Louth GAA club | Dreadnots outclass Cooley to cruise into SFC last four

The Dreadnots outclassed Cooley Kickhams to book their place in the Anchor Tours Louth Senior Football Championship semi-final on a damp Saturday night at McGeough Park, Haggardstown.

The Clougherhead men ran out 13-point winners in a quarter-final that rarely looked in doubt after the midway point of the first half.

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A downpour of rain just before throw-in left the surface slick and the ball difficult to control, but Dreadnots adapted the better of the two sides and showed their intent with a clinical first-half performance.

By half-time, they had opened up a commanding 10-point lead, and though Cooley fought hard after the restart, the gap was too big to close.

Cooley started well and registered the first score of the night inside a minute through Paul Brennan, who popped over a neat point to give the Peninsula outfit early encouragement.

However, that was quickly cancelled out by Craig Shevlin from a free in the third minute, and once the Dreadnots found their rhythm, they never looked back.

Shevlin edged them ahead again on ten minutes, punishing a breach of the three-man up rule, though Cooley responded through Cian Connor from a placed ball.

The sides traded evenly in the opening stages, Enda O'Neill drawing Cooley level again at three points apiece by the 17th minute.

But from there, the Dreadnots pulled away decisively. A superb two-point effort from James Califf sparked their surge before Sam Reilly and Leon Fox chipped in with scores to stretch the gap.

Then, in a devastating three-minute spell before the half-time interval, the game was effectively settled.

Donnacha Skinnader burst through the Cooley defence with a surging solo run and drilled low into the net in the 26th minute.

Moments later, Shevlin lobbed the goalkeeper with a finish that dropped perfectly into the top corner of the net.

Those two goals gave the Dreadnots a ten-point half-time advantage, leaving Cooley with a mountain to climb in the second half.
Cooley goalkeeper Niall Brady spared them further punishment with a couple of sharp saves in the first half, but overall they were simply outclassed.

Half time: Cooley Kickhams 0-3 Dreadnots 2-7

Cooley did enjoy their best spell immediately after the restart, with Connor converting another free and Jason Brady adding a stylish two-pointer to briefly close the margin to eight.

Brady struck again soon after when he capitalised on a poor kick-out to raise Cooley's hopes of a comeback. But even when temporarily reduced to 14 men after Skinnader received a black card, Dreadnots never looked rattled.

Their defence, marshalled by county man Dermot Campbell, limited Cooley to scraps, while up front they always carried a greater threat.

Shevlin remained unerring from frees, adding two more to his tally, while Reilly, Leon Fox, and Conor Faulkner all split the posts with fine efforts from play.

Dreadnots continued to pick off points at will as they kept the scoreboard ticking over. Dreadnots manager Ronan McCartan will be delighted not only with the margin of victory but also with the manner of his side’s performance.

Owen Murphy’s late score capped a dominant team display as his team marches into the last four full of confidence.

For Cooley, it was a night of frustration; despite flashes of promise from Connor and Brady, they never truly found their stride or momentum as their championship comes to an end.

Full time: Cooley Kickhams 0-9 Dreadnots 2-16.

Cooley Kickhams: Niall Brady; Ian Arnold, Dean McGreehan, Ronan McBride; Gerry Malone, Darren Marks, Sean Hoey; Fionn O’Reilly, Paul Brennan (0-1); Cian Connor (0-3, 3f), Enda O’Neill (0-1), Gerard Hanlon; Patrick Johnson, Fearghal Malone, Michael Rafferty (0-1, 1f).

Subs: Jason Brady (0-3, 1tp) on for Hanlon (HT), Richard Brennan on for O’Reilly (HT), Gerard White on for Brennan (36'), Niall Morgan on for Paul Brennan (47').

Dreadnots: Dylan Cassidy; Aaron Scullion, Dermot Campbell, Padraig Rath; Donnacha Skinnader (1-0), Anthony Williams, Conor Faulkner (c) (0-1); Leon Fox (0-2), James Califf (0-3, 1f, 1tp); Ciaran Finnegan, Sam Reilly (0-2), Conor Clarke (0-1); Jay Hughes, Craig Shevlin (1-6, 5f), Paraic Smith.

Subs: Ciaran Cunningham on for Hughes (45'), Darragh Shevlin on for Donnacha Skinnader (51'), Barry Faulkner on for Rath (54'), Calum Shevlin on for Craig Shevlin (55'), Owen Murphy (0-1) on for Conor Faulkner (57').

Referee: David Fedigan (Hunterstown Rovers).