Raheens in seventh heaven
Killian Thompson fires home Raheens' seventh goal in their demolition of St Laurences Photo: Aisling Hyland
Raheens routed an outclassed St Laurence’s by 23 points in this Joe Mallon Motors Senior Football Championship Group C encounter against in Manguard Park on Saturday afternoon.
Four first half goals put paid to this as a contest as Raheens produced a display of swashbuckling forward play their opponents couldn’t live with.
It took only six minutes for Raheens to register their first goal, Gavin Thompson finishing expertly from Paddy Woodgate’s incisive foot pass and three minutes later Woodgate despatched a penalty to the net after he himself was fouled.
An uphill battle for Larries didn’t get any easier when Woodgate and Fionn Cooke combined to send Thompson through for his second goal and the embarrassment continued for the Narraghmore side when Jack Taaffe cut in from the left and played Woodgate in for his own second.
Half-Time: Raheens 4-6 St Laurence’s 0-2 The goals kept coming after the break with Taaffe getting in on the act, taking a return pass from Woodgate to finish past the unfortunate Paul Clynch in the 38th minute.
Goal number six arrived on 45 minutes with impressive midfielder Dara Crowley breaking forward to take a pass from Luke O’Donovan and slide home.
Larries rattled home a consolation goal through substitute Chris Fenner after 47 minutes, but their respite was short lived with another replacement Killian Thompson putting Raheens in seventh heaven two minutes later.
It was hugely impressive forward display from Raheens, though the quality of the opposition has to be taken into consideration. For St Laurence’s survival in the senior grade is looking ever more precarious on this showing with a massive showdown coming against Carbury in two weeks’ time.
David MacPartlin; Niall Cramer, Tom Earley, Shane McSweeney; Conor Earley, Jack Hamill, Graham Waters; Matthew Betts-Symonds, Dara Crowley 1-0; Fionn Cooke 0-1, Paddy Woodgate 2-5 (1-0 pen,2fs), Luke O’Donovan; Niall Dolan, Jack Taaffe 1-2, Gavin Thompson 2-3 (3fs). SUBS: Shane Crowley for T Earley 38, Killian Thompson 1-0 for Waters 43, Conor Kelly for Betts-Symonds 43, Colm Power 0-1 for G Thompson 46, Daniel Hamill 0-1 for O’Donovan 45.
Paul Clynch; Michael O’Sullivan, Luke Gorman, Brendan Keatley; Ciaran O’Sullivan, Oisín Grufferty, Niall O’Connor; TJ Nolan, James Donnelly; Jack Dargan, Tom Dooley, Kevin Eustace 0-2; Felix Lawlor 0-4 (1f), Jason McHugh 0-2, Pádraig O’Neill. SUBS: Niall Clynch for M O’Sullivan 22, Harry Swan for Dargan HT, Chris Fenner 1-0 for Dooley 41, Darragh Miley for O’Neill 43, Eoin Curley for C O’Sullivan 49
Damien Whelan
