JMB Sportsfield Services Football A League Division 2B Round 4. Skryne 0-09, Carnaross 4-17

A first-half goal blitz from Carnaross saw Skryne trail by 17 points by half-time in this one-sided affair in Fr. McManus Park.

After several recent postponements, Skryne finally got to face their North Meath opponents Carnaross in Round 4 of their A League Division 2B campaign in Fr. McManus Park at 8pm on a dry sunny evening. However, the break didn’t seem to suit Skryne who turned in a very flat first-half performance conceding 4-08 while only registering 0-03 of their own. Carnaross opened the scoring in the first minute of the game with a point from play and this was quickly followed by their first goal of the game. Skryne’s Mark Swan opened the scoring for the home side and with 5 minutes on the clock, Frank Carty saw his shot at goal superbly saved by the Carnaross keeper. Skryne hit two further wides in the opening ten minutes, but from then on the tide turned towards the Skryne goal as Carnaross took complete control of the game hitting a 1-04 without a reply to lead by 2-05 to 0-1 midway through the half. A Frank Carty fisted point 21 minutes in gave Skryne some hope of a revival, but Carnaross quickly extinguished these thoughts when they cut open the Skryne defence with two quick-fire goals on the 21st and 22nd minute of the half. John Morley hit Skryne’s third point of the game, but Carnaross finished the half off with a hat-trick of points to take a deserved half-time lead of 4-08 to 0-03.

Skryne rang the changes at half-time and the substitutes and positional changes did make a difference as Skryne produced a much better performance in the second half. John Morley kicked off the scoring after some good work from Stephen Corry and Kian Reddy. Carnaross added two points to their tally before John Morley pointed two frees for Skryne, one after Seán McCarthy had made an excellent run forward from his corner-back position only to be fouled close-in. Carnaross were finding the Skryne defence more difficult to break down in the second half but had enough quality to continue picking off scores to thwart any ideas of a comeback from Skryne. John Morley hit his fifth point of the game, a monster of a kick from out near the 40-metre line with 10 minutes remaining, Again Carnaross replied with a pointed free. Seán Cassidy, one of the half-time subs, showed excellent leadership qualities upfront during the second half as he fought for every ball that came near him. He got a reward for his endeavors when he picked off a nice point after a good Skryne move. Conor Donohoe made a good run forward and hoisted over Skryne’s final score in injury time before the final whistle blew on a miserable night for Skryne who will need to pick themselves up for the next round against St. Peters in Dunboyne on Sunday morning at 11am.

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