Oldcastle 4-08, Nobber 1-10

A perfect afternoon for football in beautiful Ballinlough was the setting for the Oldcastle v Nobber quarter-final.

The Oldcastle start was straight out of the “If Carlsberg did…” book; two goals from Paddy Gilsenan within six minutes giving the spectators plenty to cheer. Nobber eventually got a point, followed soon after by a goal of their own. Four more unanswered points from Nobber saw them go two ahead before Oldcastle woke up again. A nice intercept from Paddy Rahill found Colin Hawdon who passed it on to Ronan Maguire, back to Colin, on to Jason Scully and Barry Curren, over to Paddy Gilsenan who passed to Colin Hawdon once more, Colin making a good run upfield, a nice pass in to Garrett O’Reilly, and back again to Paddy Gilsenan, who was fouled. The free went to Jason Scully who got it to Colin Hawdon and back once more to Paddy Gilsenan who sailed her over the bar for an Oldcastle point. Good defence from Oran O’Reilly then got the ball to Ronan Maguire, upfield via James Cooke, on to CJ Healy, back to James and on to Ronan again who sailed it over once again to level the match, eight points apiece. A Robbie Farrelly free put Oldcastle ahead again but Nobber brought it back to a draw straight away. A nice Barry Curran pass found Robbie in the goal area and he managed to get it over the bar with his left foot despite a Nobber lad hanging out of him, to leave the score at the break Oldcastle 2-04, Nobber 1-06.

The second-half got underway with CJ very unlucky not to nab a goal, smashing it off the crossbar and back into play. A Barry Curran clearance found Stephen Lawless who passed it on to Colin Hawdon, on to Jason Scully and then to James Cook who was fouled, with CJ scoring the resulting free. A Nobber point brought it back to just a point in the differ once more. A good pass from Conor Delaney near the Nobber goalmouth was met in mid-air by the flying James Cook, and smashed soccer-style to the back of the net for a great Oldcastle goal. Nobber came back with two points, but Oldcastle were growing in confidence and looked like the better team. A great basketball style move from CJ got possession for Oldcastle and a nice finish saw her go between the posts for another point. A Robbie Farrelly free just before the waterbreak left Oldcastle four ahead. Nobber battled on, securing a nice point, but a great takedown by Conor Delaney secured the kickout, he passed it on to Jason Scully who found Robbie Farrelly in the box, Robbie was fouled and a penalty awarded. CJ Healy stepped up and ruthlessly blasted it past the Nobber keeper to widen the gap.  With time ticking away, Keith Connell was fouled and Robbie Farrelly converted, and referee Stephen Dawson blew the whistle on a final score of Oldcastle 4-08, Nobber 1-10, sending Oldcastle through to the Meade Farm Intermediate Football Championship! In truth, an easier match than any of the earlier rounds, a solid performance to build upon.

The Semi-Final is scheduled for the bank holiday weekend in two weeks’ time, and Oldcastle will play the winners of Rathkenny/Duleek Bellewstown. They play their Quarter Final tomorrow morning.

Oldcastle: Packie Kevin, Barry Curran, Oran O’Reilly, Paddy Rahill, James Cooke (1-00), Stephen Lawless, Paddy GIlsenan (2-01), Conor McHugh, Conor Delaney, Colin Hawdon, CJ Healy (1-02), Jason Scully, Garrett O’Reilly, Ronan Maguire (0-01), Robbie Farrelly (0-04). Subs: Keith Connell, Darren Hawdon, Oran Mulvanny, Ross Cadden. 

Tweet

Most Read Stories