Injury time point sinks Skryne
Navan O’Mahonys 1-08 Skryne 1-07
Feis Cup. Group B, Round 3
Skryne were denied a semi-final spot in the Feis Cup when O’Mahonys hit an injury time point to snatch a victory in a low scoring final Group B game in windswept Paddy O’Brien Park this evening. Skryne only needed a draw to progress to the semi-final and in a game where scores were hard to come by, Skryne looked to have done enough as the game reached it’s conclusion. However a fine O’Mahonys point a minute into injury time saw them edge ahead by the minimum as the final whistle blew. The result saw them leapfrog Skryne in the group table and seal a spot in the semifinals as group winners.
Conditions were far from ideal in Paddy O’Brien Park. Skryne played towards the Aldi end in the first half and had the aid of a strong breeze behind them. Skryne took advantage of the wind and chalked up 7 unanswered points, 2 each for Bryan Davis and Mark Battersby and 1 each for Colm Doherty, Eoin Smyth and Jason Reddy. The pick of the bunch was Mark Battersbys on the 24th minute. Colm Doherty received the ball around the midfield area and spotted Batts making a run to the left of the O’Mahonys goal. Doherty pinged the ball from distance right into the chest of Batts who slotted over to see Skryne lead by 7 points to zero. Skryne lost Stephen O’Brien to a black card with 20 minutes on the clock. O’Mahonys took advantage of the extra man and hit 3 points in the last 5 minutes of the half to reduce the deficit to just 4 points at half-time. Half-time score: Navan O’Mahonys 0-03, Skryne 0-07.
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O’Mahonys reduced the deficit further inside the opening minute of the second half when they were awarded a penalty when Colm Doherty was adjudged to have hauled down an O’Mahonys player inside the penalty area. The unlucky Doherty was to become the second recipient of a black card and Skryne were reduced to 14 men for another 10 minutes under the new rules. O’Mahonys made no mistake with the penalty. Skryne’s early advantage had now been reduced to only a single point between the teams. Skryne didn’t wait long to cancel out the goal. David McGoldrick rushed forward towards the O’Mahonys goal and despite close attention from 3 O’Mahonys defenders, he managed to slip a pass to Eoin Smyth who rifled the ball low past the O’Mahonys keeper to restore Skryne’s 4 point lead. This was to be Skryne’s only score of the second half as they struggled to find their range in the face of the strong wind. Meanwhile O’Mahonys tacked on 4 points without reply in the third quarter to level matters. The final quarter saw defences coming out on top with neither team finding any success against the stubborn backlines. Skryne looked happy to settle for a draw as the game approached the end of normal time. However, a final sting in the tail saw O’Mahonys hit the injury time winner to condemn Skryne to a defeat when a draw seemed a fair result. Final score: Navan O’Mahonys 1-08, Skryne 1-07.
Skryne: Ian Gillett; Robbie Clarke, Ciarán Lenehan, Eoghan Greene; Stephen O’Brien, David McGoldrick, Eoin Smyth(1-1); Colm Doherty(0-1), Tommy Carpenter; Conor O’Brien, Bryan Davis(0-2), Frank Carty; Jason Reddy(0-1), Mark Battersby(0-2), Patrick Fox.
Subs: Mark Harrington, Ian Davis, Ronan McCabe, Harry Rooney, Timmy Lennon.
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