SFC relegation final: Seneschalstown sink O'Mahonys
October 15, 2022
Seneschalstown's Cathal Finnegan
Four goals in the opening 20 minutes of this SFC relegation decider at Ashbourne on Friday evening set Seneschalstown on course for victory over O'Mahonys
Seneschalstown .................... 4-9
O'Mahonys ........................... 3-7
Ciaran Marks' men were good value for the win with their early blitz keeping O'Mahonys at bay for the remainder played in good conditions
Seneschalstown's four goals came from as many different players with Cathal Finnegan topscoring with 1-7.
Overall, Seneschalstown were able to more than counter any deficiencies in defence with a proficient attack. During those early, trend setting minutes, O'Mahonys were no match for superior opponents.
Seneschalstown finished three men short following the dismissal of a trio of players - two in the second half and one in first half stoppage time.
Try as they did, O'Mahonys couldn't captialise on numerical advantage which they had in increasing numbers during the second half.
All bar one of the seven goals scored came in the opening half. Alan Mulvany got Seneschalstown's sequence going in the second minute, into the town goal.
Dylan Keating bagged their second, moments after wing-back James O'Reilly got O'Mahonys first point with assistance from Brian Dillon.
Eoin Finnegan capitalised on Donal Commons' fine delivery for Seneschalstown's third goal. With just over a third of the hour gone Ross Howard got the fourth goal.
A rout looked iminent with more goals likely for the Yellow Furze side with the board reading 4-4 to 0-1 with just over a third of the hour gone.
In the time remaining O'Mahonys outscored Seneschalstown by 3-6 to 0-5. Conor Finnegan pulled a goal back for Darren Fay's men in the 22nd minute with Aodhan Mallon firing home seconds later to cut the gap to nine points.
The scoring rate dipped in the run up to half time when the board read 4-5 to 2-3. By then the team in yellow and blue were down to 14 men following the dismissal of Robert Wogan in first half stoppage time.
Crucilally, Seneschalstown hit the ground running in the ten minutes after the resumption. With Cathal Finnegan driving them they moved 11 points (4-8 to 2-3) clear within seven minutes of resumption.
They could have gone further ahead but O'Mahonys 'keeper Aaron Byrne saved brilliantly from Keating's 35th minute effort. Early in the final quarter Mike O'Reilly's intervention prevented Eoin Finnegan from goaling for the Yellow Furze side.
O'Mahonys were thrown a 43rd minute lifeline when Jake Regan goaled from Duggie Dillon's delivery. Cathal Smyth added a point to leave just six between the sides.
The scoring rate dropped in the scrappy later stages during which time Seneschalstown had Cathal Finnegan and Eoin Finnegan sent off. Ultimately, their early departures had no impact on the outcome.
Having survived the cut last year, O'Mahonys didn't have the wherewithal to get the extra scores to avoid relegation from the SFC for the first time since 2001 while Seneschalstown look forward to a 56th consecutive year in the top flight.
Scorers: Seneschalstown - Cathal Finnegan 1-7 ((0-3 fs); Eoin Finnegan 1-1; Alan Mulvany 1-0; Ross Howard 1-0; Donal Commons 0-1.
O'Mahonys - Jake Regan 1-2 (0-2 fs); Aodhan Mallon 1-1; Conor Finnegan 1-0; James O'Reilly 0-1; Cathal Smyth 0-1; Evan Coffey 0-1; Robbie Keeleghan 0-1 (f);
Seneschalstown - David Gordon; Ryan Finnegan; Simon Rooney, Conor McDonnell; Robert Wogan, Sean Carey, Ronan Conneely; John Smith (c), Cathal Hickey; Donal Commons, Ross Howard, Alan Mulvany; Dylan Keating, Eoin Finnegan, Cathal Finnegan. Subs - Niall McCabe for Smith (22), Jamie Kirwan for McCabe (45), Cormac Carolan for R Finnegan (49), Sean Commons for Howard (62).
O'Mahonys - Aaron Byrne; Brian Dillon, Mikey O'Reilly, Paddy Dillon; James O'Reilly, Conor Brady, Aodhan Mallon; Evan Coffey, Conor Finnegan (jc); Cathal Smyth, Duggie Dillon, Darragh Maguire; Darragh Murphy, Eoin Joyce, Jake Regan (c). Subs - Robbie Keeleghan for Joyce (28), Brian Hanlon for Maguire (40), Sam Formosa for Murphy (53), Jack Walsh for Coffey (60), Sean Walsh for Finnegan (61).
Referee - Derek Ryan (Na Fianna)
