Louth GAA club | Cooley book place against Brides in Paddy Sheelan Cup final

Powerscreen New England Paddy Sheelan Shield

Cooley Kickhams 3-17 Hunterstown Rovers 1-6

Cooley Kickhams are within 60 minutes of reclaiming the Louth GAA Powerscreen New England Paddy Sheelan Cup after enjoying a comfortable win over Hunterstown Rovers in Thursday night’s semi-final.

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The game in Fr McEvoy Park was relatively even in the early stages, but the hosts turned in a dominant second quarter to book their place in the decider.

Fionn O’Reilly, Michael Rafferty and Cian Connor were the goalscorers on the night as the Kickhams continued their encouraging start to the season against a Rovers side who just couldn’t find their rhythm.

The early signs were positive for the visitors as Cian Matthews found the net. However, Cooley responded quickly with a goal from O’Reilly and heading into the second quarter, the teams were level at 1-3 apiece.

From that stage, Cooley began to take a grip of the game and landed the next five points without reply to establish a 1-8 to 1-3 advantage on 20 minutes.

Two goals from Rafferty and Connor effectively ended the game as a contest, with the home side taking a 3-11 to 1-4 lead into halftime.

Not surprisingly, the intensity dropped in the second half as the Mid Louth side could only manage to add two further points to their tally on a night when Oran Martin top-scored with three points, while Ciaran Russell, Joe Rogers and Donovan Sheridan were also on target.

Cooley had some impressive performances on the night with Joseph Hanlon, Emmet Duffy and Conor Loughran among the scores.

Cooley Kickhams: Niall Brady; Dylan Clarke, Darren Marks, John Boyle; Oran McAnerney 0-1, Thomas McCarragher, Dean McGreehan; Jack Long, Enda O’Neill 0-2; Fionn O’Reilly 1-2, Michael Rafferty 1-4, Sean Hoey; Joseph Hanlon 0-3, Emmet Duffy 0-2, Cian Connor 1-2.

Subs: Shea Connolly, Conor Loughran 0-1, James O’Reilly, Adam Brady, Aaron Carolan.

Hunterstown Rovers: Donovan Sheridan 0-1, Adam O’Reilly, Patrick Taaffe, Daithi Carroll; Cillian Taaffe, Shane Halpenny, Colm Murphy; Jason Monaghan, David Finn; Jonah Skelly, Glen Matthews, Ciaran Russell 0-1; Oran Martin 0-3, Cian Matthews 1-0, Joe Rogers 0-1.

Subs: Alan Matthews, for J Skelly, Alan Landy for C Matthews, Oisin O’Brien for S Halpenny.

St Brides 0-13 St Fechins 0-7

A clinical St Brides secured a place in the Paddy Sheelan Cup Final thanks to a six-point victory over St Fechins in Beaulieu on Saturday night.

Goalkeeper Aaron Devin was the man of the moment for the Knockbridge men as he landed seven points to inspire the victory.

The hosts made a bright start, with Aaron McGlew opening the scoring, but they struggled to build momentum in the opening period. It wasn’t until the second quarter that Fechins added their second point, courtesy of Garbhan O’Reilly.

St Brides were particularly effective from placed balls throughout the first half, with all of their scores coming from frees, including two impressive two-pointers from their goalkeeper.

Points from James McGlew and two frees from Aaron McGlew kept Fechins in touch, but they trailed at the break by 0-7 to 0-5.

The second half followed a similar pattern, with Fechins continuing to struggle for accuracy in front of goal. Despite their efforts, they could only add two more points to their tally.

St Brides, on the other hand, remained composed and efficient, adding to their lead with a mix of placed balls and two scores from play, with Sennan Hoey producing another impressive showing as he finished with four points.

Their superior accuracy ultimately proved decisive, as they ran out comfortable winners on a scoreline of 0-13 to 0-7.

St Brides: Aaron Devin 0-7; Cillian Kirk, Robert McCaughey, Jack Smyth; Ross Murnaghan, Ronan Bailey, Ruairi Carpenter; Bernard Laverty, James Cosgrove 0-1; Oisin McBride, Sennan Hoey 0-4, Morgan Tobin; Cathal McElroy, Neil Thornton, James Duffy.

Subs: Donal McArdle 0-1 for J Duffy, Steven Loughran for N Thornton, James Sherry for C McElroy.

St Fechins: Kyle Meegan; Mark Holohan, Ciaran McGinty, Garbhan O’Reilly; Aaron McGlew, Shane Reilly, Paddy Keane; Evan Dolan, Matt Flanagan; Colm O Neill, Ryan Walsh, Danny Burnell; Matt Burnell, James McGlew, Ronan Holcroft.

Subs: Jake Flynn for M Holohan, Tom Meegan for M Burnell, Mikey MacMahon for R Holcroft, Cormac Dolan for K Meegan, Harry Dowd for E Dolan, Sean Keane for C O’Neill.