Hartley stars in nine-point win for Sash
Shea Ryan scores a goal just before half time. Photo: James Lawlor.
The all-action Karl Hartley was Man of the Match as Sarsfields ran out impressive nine-point opening-round winners over Carbury in Group B of the Joe Mallon Motors Senior Football Championship in Manguard Park on Saturday.
Wing-forward Hartley weighed in with four points in an energetic display from wing forward for the group’s top seeds, who played some impressive attacking football against a Carbury side who were overly reliant on the scoring ability of county forward Eoin Cully, who weighed in with ten points from centre-forward.
While 1-21 is a decent tally, Vinny Walsh’s side could have won even more comfortably if they had been more efficient in front of the posts. They shot 12 wides over the hour, crashed three efforts off the woodwork and dropped another trio of attempts into the keeper’s hands, with Ben McCormack and Barry Coffey particularly profligate, though the latter still top-scored for them with 0-6.
Cully was heavily involved early on as Carbury started well, and his two points had them 0-2 to 0-1 ahead before Coffey sent Sarsfields into the lead, adding a two-pointer from play to his earlier close-range free on 13 minutes.
By the 20-minute mark Sarsfields had started to assert themselves and Coffey’s point from play was followed by two in quick succession from Hartley, with Cully’s in reply making it 0-6 to 0-3.
In the ten minutes before half-time, the Newbridge side gained a firm grip on matters, essentially putting the game to bed. Con Kavanagh, another to impress, added a point and McCormack, after a few poor attempts from range, drove hard at the Carbury defence before chipping over his only point of the game.
Ryan Kearney then superbly drilled over a two-pointer from the edge of the arc and Coffey added a free to stretch the lead to eight.
Cully won and converted a free in front of the posts for his fourth of the half, but the game’s crucial score rounded off the first half scoring. Kavanagh sent Shea Ryan, recently returned from a summer playing in Boston, haring through and his finish to the top left corner was exquisite. Half-time: Sarsfields 1-11 Carbury 0-4.
Cian Costigan stretched the advantage on the restart before goal chances at either end. Ethan Mountaine on a forward sortie crashed a shot off the underside of the crossbar and Ryan hit the woodwork too with his palmed effort from the rebound.
From the breakaway, JP Gill found himself free in the goalmouth and his pass was palmed to the net by Aaron O’Neill, loitering at the far post.
Sarsfields didn’t bat an eyelid, however. Kearney stroked one over from the right and Hartley finished a lovely one-two with Conor O’Donovan.
The game developed into a pattern of Carbury two-pointers (they added four before the end) and Sarsfields singles. Cully won the free from which he raised his first orange flag on 40 minutes, but Sarsfields had responded with the introduction of Matty Byrne and another US returnee Callum Bolton and the former made it 1-15 to 1-6 shortly afterwards, goalkeeper Declan Conroy doing well to tip his effort over the crossbar.
They responded again to another Cully two-point free with Ryan crashing another effort off the crossbar before Kearney brought his tally to 0-4 and Hartley and Coffey (free) added to that.
With seven minutes remaining midfielder James Carey became only the third Carbury scorer with a two-pointer but Sarsfields were still full of running. Daragh Conlon, O’Donovan and lively substitute Luke Mahon got themselves on the scoresheet to make it eleven different scorers for the winners and while Cully found the range with another two-point free, Carbury were well-beaten in the end.
Cathal Moore; Colm Harnett, Jimmy O’Neill, Ethan Mountaine; Daragh Conlon 0-1, Con Kavanagh 0-1, Cathal White; Cian Costigan 0-1, Gavin Anderson; Shea Ryan 1-0, Barry Coffey 0-6 (1tp, 3f), Karl Hartley 0-4; Ryan Kearney 0-4 (1tp), Ben McCormack 0-1, Conor O’Donovan 0-1.
Callum Bolton for Anderson and Matty Byrne 0-1 for Costigan (both 41), Luke Mahon 0-1 for McCormack (54), David Higgins for Conlon (59).
Declan Conroy; Dean Cummins, Willy Groome, Brian Milmoe; Justin Reilly, Brian O’Flaherty, Paul Fleming; James Carey 0-2 (tp), Alan Kearney; Evan Boyle, Eoin Cully 0-10 (3tpf,1f), Ben Kearney; JP Gill, Aaron O’Neill 1-0, Jack Smyth.
Conor Denehan for Fleming (42), Adam Dowdall for Gill (44), Mark Cully for O’Flaherty (58), Conor Gallagher for Milmoe (59).
Conor Daly.
