full forward.
As the game commenced
Finuge switched Paul Galvin out to midfield with Michael Conway moving in to
the full forward line and corner forward Raymond Galvin moving out to the
wing. Full Forward and new Kerry Manager,
Eamon Fitzmaurice, fresh from his maiden success in the McGrath Cup with his
charges, also drifted out towards midfield to assist his colleagues in playing
against the elements.
Monasterevin started
the brighter and had the first wide of the game in the opening seconds. Finuge responded however and opened the
scoring in the 3rd minute with a deflected shot by wing back Paudie
Galvin which split the posts. And not to
be outdone, Monasterevin corner back David Maher, who was roaming up the pitch
at every opportunity, levelled the scores from play immediately.
Finuge were playing a
two man full forward line at this juncture of the little and large combination
of James Flaherty and Mike Conway.
However, with very little quick ball coming in they were starved of
possession and their colleagues were struggling to break down the blanket their
opponents had across their half back line.
Things improved in the
8th minute when Eamon Fitzmaurice was fouled and Maurice Corridon
converted. It then looked like the
scores would be tied up once more in the 11th minute when
Monasterevin corner forward Gary Kelly kicked for a point but he was unlucky
that his shot came back off the upright and Finuge cleared.
The first clear goal
chance of the game arrived in the 16th minute when, after a defence
splitting move, Flaherty set up Conway whose shot was expertly saved at point
blank range by keeper Colin McCabe. In
the ensuing scramble there was a further block down by the Monasterevin defence
and finally the ball was cleared. The
cheer from the Monasterevin fans, who far outnumbered their opponents, were raucous
and lifted their team for the remainder of the half.
Maurice Corridon
extended Finuge’s lead with a further free in the 17th minute after
Flaherty was held back. A strong gale
had picked up at this stage and Finuge were finding it difficult to play their
way out from the back. Their ploy of
playing back to their keeper to instigate moves was met with agitated groans
from their supporters in the stand.
Monasterevin continued to play themselves in to favourable scoring
positions but were struggling to convert these chances.
Full Forward Wayne
Fitzpatrick, roaming out the field now found his scoring boots and after a 45
was tipped over by Finuge keeper Cillian Fitzmaurice, he kicked a booming point
from play in the 28th minute to tie up the scores. With the momentum now with them they had an
opportunity to take the lead heading in to half time, but after a dangerous free
which was fisted across goal, Finuge cleared and the half time whistle went
with both teams tied at 0-3 apiece.
The whispers in the
stand at half time were that with Finuge having the wind at their backs in the
second half, they should revert to a three man full forward line with Eamon
Fitzmaurice the focal point at the edge of the square. The results were not immediate however and as
in the first half, Monasterevin took the initiative and the lead for the first
time in the game when midfielder Leonard Havens surged forward and pointed form
play. Within two minutes however
Fitzmaurice made his first meaningful impact when kicking a beautiful score
which sailed from left to right to tie the scores once more by the 39th
minute.
The Finuge machine was
now clicking in to gear and, after a slow start to second half, Paul Galvin was
now winning break after break around the middle. He fed his colleague Fitzmaurice once more in
the 53th minute and he showed great strength to fist over and give Finuge the
lead once more at 0-5 to 0-4. Monasterevin
had a great opportunity to level again but kicked a very poor wide from a close
in free.
The game was now very
much turning Finuge’s favour and they extended the lead in the 41st
minute with a point from play by diminutive, but dynamic, corner forward James
Flaherty. And the lead should have been
extended further but for wides from Flaherty, Stephen Power, Corridon from a
free and Paul Galvin after another Corridon attempt from play had come back off
the upright. Thankfully, on this day,
these misses were not to prove costly.
Monasterevin continued
to battle away, and after impressive wing back Paul Kelly had driven forward
once more, he set up midfielder Leonard Havens for his second point of the
game. This, however, was as good as it
got for the Kildare men.
After two influential
catches by Corridon in the middle, Finuge drove on and kicked three quick fire
points from play by wing back Paudie Galvin, Corridon again and Flaherty
between the 23rd and 26th minutes. In a game played in difficult conditions,
with the scoreline so close up to this point, these scores were enough to drive
Finuge to victory and they closed out the game without any anxious moments.
Finuge now advance to
an All Ireland Final appearance against Cookstown of Tyrone on Saturday,
February 9th. Manager John
Colbert will be delighted that his team have made it to that stage as semi
finals are all about just winning. Although
they struggled against the conditions and the oppositions packed defence in the
first half, their main men came to the fore in the second half and they will
need these men to perform at an even higher level in the showpiece if they are
to bring home the spoils.
As for Monasterevin,
they put it up to their more vaunted opponents but did not create enough
scoring opportunities to win the game.
They had very accomplished performers however in wing back Paul Kelly,
the roaming full forward Wayne Fitzpatrick and midfielder Leonard Havens whose
two points from play could not be faulted.
Man of the Match: Paul Galvin, Finuge
Teams and Scorers:
Finuge: Cillian Fitzmaurice, C. Allen(c), T. McKenna, D. McCarthy, P. Galvin (2
pts), P. Corridan(c), Conor Fitzmaurice, M. Conway, M. Corridon (3 pts, 2
frees), P. Galvin, J. Griffin, S. Power, J. Flaherty (2 pts), E. Fitzmaurice (2
pts), R. Galvin
Replacements: E.
Galvin (for R. Galvin 49 mins), F. Fitzmaurice (for S. Power 57 mins), R. Heffernan
(for J. Flaherty 61 mins)
Monasterevin: C. McCabe, T. Kennedy, J. Dempsey (c), D. Maher
(1 pt), P. Kelly, M. Cornish, J. Gorry, L. Havens (2 pts), E. Stapleton, S.
O’Loughlin, A. Kavanagh, C. Dempsey, M. Kelly, W. Fitzpatrick (2 pts), G. Kelly
Replacements: C. Stapleton (for S. O’Loughlin 28 mins), G.
Holligan (for G. Kelly 28 mins), S. O’Loughlin (for M. Kelly 51 mins), C. Brady
(for C. Dempsey 59 mins)
Referee: Liam Devenney (Mayo)
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