Louth GAA: Joe's progress alongside Pat's despite slender defeat

St Patricks 1-6
St Josephs 0-8

Despite the slender defeat, St Joseph's join group winners St Patricks in advancing to the SFC knockout stages, having lost by less than 5 points to finish ahead of last year’s finalists Newtown Blues, who are into a relegation play off.

Approaching added time, both sides seemed content to see out proceedings, with St Patricks moving the ball laboriously from side to side, and the Joes happy to let Johnny McGee’s side maintain possession.

However, the whole of Darver and Dromiskin soon had their hearts in their mouths, when Eoin O’Connor seized on a mix up in the Joes defence, following a short kick out. O’Connor fed the ball across to Danny O’Connor who flashed his effort wide, much to the palpable relief of the Joes’ dugout, and supporters alike.

With the score standing at 1-6 to 0-7 at the time, another Pat’s major would have sent the Joes to a relegation play off, instead of the Blues. Those tight margins!

In general, the game failed to ignite, with supporters keeping an eye on the score difference, while some may have been reaching for the calculators to figure out the permutations.

The Pats seemed set to power their way to top spot in the group. Following an excellent turnover in defence by the combative Barry Dunne, a decent passing move, saw Jack Murphy’s shot deceive Joes keeper Stephen Carron, and into the roof of the net, for an early goal for the Pats.

Minutes later, a long Martin McEneaney kickout, was caught by Eoin O’Connor, who laid it off to Matt Pagni. Pagni found Jason Woods on the loop, to give the Pats a 1-1 to no score lead, inside 4 minutes.

The Pats’ physicality in their tackling made things difficult for the Joes early on, with 5 of their opening 9 forays into the Lordship side’s half turned over, with Eoghan Lafferty, Dessie Finnegan, and Ciaran Murphy tackling hard for their side.
The Joes eventually raised a white flag on 14 minutes, when Oisin McGuinness kicked the ball over his shoulder to get his side off the mark.

Following Woods’s point, St Patricks failed to register on the scoreboard until first half stoppage time, with their wastefulness seeing them only manage 0-7 from 20 shots over the hour in open play.

That drought also saw them miss goal chances, with Danny O’Connor dragging wide when close to goal, while St Josephs’ Conall McCaul produced a timely intervention in his own defence to cut out a Ciaran Murphy pass.

The Joes managed three points in a row in this time, with a superb left footed effort from the left flank by Alan Quigley, the pick of these scores, having been set up by Cian Sheridan, who collected a Conor Neary pass. Alan Quigley and Jack Mulligan, also found the range from frees, to draw the sides level, inside 27 minutes.

Having stuttered and struggled in attack for most of the half, the Pats managed to grab the last two scores of the half, to take a two point lead into the interval, when Danny O’Connor won a breaking ball on a Joes kickout, to set up Joe Connor to put the Pats back ahead. Connor finished with 30 possessions in the match.

Ciaran Murphy then set up his brother Jack for a classy score off the left boot to leave it at 1-3 to 0-4 in his side’s favour at the break.

Cathal Grogan got things up and running upon the restart for the Pats.

While the next score did not arrive for another 10 minutes, it was worth waiting for, after Oisin McGuinness found the range in spectacular fashion close to his side’s dugout to leave just two between the sides.

Lining out in midfield this time around, county man Leonard Grey fisted a ball over the bar, when a possible goal chance was on.

The Joes would continue to carry the fight to the Pats, with willing ball carrier Ben Collier looping around, following a long run, to get his name on the scoresheet. Collier, alongside the outstanding Killian McDonnell took the game to the Pats at every opportunity, along with Cian Sheridan.

Another free from Jack Mulligan left just a point between the sides, with 10 minutes remaining.

Cathal Grogan added his second point, as both sides ambled towards stoppage time.

However, the late drama and O’Connor goal chance, led to a frantic stoppage time, with Oisin McGuinnes setting up Craig Doherty to palm the ball over the bar, to mean that the Pats advance as group winners, with the Joes joining them, at the expense of the Newtown Blues.

St Patricks: Martin McEneaney; Dessie Finnegan, Kevin Toner, Eoghan Lafferty; Conor Grogan, Barry Dunne, Joe Connor (0-1); Leonard Grey (0-1), Ciaran Murphy; Aidan McCann, Eoin O’Connor, Matt Pagni; Jason Woods (0-1), Danny O’Connor, Jack Murphy (1-1).
Subs: Ross Murphy for Dunne (28) (blood sub), Cathal Grogan (0-2) for Pagni (30), Adam Finnegan for McCann (39), Ross Murphy for Dunne (41), Martin Breen for Dessie Finnegan (47).

St Josephs: Stephen Carron; Aidan Kieran, Michael Staunton, Killian McDonnell; Cian Sheridan, Gabriel Bell, David Kieran; Conor Neary, Conall McCaul; Jack Mulligan (0-2) (2f), Craig Doherty (0-1), Ben Collier (0-1); Oisin McGuinness (0-2), Alan Quigley (0-2) (1f), Conall Smyth.
Subs: Ciaran Johnston for Smyth (HT), Alan McKenna for Aidan Kieran (49), Daire Smyth for Quigley (52), Killian Staunton for McCaul (53), Evan McEnteggart for Mulligan (60).