SETU Carlow progress to Ryan Cup semi-final
Michael Dundon from SETU Carlow keeps his eye on the ball while making a fine overhead catch against Mary I Thurles Photo: Pat Ahern
An error prone SETU Carlow side eventually saw off the challenge of a sticky opposition in this Ryan Cup quarter-final at their own campus on Tuesday.
The Thurles based college got off to a solid start with Pierce Connery and Darragh Maher raising white flags. While both midfielders, Gearoid Lynch and Kevin Moynihan along with the sweet-striking Ryan Corcoran all featured on the scoreboard, the home side made life difficult for themselves.
Passes went astray. Poor decision making brought the Mary Immaculate side on to them while possession was lost when a quick delivery would probably have taken the pressure off themselves.
Mary Immaculate held on to a slight advantage all through the first half and went in leading 0-10 to 0-9 at the break.
A Connery point on the resumption continued to trend of the opening half where Carlow were far too lax. When Mark Troy opted to pass cross-field rather than let the ball do the work, the visitors took possession and won a 39th minute penalty.
Connery found the net at the Bagenalstown end of the ground and shortly afterwards Jack Fitzgibbon pushed the lead out to four points when he raised a white flag.
It was then Carlow showed their composure and resilience. They still made the odd mistake but the move of Michael Dundon from centre-back into a central attacking role reaped dividends.
He subsequently scored three points but the key moment came with just over five minutes to go when Shamey O’Hagan was on the end of a slick-passing movement. Breaking clear, he found the bottom right-hand corner of the Thurles net.
It proved to be a match-winner. Carlow had chances to secure the victory but that extra score was hard to get. At the other end, the home defence was also equally unwilling to concede. O’Hagan’s white flag brought his total to 1-2 on the night and Carlow survived to advance to the last four.
R Corcoran 0-9 (7fs), S O’Hagan 1-2, M Dundon 0-3, S Fitzpatrick 0-2, G Lynch, K Moynihan, T Brennan, L Quinn, J Brennan 0-1 each
P Connery (1-11, 1-0 pen, 9fs), A Ryan, D Maher, J Fitzgibbon 0-2 each, A Watkins 0-1.
Mark Troy; Calum Corcoran, Ruaidhri Delaney, Cathal Keegan; Ben Asple, Michael Dundon, Patrick Ryan; Gearoid Lynch, Kevin Moynihan; Lochlann Quinn, Seamus Fitzpatrick, Tim Brennan; Ryan Corcoran, Shamey O Hagan, Jack Brennan. Subs: Fionn Maher for Brennan (48), Matthew Bishop for C Corcoran (59).
Cian McCormack; Darragh O’Brien, David Grace, James O’Sullivan; Eoghan Geary, Tadgh Gould, Adam Donnelly; Jack McCarthy, Ailbe Watkins; David Comerford, Pierce Connery, Aaron Ryan; Darragh Maher, Jack Fitzgibbon, Tom O’Callaghan. Subs: Eoin Reid for Geary (48), Jack O’Toole for O’Callaghan (52).
Thomas Walsh (Dublin)
