Lisgoold 3-8, Shamrocks 2-10
Shamrocks and Lisgoold played out a thrilling game of ball at a very windy Shanbally on Saturday afternoon with the victory going to the visitors with literally the last kick of the game. The Shamrocks players will spend many weeks wondering how they lost this game – they simply threw it away with some crazy decisions and wayward passes, positional changes that were made without the knowledge of the selectors and a quite glaring inability to tackle properly – they finished with 10 men (12 a side) and must have committed well over 40 fouls. But as one of the selectors said afterwards, maybe this dramatic defeat will teach them a lesson in the long run as they go out into the adult world of GAA.
Lisgoold played with the gale force wind in the first half but Shamrocks opened the scoring through a Shane Horgan point. Lisgoold slotted home their first goal from a penalty after their full forward was pulled down (the first of many) inside the square. Damien Kelleher kept Shamrocks in touch with a point as Shamrocks were doing well into the gale. The 2 teams were tit for tat in the opening 30 minutes and Shamrocks were the happier team at HT, Shamrocks 0-7, Lisgoold 1-4, Roy Twomey slotting over some frees.
Shamrocks turned to play with the gale force wind in the second half; Lisgoold opened the scoring with their first attack but Shamrocks tagged on a point from Tony O’Mahony. But whatever happened between there and the first half, there was a very noticable breakdown in their kick passing, which normally went straight to a Lisgoold player. Then came what many at the time thought was the turning point in the game, with Shamrocks a point up. Playing with a gale, Shamrocks took a short kickout, the back spilled the ball and it ended up in the back of the net. From the kickout, Shamrocks gained possession but yet another kick pass went astray and the Shamrocks covering player received his second yellow – Shamrocks down to 11 players. They faced a tough task now but slowly but surely edged their way back into it as time slipped away, Roy Twomey slotting away a penalty after Rory Horgan was fouled inside the square. They went 2 points up after sub Brian Coffin finished off a great team move to the back of the Lisgoold net and Tony O’Mahony whipped over a quite outrageous point from way out the right wing and Shamrocks were 3 points up entering injury time (mostly for bookings to Shamrocks players).
But there was yet another twist in the tale . Lisgoold were desperate at this stage and added a point from play; 2 minutes into injury time, they won the kickout way out on the left and the player was inevitably fouled – the resultant free kick had to produce something as time was up. Everyone was inside the 13 yard line at this stage and all that was needed was for a Shamrocks player to win possession and banish the ball. However, incredibly but at the same time following the pattern of the game up to that point, as the ball was floating in, someone in the square fouled a Lisgoold player and in the process received yet another yellow card – his second so it meant red. Lisgoold couldnt believe their luck and with the last kick of the leather, slotted home the resultant penalty and took the spoils. The Shamrocks players were absolutely gutted and rightly so. Thats the end of their season now, not a good way to end as Mark Hickey put in a lot of effort with the lads over the last few months. There is definately potential within the players but they need to look at themselves after the season and say did they really give it 100% at times. They know the answers themselves.
Team: Cal O’Mahony, Alan Dunne, Peter Barry, James Raleigh, Cathal Kidney, Seán O’Brien, Tony O’Mahony, Rory Horgan, Conor Cusack, Roy Twomey, Shane Horgan, Damien Kelleher. Sub used – Brian Coffin.
Minor Football V Lisgoold, 10/9/11
Minor Football V Lisgoold, 10/9/11
Minor Football V Lisgoold, 10/9/11
