Shamrocks 2-7, Dripsey 1-4
Shamrocks qualified for the Semi Final of the championship after a hard fought and tough battle against Dripsey in Ballinora on Monday night.
With the recent exploits in hurling, Shamrocks only had the round 1 game a week ago as football preparation and it must have been hard for the lads to try to pick themselves up after losing the county final last Friday night. However, they eventually got motoring after the lay off and deserved the win.
The first half was a strange one. Shamrocks must have owned 80% of possession but wasted practically all of it, understandable after all the hurling. They kicked 10 wides before they got on the scoreboard through Nathan Hayes – a full 28 minutes into the game. Before that, Dripsey had scored 1-3 mostly on breakaways and must have been happy with their position coming up until halftime. But Hayes’ point started a mini scoring spree and this was crucial as it was soon followed by a goal from Adam O’Keeffe and a point from Killian Murphy. At halftime, Dripsey led 1-3 to 1-2 having played down the hill.
Shamrocks continued to dominate possession after the break and playing down the hill, found scores a little bit easier to come by. Mattie Field with a point and another one from Killian Murphy put Shamrocks a point ahead for the first time before Field gathered inside and slotted home a vital goal that put Shamrocks 4 points up with 15 minutes to go. They tagged on a few scores through David Andrews and Shane Downey and moved 2-7 to 1-3 ahead entering the last 5 minutes. Dripsey went in search of a goal but could only manage their one and only second half score, a point, in injury time. It was a good 2nd half performance from all the players.
Panel: C. Corkery, C. Scriven, D. Barry, Chris Hayes, A. O’Grady, N. Hayes, D. Andrews, J. Lynam, M. Hitchmough, A. O’Keeffe, M. Field, K. Murphy, S. Flavin, S. Downey, Cillian Hayes, E. Seymour, C. Murphy, D. O’Flaherty.
