Leinster Post-Primary Schools SF “A” Preliminary Round

MOATE CS 5-16
SCOIL MHUIRE, CLANE 2-6

Kevin Egan at St. Loman’s GAA Club, Mullingar.

Moate Community School moved through the gears in the second half of this Leinster Post Primary Schools Senior “A” preliminary round and in the process, jumped into the conversation as serious contenders for the 2023 Brother Bosco Cup.

A 1-9 to 1-3 half-time lead was a good position for the side managed by Roscommon senior footballer Niall Daly, but with a fresh breeze set to favour Scoil Mhuire in the second half, on a playing surface that was always likely to facilitate fast, free-scoring football, there was still plenty of reason for the Clane school to believe that they could salvage something out of this game and make their way into the last eight of this prestigious championship.

Chasing the game didn’t suit Scoil Mhuire however, as they conceded the first two scores of the second half, and although they replied with points from Cormac Denagher and Tadhg O’Donoghue, two goals in as many minutes from Pádraig McLoughlin and Ronan Murray pushed the lead out to double figures, and from there, the Westmeath school, who last contested a Leinster Senor “A” final in 2017, never looked back.

 A superb piece of improvisation saw Tiarnan O’Donovan strike goal number four with Murray putting his name on the fifth after a very slick team move, and while DJ Percival struck a late 1-1 for Scoil Mhuire of Clane, his muted reaction to the goal illustrated that there was no doubt about the result at that stage of the contest.

 With heavy overnight rain forcing the game to be moved from Moate Community School’s home field to the astroturf surface at St. Loman’s, it was the “home” side that relished the faster, harder ground in the early stages. A fine catch and score from Ronan Murray got them off the mark in the opening ten seconds, and with ten minutes gone they were 0-5 to 0-1 to the good. Murray’s Moate All Whites club colleagues Eoin Bracken and Daragh Lowry were hugely influential in the middle third and on the scoresheet, while David O’Reilly – who two days ago, lined out for Westmeath in the Walsh Cup against Galway – also chipped in with a towering score, while dominating the fielding battle as well.

 A stunning solo goal from Rhys Vaughan dragged Scoil Mhuire back into contention, but Moate’s response was exemplary. Two dead ball scores and a Tiernan O’Donovan point from play cancelled out the goal, and then O’Reilly’s flat pass into Conor Fox left the Tubber man with a clean run through on goals. He rifled the ball to the top corner for a stunning goal, stretching the lead to seven.

Two good points from DJ Percival before half-time suggested that Clane might yet rally, but they were soon to learn that a very impressive Moate Community school team had another gear they were about to find.

Scorers for Moate CS: Ronan Murray 2-3, Eoin Bracken 0-5 (0-4f), Tiarnan O’Donovan 1-2, Conor Fox 1-1, Padraig McLoughlin 1-0, David O’Reilly 0-2 (0-1f), Daragh Lowry 0-1, Donal Shirley 0-1, Aaron Murphy 0-1.

Scorers for Scoil Mhuire, Clane: DJ Percival 1-4 (0-2f), Rhys Vaughan 1-0, Cormac Denagher 0-1f, Tadhg O’Donoghue 0-1.

Moate CS: James Mitchell; Padraig McLoughlin, Cathal Guinan, Tom Gorman; Adam Keane, Donal Shirley, Aodhán Curran; Daragh Lowry, David O’Reilly; Conaire Martin, Eoin Bracken, Dean O’Neill; Conor Fox, Ronan Murray, Tiernan O’Donovan.

Subs: Cian Rainey for Keane (58), Aaron Murphy for O’Reilly (59).

Scoil Mhuire, Clane: Hugh Muldoon; James O’Donoghue, Aaron Manders, Conor Sullivan; Calum Doran, James Keely, Rhys Vaughan; Daniel Colbert, Enda Keane; Aidan Ralph, Cormac Denagher, Adam Fitzpatrick; Tadhg O’Donoghue, James Ralph, DJ Percival.

Subs: James Donlon for A Ralph (42), Ronan Doorey for J Ralph (46), Conor Dunne for Keane (54), Ethan Farrell for J O’Donoghue (54),  Ben Kehoe for T O’Donoghue (59).

Referee: Eamon O’Connor (Offaly)