MOOREFIELD 1-09 ST LAURENCE’S 1-07
IT’S hard to know what to make of this game between the county’s top two teams.
If you were looking for freeflowing stylish football then St Conleth’s Park was not the place to be last Saturday. This was a titanic tussle between two teams who have grown into great rivals in the recent past but it was a strange affair.
Neither team wanted to lose this game but you got the feeling that neither team wanted to show their full hand either so close to the restart of the championship.
There were long periods of very scrappy play although this wasn’t helped by the over officious nature of the referee. Fergal Barry started what he hopes will be an intercounty refereeing career this year but he didn’t help this game’s cause by blowing for a free at the slightest hint of contact.
That said, he wasn’t playing here and it wasn’t his fault that neither team scored in the final 13 minutes. The fact that the last score was in the 47th minute was a combination of bad finishing but also a sign of just how well these teams know each other. This was the third meeting between the two this year and a repeat of last year’s league and championship finals.
Laurence’s got the better of Moorefield last year when they completed the league and championship double but since Jack Sheedy took control of the Newbridge club they do seem to have the Larries’ number.
The first half was no great spectacle, with Moorefield failing to score from open play. Larries led 1-5 to 0-4 at the break, with all of Moorefield’s points coming from free kicks, three from the eventual man of the match Paddy Murray and one from Philly Wolfe.
That opening period belonged to the Larries mainly thanks to Karl O’Brien’s scrambled goal in the 21st minute. It looked the wing back had lost control of the football as he soloed towards goal but he got a hand to the loose ball just before Canavan could dive on it and the ball trickled into the net.
Kenny Duane scored not one but two rare points in the opening four minutes of the second period as Moorefield upped their game to take the lead.
A Barry Mackey free in the 36th minute gave the Larries a 1-7 to 07 lead but that was the end of the scoring for the county champions.
Points from Murray and Brian McGrogan left one between the teams before Moorefield took a strong grip on the game through a 47th minute Murray goal.
Laurence’s almost replied instantly when Dessie Lawlor’s low shot was destined for the bottom corner of the Moorefield net until Pauric Canavan dived to push it around the post. It was a terrific save and it proved to be the crucial moment of the game.
There were chances at both ends in the remaining minutes but neither team could find their range and it was Moorefield men celebrating at the final whistle.