Cumann Pheadair Naofa 3-10
Longstone 1-04
Warrenpoint had a comfortable win over Longstone in the quarter-final clash played in the autumnal gloom of a wet and cool Sunday evening in St. Mary’s Park, Burren. The result was never in any doubt after the first ten minutes and to relate that Longstone scored only two points in the first half, scored another in the first minute of the second half and didn’t improve on their tally until added time, when they converted a penalty and scored from a 40 yard free gives us a sense of the one sided nature of this affair.
It wasn’t that Longstone didn’t try they most certainly did but like all underdogs in an uneven contest they needed a bright and feisty start. They almost got it, from a free following the throw in Longstone drove the ball high in the air towards the Point goals and when backs and forwards contested the high ball it broke to Mark Poland with no one between him and the Point goalie he fumbled the ball slightly and the chance was lost, Gary Mc Mahon was alert and on hand to do enough to ensure his shot went wide, in truth the ‘Point goal was not challenged again until the award of the penalty in the dying minutes of the game.
Ross opened the scoring with a point when Longstone keeper, Michael Mc Stay blocked his shot. This was followed by a wide from Aaron Magee. From the kick out John Boyle was given a yellow card for a tough tackle on Ambrose Rodgers. From the resulting free the ball was directed to Michael Ireland, Longstone’s best man on the day, who pointed from 35 yards out. Mc Garry figured again when he dispossessed Longstone with a wonderful tackle the resultant possession for Warrenpoint led to a patient build up that culminated in a cracking shot from Ryan Boyle that landed in the back of the net. It heralded the Warrenpoint dominance for the rest of the afternoon. Ireland converted a free for Longstone and this was followed by two glorious points first from Ryan Magee who must have been 40 yards from the goals and the next from John Boyle 50 yards out. Five minutes later we had a great run from Donagh Mc Aleenan ending in a goal for him to put seven points between the sides. On the 22nd minute Ruairí Mc Cormack took a shot from 35 yards out to finish the scoring for in the first half. Two wides followed for Longstone and pehaps Warrenpoint’s attention dropped a little as Longstone gained a bit of momentum but with the Point backs and Paddy Murdock in particular in good form their efforts came to nothing. As we headed towards half time Warrenpoint had another goal chance when Donagh Mc Aleenen was running through perhaps he could have gone on himself but offloaded the ball to the advancing Ryan Boyle, the pass was a shade too far forward and a Longstone back arrived there first in the resulting entanglement Ryan Boyle was given a yellow card on the 29th minute.
Cormac Mc Cartan replaced Eoin Henry for the resumption of play in the second half. With conditions deteriorating the first chance fell to Warrenpoint when Ryan Mallon made one of his characteristic forward runs a goal seemed on with a Point forward at the edge of the box but Ryan shot himself and it went wide. This was followed shortly afterwards by a wide from a Mc Garry free kick that was well within his range. Longstone opened the scoring in the second half with a fine point from Michael Hughes. Any Warrenpoint fears of a Longstone revival were soon assuaged when Ryan Boyle fed by a perfect pass from brother John ran 30 yards with the ball to open the second half scoring for the Blues scoring an excellent point. The next ten minutes were good for Warrenpoint with points from play from Donagh Mc Aleenen, Ruairí Mc Cormack and Ross Mc Garry. Ryan Mallon then made another glorious run but again his shooting was off target and it resulted in another wide. By this stage Warrenpoint were starting to open up the Longstone defence but weren’t getting the scores. They were in the fortunate position that they didn’t need them, but against more seasoned opponents such misses could be fatal. For about ten minutes with the rain getting worse the game went into a lull with play becoming a bit scrappy. Donagh Mc Aleenean broke the spell with a point from play to leave the score 2-09 to 0-03 at 22 minutes. A few minutes later Eoghan Byrne (substitution for Ryan Mallon) made a strong and incisive run through the middle but his shot was parried by the Longstone keeper Michael Mc Stay, Niall Mc Govern (substitution for Aaron D’Arcy) was on hand to crash the ball to the net. Four minutes of extra time were announced and in the first of these Niall Mc Govern scored a most glorious point from almost the corner flag. The remaining minutes belonged to Longstone. The referee blew as a Longstone forward was in possession, I thought for over carrying but he had spotted a push in the box and awarded the penalty. Michael Ireland converted and with the final kick of the game Mark Poland scored a point to leave the final score Cumann Pheadair Naofa 3-10 Longstone 1-04.
Warrenpoint will be happy with their victory they played well and looked strong throughout, unforced loss of possession and poor shooting are the continuing concerns. They can be guaranteed opposition of the highest quality in the semi-final, but the Blues have the team and bench to give any of the big beasts of Down football plenty to think about come semi-final time.
