A superb second half performance from Seneschalstown saw them come away from Summerhill on Sunday morning with both points in Round 6 of the Tommy Dowd Oil Football League Division 5.

Seneschalstown 0-19 Summerhill 2-08

Trailing by four at the break, Seneschalstown put on something of a shooting clinic in the second half scoring fourteen points. A late Summerhill goal and a Seneschalstown black card threatened to derail the Seneschalstown momentum close to the finish but they recomposed themselves to see out the victory.

Seneschalstown started the quicker of the two teams and went ahead inside three minutes when Éamon Finnegan arced over from out on the right hand side with his left foot. The home side levelled almost instantly before target man David Fox took aim from a similar spot to Finnegan, and with the help of the frame of the goal, put Seneschalstown’s second point of the hour on the board.   The home side restored parity again in the 10th minute and went on top for a period, three scores on the bounce between that and the 14th minute opened up a double scores advantage, 0-04 to 0-02.

Both sides were guilty of wayward shooting and coughing up possession too easily in the opening half, Seneschalstown in particular. However in a thirty second spell they had that lead wiped out in the 19thminute. Robbie Finnegan’s close range free brushed the paint of the goalpost as it went over after Fox was bundled over, and when Seneschalstown won the resultant kick-out, centre back Niall McCabe had open road in front of him and kicked a fine point from 30 metres out.

Seneschalstown couldn’t build on this and were punished for a lapse of concentration at the back when a Summerhill forward flicked the ball to the net in the 23rd minute. Two further points followed for Summerhill before the interval, either side of a Robbie Finnegan free as Seneschalstown headed for the break on a warm morning four in arrears, 1-06 to 0-05.

Seneschalstown tweaked a couple of things at the break in a bid to turn around the deficit, and looked to two of their substitutes to change their fortunes. In came Darren O’Brien at midfield and the returning Johnny Gilsenan in the full forward line for his seasonal debut.

Immediately Seneschalstown set about their task. The rampaging O’Brien was fouled close to goal and Éamon Finnegan tapped over the resulting free. Gilsenan also made a quick impact, pointing from play after a powerful support run through the heart of the Summerhill defence. Summerhill kicked their first score of the second period in the 34th minute but Seneschalstown assumed total control for the next 15 minutes, notching up eight unanswered points.

Fox was becoming very influential on the edge of the square and he tagged on his second point of the morning, and Gilsenan did likewise as the clock ticked over the 40 minute mark.

Eddie Meade ensured Summerhill’s half time lead was wiped out by the end of that minute, and the Fox-Gilsenan double act continued as Fox put Seneschalstown ahead for the first time since the early stages and Gilsenan backed it up with his third point since his introduction.

From there, the two Finnegan’s, Robbie and Éamon were to take over in the scoring stakes. Éamon kicked three on the spin in a six minute spell, one free and one off either foot from open play.   The effort off his right was a particular highlight of the sixty minutes which was followed by a guttural roar from the away dugout. Robbie Finnegan’s lung bursting runs from centre forward were also key in this period.

Summerhill briefly stemmed the tide with a point from play, but Robbie Finnegan earned and converted his own free after 56 minutes to put Seneschalstown five in front once more. When Gilsenan registered his fourth white flag it looked like Seneschalstown would cruise to victory in the remaining minutes but a Summerhill goal threatened to put a spanner in the works along with a black card for the Yellow Furze side.

However, Seneschalstown recomposed themselves and the tireless Robbie Finnegan helped close out the game with two final points, one from play and one from a free as Seneschalstown ran out five point winners.

On the morning, Seneschalstown can be happy with the tally they posted, along with some excellent defending at the back from the likes of Seán Martin and Ronan Conneely. David Gordon’s kickouts were pinpoint and Mark Fox and Neil Darby offered an outlet in midfield for him. Up front, the aforementioned Finnegan’s, Fox and Gilsenan usually took the right option when it came to shot selection, while others such Will Finnegan and Ryan Finnegan put in tireless shifts on the wings particularly in the second half.

Seneschalstown will look to build on this victory in two weeks when Trim make the trip to Fr. Tully Park.

Seneschalstown: David Gordon, Peter Tierney, Ronan Conneely, Seán Martin, Jack McDonnell, Niall McCabe (0-01), Ryan Finnegan, Neil Darby, Mark Fox, Will Finnegan, Robbie Finnegan (0-05, 4fs), Éamon Finnegan (0-05, 2fs), Shane Mulvany, David Fox (0-03), Eddie Meade (0-01).

Subs Used: Johnny Gilsenan (0-04), Darren O’Brien, Luke Healy

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