Feis Cup, Semi Final. Skryne 0-13 Gaeil Colmcille 2-12

Skryne 0-13 Gaeil Colmcille 2-12

Feis Cup – Semi Final

Skryne bowed out of the Feis Cup yesterday evening after a spirited second half performance against Gaeil Colmcille in Walterstown saw them fall just short. The match had been switched twice before finally finding a home in Walterstown where the pitch held up very well despite the after effects of Storm Callum and torrential overnight rain which continued throughout the day before the game which made for slippery underfoot conditions.

Skryne were without talisman Paddy O’Rourke and a number of first team players. They found scores hard to come by in the first half and seemed to be struggling to find their range with a number of shots dropping short into the hands of the Gaeil Colmcille keeper. Gaeil Colmcille opened the scoring with a point inside the opening minute of the game. Mark Battersby replied with his first point a minute later before Gaeil Colmcille scored their first goal with only 3 minutes on the clock after a sweeping move was finished with aplomb to the back of the Skryne net. They followed it with a point to extend their lead before Darragh Campion slotted over Skryne’s second point. Gaeil Colmcille scored the next six points without a reply from Skryne as the game seemed to be slipping away. An Ian Davis shot at goal with five minutes remaining in the half, slid agonizingly wide of the post. Darragh Campion and Conor O’Brien added two points for Skryne to reduce the gap before the referee blew the half-time whistle. Half-time: Gaeil Colmcille 1-08 Skryne 0-04.

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Skryne had a half-time deficit of seven points to chase down and a much better second half performance saw them display excellent battling qualities as they set about reducing this deficit. The midfield pairing of Darragh Campion and Harry Rooney were excellent throughout and Skryne’s opening score came from a marauding run by Rooney through the heart of the Gaeil Colmcille defence, before he laid off to Campion who cooly converted. Mark Battersby and Harry Rooney added a brace for Skryne and the gap was down to four. Gaeil Colmcille pointed a free to steady the ship for the Kellsmen. Jason Reddy and Mark Battersby struck two more points for Skryne leaving only a goal between the teams. Disaster hit a minute later when Gaeil Colmcille grabbed a fortuitous second goal when the slippery conditions saw the ball rebound to a Kellsman in front of the goals and he made no mistake. Skryne had a mountain to climb but a trio of Mark Battersby points reduced the deficit to three points again. The clock was against the Skrynemen and despite their best efforts, they could not bridge the gap. Gaeil Colmcille added two late points in injury time to put a gloss on the scoreboard, but this game was a lot closer than the scoreline suggests. Full-time: Skryne 0-13, Gaeil Colmcille 2-10

And so the season ends for the Seniors who have earned a well deserved break after a long season where they added the Division 1 League title to the trophy cabinet.

Skryne – Ian Gillett. Robbie Clarke, Niall Lenehan, David Carroll. Eoin Smyth, Mark Harrington, Darren Fox. Darragh Campion (0-3), Harry Rooney (0-1). Conor O’Brien (0-1), Mark Battersby (0-7, 4fs), Paddy Fox. Ronan McCabe, Ian Davis, Jason Reddy(0-01).

Subs used – Jason Fox, Colm Craigie