Mary's take South Leinster
IN A tough but exciting encounter, the Under-16 footballers of St. Mary's C.B.S. (Enniscorthy) overcame hot favourites Ardscoil na Trionóide of Athy by eight points in the South Leinster final in Kildavin on Friday last.
The game was won and lost during the first ten minutes of the second-half, when St. Mary's shot past their opponents, scoring 3-1 without reply.
Although the strong wind favoured Athy in the first-half, the opening period ended in St. Mary's favour (1-3 to 0-4) thanks to scores from James Sweeney (11), Richie Farrell (0-1) and Anthony Roche (0-1).
Sweeney and Farrell both proved to be thorns in the side of the Athy defence during the first-half, but it was not as painful as their presence in the second period. Indeed, while now playing with a strong wind, the St. Mary's attack immediately exerted pressure on the Athy fullback line, with Sweeney, Farrell and John Kehoe being particularly effective.
An accurate pass from Timmy Dwyer in the third minute landed at Sweeney's feet and, with a swivel which left his marker flat-footed, he was immediately in the clear and gave the Athy goalie no chance as he netted.
St. Mary's second goal came from a Richie Farrell penalty after James Sweeney was pulled down when through on goal. A third major from the slight Sweeney about ten minutes from the end was the final nail in the Athy coffin, although they had rallied well in the middle 15 minutes of the half, drawing within five points of St. Mary's. A closing brace of points from the tall and strong Farrell closed proceedings and completed a 5-7 to 2-8 victory.
This was a good team win for St. Mary's, with all members contributing strongly. Besides those already mentioned, others to catch the eye were captain Syl Byrne at centre-back, Walter Furlong at full-back and Kevin Foley at wingforward. They now play the Dublin area winners in the Leinster semi-final.
