St. Vincent’s 2-09 Rathkenny 2-11

The first game of the 2025 Football League Division 2 saw St. Vincent’s take on Rathkenny in Ardcath on Thursday night. These teams are no strangers having faced each other twice last year in Division 3. With injuries and County commitments on both sides this looked likely to be too close to call.

The home side hit the ground running when Liam Reddy threw the ball in as Nigel Hand slotted over a point inside the first minute. The Rathkenny response was immediate as they equalised with a point of their own from close range. Shortly after a long ball in from the visitors was fisted towards goal, came back off the upright and was finished to the net for the nights first goal. They added to their tally with a fine long-range point. Bob Tallon had an opportunity to cut the deficit, but his shot was half blocked and went out for a 45. Nigel Hand’s shot from the 45 was short, but Robbie Lynch gathered the ball before being fouled. Matthew Tuite pointed from the free. The resulting kickout was won superbly by Conor White. He found Matt Griffin in space inside, but his shot rebounded off the crossbar. Nigel Hand was quickest to the ball. He rounded the keeper and fired low, but his shot came off the upright. Robbie Lynch was perfectly positioned to tap in the goal to level the game. Good defending from both sides limited the scoring opportunities for the next few minutes. Matt Griffin slid a ball through to Robbie Lynch. He tapped it on for Matthew Tuite, but he couldn’t reach it before the Rathkenny keeper snuffed out the danger. The visitors added 3 points from play over the next period, before Nigel Hand pointed another free for the home side. It was the visitors who finished the half strongest with 2 more points from play. 

Half Time: St. Vincent’s 1-03 Rathkenny 1-08

With a 5-point deficit, St. Vincent’s knew they had to start the second half strong. Inside the first minute of the half a long ball into Eric Callaghan saw him float the ball over the keeper’s head and into the top corner of the net. Rathkenny responded with a point from a free. They restored their 5-point lead with two more points form play. Conor O’Brien kept St. Vincent’s in the chase with a point from play, before Matthew Tuite added a 2 pointer from a free. St. Vincent’s looked to be getting a grip on the game now, as Matthew Tuite added another point from a free to leave the minimum between the sides. But the Rathkenny defence were solid and gave very few opportunities for St. Vincent’s to level it up. An eight-minute period of quick play but no scores followed. The visitors broke the ball at midfield and a string of fine passes saw the ball in the full forwards hands. He jinked towards goal before rounding our keeper and slotting home the visitors second goal. Both sides were guilty of being wide of the mark as the clock ticked down. Nigel Hand fired over a 2-pointer from a free, but the visitors hung on for the win. St. Vincent’s will rue the missed chances, but small margins at this level make a big difference.

Next up for St. Vincent’s is a local derby against Curraha on Saturday 22nd March.

St. Vincents scorers: Nigel Hand 0-04 (1x2Pt), Matthew Tuite 0-04 (1x2Pt), Robbie Lynch 1-00, Eric Callaghan 1-00, Conor O’Brien 0-01

St. Vincent’s: Evan Connor, Shane Caffrey, Davy Tallon, Mark Crawley (Capt.), Gary Tuite, Ryan Hand, Adam Andrews, Bob Tallon, Matthew Tuite, Nigel Hand, Conor Harford, Conor White, Robbie Lynch, Matthew Griffin, Eric Callaghan

Subs: Niall Tallon for Davy Tallon, Conor O’Brien for Adam Andrews, Dylan Kavanagh for Robbie Lynch, Andrew McEntee for Eric Callaghan, Kevin McEnerney for Matthew Griffin

 

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