St Molaise Gaels march on to the
intermediate final after a dominant yet comfortable performance against
Bunninadden on Sunday.
Jimmy Langan’s men will hope to make
lucky their third intermediate final in a row as they meet Easkey in the
decider.
Despite the final result it was
Bunninadden who played all of the football in the opening five minutes. Luke
Marren pointed an early free before Conor Murray, who hit 0-3 in the previous
game against Castleconnor, scored two points with one off either foot.
Unfortunately for Willie Gormley’s
side, they wouldn’t find the target again for some 26 minutes as Molaise would
go on a scoring spree, hitting 2-6 without response.
Alan McLoughlin, captain of the side,
hit the first on seven minutes before the game’s opening goal just seconds
later. Joe Keaney burst through the Bunninadden defence before rifling a right
footed shot to Mike Fogarty’s left, putting Molaise one point ahead.
Bunninadden were struggling on their
own kickout, not finding the duo of Adrain Frain and Matthew Clavin as much as
they would have liked, as Dean Carroll and Keaney worked well at midfield for
the opponents.
Goal number two of the game came on
twelve minutes, and who better to score it than Jack Davitt. Taking the ball
near to the penalty spot, he shimmied and sold a dummy off his left before
slotting home to a near empty net, putting seven between the teams.
The forward line of Cathal Herron,
Davitt and Michael Langan were menacing throughout the first half and paramount
to the Molaise Gaels lead.
Bunninadden did manage to create a
goal chance late in the first half, as Oisin Gorman spun his man and with the
goal at his mercy, passed lateral to Marren, whose shot went just over the
crossbar. A let off for Molaise and a massive opportunity missed for
Bunninadden.
Gorman hit a point for himself before
half time, leaving 0-8 between the teams at the interval.
The composure and control in the
second half from Molaise Gaels was exemplary as they managed to see out the
game at their own pace, denying any late comeback from the opposition.
With just the one point in the
opening ten minutes of the restart, coming from Davitt, Bunninadden committed
bodies forward in a last ditch attempt to keep their final hopes alive. Clavin
was sent into full forward along with Michael Gormley, as the high ball soon
became the order of the day.
Nine minutes into the second half,
and Molaise Gaels caught Bunninadden on the counter to seal the deal on the
game. Coming up the left side of their attack, McLoughlin linked up well with
Johnny Kelly and James Heraghty, with Heraghty carrying the ball to the
thirteen before sending a shot to the bottom left corner.
The third goal of the day for
Langan’s men, and twelve between the teams.
Gorman, Gormley and Clavin pointed
for Bunninadden as they continued to channel the route one style, but no clear
goal chances came their way. Langan and McLoughlin added points to stretch the
Molaise lead, as did Gerard Brady who came off the bench.
John Gilmartin blew the full time
whistle with twelve points between the teams, as Molaise stride to the
intermediate final.
Disappointment for Bunninadden
considering how close they came in last year’s semi final, but Division 1
football in 2023 will be their friend as they strive for an intermediate title
next year. For Molaise, they now enter their third intermediate final in a row
after losses to Curry (2020) and St Farnan’s (2021). Can Jimmy Langan make it
third time lucky, or will it be a win for the west once again?
St Molaise Gaels scorers: Jack Davitt
(1-3), James Heraghty (1-2), Alan McLoughlin (0-3, 0-2f), Joe Keaney (1-0),
Michael Langan, Dean Carroll (0-2 each), Gerard Brady (0-1).
St Molaise Gaels team: Niall
McLoughlin; Luke Casserly, Johnny Kelly, Liam Kennedy; Luke Towey, Paddy
McGowan, Marc Heraghty; Joe Keaney, Dean Carroll; James Heraghty, Alan
McLoughlin, Keelan Waters; Jack Davitt, Cathal Herron, Michael Langan.
Subs used: Eoin McHugh, Ethan
Watters, Cathal Burns, Gerard Brady, John Kerins.
Bunninadden scorers: Luke Marren
(0-3, 0-2f), Oisin Gorman, Conor Murray, Michael Gormley (0-1m) (0-2 each),
Matthew Clavin (0-1).
Bunninadden team: Mike Fogarty;
Peadar McManus, Conor Mitchell, Jonathan Hodgins; Conor Murray, Rory O’Dowd,
Cian Brett; Adrian Frain (C), Matthew Clavin; Barry Cafferky, Oisin Gorman,
Ronan Doherty; Michael Gorman, Michael Gormley, Luke Marren.
Subs used: Niall O’Donnell, Keith
Frain, Shane Murray, Stephen Anderson, Patrick McDonagh.