Louth GAA club | Ardee St. Marys make it two wins from two with victory over Gers

Two first half goals against the breeze set defending Louth SFC champions Ardee St Marys up nicely for this victory over the Geraldines in Darver on Thursday night.

Cathal Murray’s charges continue to carry a menacing goal threat when they break at pace in the transition, with two first half majors against the breeze going a long way to making it two wins from two for them.

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1-12 of their overall tally came from turnovers, as they moved the ball at speed, with Shane Matthews key here, with 17 possessions. The game also saw Ardee St Marys’ squad depth flex its muscles, with county man Tommy Durnin making his Deesiders debut as a half time sub in Darver.

Despite facing a tall order, Micheal Magill’s Geraldines side did enjoy several promising spells in that first half, making the most of that early breeze to race into an early 0-4 to 0-1 lead after 10 minutes.

Michael Rogers, Jim McEneaney, and Matt Corcoran did produce some impressive scores for the Haggardstown side, while James Craven, John McCrohan and Dan Corcoran fought hard for their cause.

A two pointer free from Michael Rogers, and Jim McEneaney (f), gave the Gers a 0-3 to 0-1 lead, before a fine kick pass from the hard running Dan Corcoran found McEneaney who fired over the bar for the Haggardstown’s side fourth point, after Dara McConnon had opened the scoring for Ardee after 2 minutes.

Tiernan Markey converted a two pointed free into the wind for the Marys, before another close-range Jim McEneaney free left the Geraldines ahead by two by the end of the first quarter.

But Ardee St Marys’ slickness in transition and precision in front of the posts, saw them amass 2-7 from 10 shots in that first half, and they struck for two quickfire goals to give them the upper hand.

The Deesiders won seven out of nine on their own kickout in that first half, with Sean Callaghan and Kian Moran impressive here, with the latter getting his hand to several breaks, and finishing with 20 possessions over the hour.

One such kickout led to Jonathan Commins’s penetrative hand pass resulting in Ciaran Keenan palming the ball to the net give the Marys the lead.

After following that up with a point from play, Ciaran Keenan’s clever handpass over the top, a common trend in Ardee’s attacking play, was latched onto by Dara McConnon on the run from the right flank, before the forward found the net, to leave the Marys ahead by 2-4 to 0-5 in the blink of an eye.

McConnon and Tom Jackson combined for the pacey Shane Matthews to put six between the sides moments later.

Despite this, the Geraldines refused to roll over, and back-to-back two pointers from Michael Rogers (f) and a marvellous effort from the left-hand side by Matt Corcoran did leave two between the sides after 25 minutes.

A 45 from Michael Rogers narrowed that gap to one, before Ardee turned up the head to take a three point lead into the break, thanks to scores from Shane Matthews and Ciaran Keenan to leave them 2-7 to 0-10 ahead at the break.

Second Half:

The talented Tom Jackson who finished with 17 possessions, landed a two pointer straight from the throw in, before Carl Gillespie (f) stretched Ardee’s lead out to six. Jackson was involved in his side’s next score which was landed by Dara McConnon to leave the Marys 2-11 to 0-10 in front after 34 minutes.

Despite the best efforts of Michael Rogers and Jim McEneaney who landed more frees, Tiernan Markey converted another two-pointer free to keep the Marys’ lead intact.

Matt Cororcan who continued to carry the Gers fight, narrowed the gap to five. Moments later, the Geraldines came close to a goal, with Ardee keeper Tiernan Markey producing a double save to thwart the lively Danny Nordone, and Dan Corcoran on the rebound from close range, denying the Gers a goal you felt they really needed if they were to salvage something from this game.

On the follow up, John McCrohan raised a white flag to leave five between the sides after 48 minutes. From there, the Marys finished strong to leave twelve points to spare at the finish.

Tiernan Markey converted a 45, before a two pointed free from Carl Gillespie left the Marys 2-17 to 0-14 to the good. Moments before Markey’s 45, his opposite number Cian O’Donoghue produced a point blank save to deny the marauding Tadgh McDonnell from close range.

Tom Jackson (2), Sean Callaghan and Carl Gillespie (f) concluded the scoring for Ardee as they face a mouth-watering clash against the Newtown Blues in the last eight, in a repeat of last year’s semi-final.

Ardee St Marys: Tiernan Markey 0-5 (2 x tpf) (one ’45); Noah Coyle, Eimhin Keenan, Paraic McKenny; Tadgh McDonnell, Karl Faulkner, Carl Gillespie 0-4; Sean Callaghan 0-1, RJ Callaghan; Johnathan Commins, Kian Moran, Shane Matthews 0-2; Ciaran Keenan 1-2, Daire McConnon 1-2, Tom Jackson 0-4 (1 x tp).

Subs: Tommy Durnin for RJ Callaghan (HT), Keelan Martin for Eimhin Keenan (43), Adam Gillespie for Moran (43), Conor Keenan for Commins (51), Ronan Carroll for McConnon (55).

Geraldines: Cian O’Donoghue; John McCrohan 0-1, James Craven, Jack McGailey; Ben Gartlan, Dan Corcoran, Gareth Neacy; Michael Rogers 0-6 (2 x tpf) (1f), Matt Corcoran 0-3 (1 x tp); David O’Connell, Jim McEneaney 0-4 (2f), Jamie Callan; Jack Traynor, Danny Nordone, Beanón Corrigan.

Subs: Ryan Trainor for Craven (33), Niall Brennan for O’Connell (52), Dara Ó’Grádaigh for Gartlan (52).

Referee: Bryan Smith (O’Raghallaighs).