JAFC Group C - Round 2. Na Fianna 1-07 Skryne 0-08

Na Fianna 1-07 Skryne 0-08

JAFC Group C – Round 2

Skryne’s first visit to Kildalkey in more than 20 years turned out to be a big disappointment as they succumbed to defeat at the hands of Na Fianna in the second round of the Junior Football Championship.

Having beaten Dunshaughlin in the first round by a very late goal it looked like a repeat was on the cards as Skryne had two very good chances of goals with the game in Injury time. One of these efforts resulted in a melee in the small square and genuine Skryne claims for a penalty due to a footblock from one of the Na Fianna defenders. But the Referee ruled otherwise even though he issued a yellow card to the goalkeeper. It wasn’t the only disputed situation the Referee faced as he also got the score wrong at half time when he had Na Fianna ahead by a point when in actual fact they were ahead by three. (Maybe Skryne should have insisted he was correct). After all the confusion there is little doubt that the Enfield side deserved their victory as the Blues kicked the game away by shooting 15 wides.

The Kildalkey club had their pitch in perfect condition, and on a beautiful day with little or no breeze to contend with, the football should have been of a high standard. Unfortunately this was not the case for either side. For Skryne, as it was with their shooting so it also was with their handling and passing which contributed to their downfall.

Skryne started well and Paddy Carpenter and David McGoldrick had them 2 points in front after four minutes. Then Na Fianna got their game going and three points followed by a well worked goal had them 4 points clear by the 20th minute. By half time in a low scoring match Na Fianna were still ahead by three points – Na Fianna 1-4 Skryne 0-4.

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The second half proved to be a very close affair with scores hard to come by for both teams. The introduction of Neal Burke injected new life into the Skryne forward line and his two points had them in contention as those last few hectic minutes approached. But Skryne just could not get that all important goal which would have won them the game.

They had good performances from Paddy Carpenter, Andrew Moore and Dermot Brennan in defence, while Colm Craigie and Aidan Tuite broke even with their opposition at midfield. Up front David McGoldrick, Tommy Carpenter and Frank Carty (before moving to back to the defence) did well without getting the scores their play deserved.

Skryne – Des McAvinney. Jack Dardis, Barry Clarke, Andrew Moore. Paddy Carpenter (0-1), Dermot Brennan, Craig Nolan. Aidan Tuite, Colm Craigie. Darren Fox, David McGoldrick (0-2). Tommy Carpenter. Sean Cassidy (0-2), John Morley, Frank Carty.

Subs used – Allan Carty, Felim O’Rourke (0-1) Neal Burke (0-2) and Paul McGoldrick