Louth GAA club | St Mochtas come good to book place in the SFC semi-final

St Mochtas came good down the home straight as they booked their place in the semi finals of the Louth GAA SFC with this win over the Dundalk Gaels in a Monday night classic under the lights of Darver.

This quarter final is a strong candidate for game of the championship, with the foot passing and accuracy from outside the arc by both sides a joy to behold, the sort of footpassing Pat Spillane would be impressed by.

To give you an insight, St Mochas finished with 1-22 from 26 shots at the posts, including three two pointers, with the Gaels amassing 0-23 from 23 shots, including an impressive six two pointers! High quality indeed.

Ultimately, it was St Mochtas who gathered momentum at the right time. Trailing by six with 12 minutes left, the Louth Village side outscored Dundalk Gaels by 1-8 to 0-3 to seal an impressive comeback, with a goal from the outstanding Shane Lennon the key score.

Both sides had shared two pointers within the first 90 seconds, Jack Mullen’s early strike from outside the arc, was cancelled out by one from the ever reliable Declan Byrne (f) almost instantly.

The Gaels patiently moved the ball across the scoring arc, which saw the raiding Luke Murray fist over a lead score for them, before former All Star Michael Quinlivan landed their fourth score in the 5th minute in a move involving Dylan McKeown.

The Mochtas’s use of the early kick pass into Ciaran Byrne at full forward was paying dividends, the county man collected a Danny Kindlon pass, but his close range strike was kept out by Gaels’ keeper Aaron Culligan, with Shane Lennon converting the resultant 45.

In a game where you hardly had a chance to draw a breath, the Gaels’ footpassing into full forward Thomas O’Connell from Michael Quinlivan and Dylan McKeown led to back-to-back scores from the full forward, which left the Gaels 0-6 to 0-3 ahead by the 10th minute.

Ciaran Byrne continued to benefit from that early kick passing into the inside line, landing a marvellous two pointer in a move involving Declan Byrne and Sean Flynn, before Flynn and Declan Byrne (f) eked Kevin McClorey’s side 0-7 to 0-6 ahead by the end of the first quarter.

The Mochtas nearly added to that lead, when more first time passing into Ciaran Byrne saw the forward go close again to a major, only to once again be denied by Aaron Culligan in goals for the Gaels, who were struggling to live with the presence of Casey inside.

A two pointed free from Thomas O’Connell did put the Gaels ahead again, but a Declan Byrne free levelled the sides again at 0-8 apiece after 20 minutes.

Following a turnover by the Louth Village side, a slick move involving Darren McMahon, Sean Flynn and Jamie Farrell saw Gerry Garland fire over with that cultured left foot to give the Mochtas the lead.

The Gaels’ Dylan McKeown fired over with his left boot after James O’Connell combined with Jack Mullen in the build-up, but three points from Ciaran Byrne, including another gorgeous two pointer, a key feature of this game, left the Mochtas ahead by a goal with three minutes left until half time.

The Gaels did however have the last say of the first half, with yet another two pointer, this time from Michael Quinlivan with the outside of his right boot which left just a point between the sides at the break in an absorbing and entertaining first half.

Second half:

The restart opened with a two pointed free from Thomas O’Connell for the Gaels, while Michael Quinlivan who finished with 22 possessions, came into his own, and showed his class as he effortlessly kicked two wonderful points to leave his side 0-15 to 0-12 ahead after 37 minutes.

Shane Lennon got inside the Gaels defence to drill narrowly over the bar for the Mochtas, but that third quarter saw the Gaels on top, as they ran the ball effectively from the left wing, with half back Alan Jumbo having a hand in scores for Dylan McKeown (2) and James O’Connell to leave the Gaels five points ahead by the end of that quarter.

Gerry Garland raised a white flag with his left foot, before a terrific two pointer from out on the right wing by Tony McDonnell who finished with 23 posessions, left the Gaels 0-20 to 0-14 ahead after 48 minutes.

But momentum is a funny thing in football, and to their credit, the Mochtas wrestled it back when it mattered most.

Players like Gerry Garland and Ben Goss Kieran stepped up when they were needed, as the Mochtas won 8 out of 13 kickouts in that last quarter, with Sean Flynn, Darren McMahon and sub Philip Englishby deserving great credit here.

Crucially, the second half saw the Mochtas score 1-4 from the Gaels kickout.

Gerry Garland kicked off this revival with a two pointer from the left wing, before Shane Lennon and Ben Goss Kieran pointed to leave just two between the sides after 52 minutes.

Moments later, a slick Mochtas move saw Gaels’ keeper Culligan once again come to his side’s rescue to deny Oisin Callan, before Sean Flynn picked up the loose ball to kick over to narrow that gap again.

The next kickout was fetched by Goss Kieran, which led to Danny Kindlon teeing up Shane Lennon who finally found a way past Culligan and into the bottom corner, to give the Mochtas a 1-19 to 0-20 lead.

Kindlon then left three between the sides to complete a nine point turnaround for the Mochtas.

The Gaels did respond, when sub Liam O’Connor cut through to leave two between the sides in stoppage time.

Ciaran Byrne responded in kind with a fine strike to restore that three point lead. A two pointer from Dylan McKeown did set up a grandstand finish as the Gaels pushed up and tried to rescue the game.

However, the next kickout came to Philip Englishby, and the Mochtas sealed victory when Danny Kindlon fisted over the bar to seal a two point victory for the Mochtas in a pulsating game of championship football.

Both teams deserve much credit in producing a wonderful Monday night showpiece, but there can only be one winner, as the Mochtas look forward to a second semi final in three years.

St Mochtas Scorers: Shane Lennon (1-3) (one ‘45), Ciaran Byrne (0-6) (2 tp), Declan Byrne (0-4) (2f) (1 tpf), Gerry Garland (0-4) (2 tp), Sean Flynn & Danny Kindlon (0-2 each), Ben Goss Kieran (0-1).

St Mochtas: Daire O’Shea; Conor Garland, Oisin Callan, Andrew Lennon; Ben Goss Kieran, Connell Kerins, Gerry Garland; Sean Flynn, Darren McMahon; Dylan Farrell, Declan Byrne, Jamie Farrell; Danny Kindlon, Ciaran Byrne, Shane Lennon.

Subs: Sean Marron for Jamie Farrell (44), Philip Englishby for Dylan Farrell (52).

Dundalk Gaels Scorers: Thomas O’Connell (0-6) (2 tpf), Dylan McKeown (0-5) (1 tp), Michael Quinlivan (0-5) (1 tp), Tony McDonnell (0-2) (1 tp), Jack Mullen (0-2) (1 tp), Luke Murray, James O’Connell & Liam O’Connor (0-1 each),

Dundalk Gaels: Aaron Culligan; Padraic Tinnelly; James O’Connell, Kyle Rafferty; Luke Murray, Sean Murray, Alan Jumbo; James Stewart, Michael Quinlivan; Jordan Keating, Tony McDonnell, Jack Mullen (0-2) (1 tp); Chris Sweeney, Thomas O’Connell, Dylan McKeown.

Subs: Cain Bromley for Keating (HT), Conor McDonnell for Jumbo (47), Gerard McSorley for Mullen (51), Liam O’Connor (0-1) for Sweeney (55), Gary Shevlin for Rafferty (60).

Referee: Damien Connor (St Patrick’s).