An
Tóchar 1-9
Avoca
2-10
Avondale
A
clinical display from Avoca saw them win their opening round game of the Junior
A championship in Rathdrum Sunday afternoon.
Within
a minute of the whistle being blown Avoca took the lead when full forward
Andrew Doyle slotted over. The opening ten minutes were all An Tóchar but a
strong rearguard action from the opposition kept them out until Ryan Healy
fired over a dead ball to level the tie.
In the scorching heat in Rathdrum Avoca managed to keep their opponents
at bay after another sustained period of possession before breaking away and
taking the lead threw Doyle this time from a free on the ten minute mark.
It
was clear as the half went on that both attacks were finding it difficult to
penetrate the defense. The lead was doubled when Paddy Harper burst down the
wind before splitting the posts. The last ten minutes of the half saw scores
flying in at other end Joseph McDonell had
the lead down to the minimum before Avoca’s wingback Dean Power raised
the first orange flag of the game. It
looked like Avoca were now in control but two efforts from Brian Medlycott had
the gap narrowed again. The decisive moment of the half came on the cusp of the
whistle when captain and center back Mikey Fahey found himself in the right
place to bury a goal for the black and amber.
Whatever
was said to the side in navy and blue at the break kicked them into gear even
after Adam Tuke had extended his side's lead early on. The next ten minutes
belonged to Roundwood scoring a goal and three with no response. The first of
these was a minor score off the boot of Ryan Healy before the same man rattled the net moments
later. The score was levelled twelve minutes into the half when Joao Vitor
Faguendes slalomed through for his side. The momentum was totally with the side
now and a Martin Gaffney score had given them the lead with twelve left on the
clock. Just as it looked like they would run away with the tie up stepped Conor Doyle for the opponents to take the
lead with his side's second two pointer, this one a free of the deck. The last
ten minutes saw scored fly in from both
sides Jim Murray extending his sides advantage before another Healy dead ball had the game back to the minimum
with seven left on the clock. With a draw looking inevitable, up stepped Afam
Arslan who found himself at the edge of the square to fire into the net. Both
sides traded scores at the death with
Oisin Cullen firing over before Doyle nailed a 45 to ensure victory for his
side.
An
Tóchar: Hugh Kenna; Gavin Staunton, Sean McHugh, Killian Byrne; Roan Hayes,Josh
Healy, Dale Brady; Piaras Morris, Martin Gaffney(0-1); Brian Medlycott (0-2),
Joao Vitor Fagundes (0-1), Liam Kenna; Joseph McDonnell (0-1) JJ Brady, Ryan
Healy(1-3 2fs)
Subs
Used: Oisin Cullen (0-1) for Liam Kenna, Brendan Kennedy for Joseph McDonnell
Avoca:
John Harper; Aaron Tuke, Liam Dickenson, Dean Carter; Dean Power (0-2 2ptr),
Mikey Fahey (1-0), Sean Fleming; Conor Doyle (0-3 1 45 (2ptf), Conor Short;
Adam Arslan(1-0), Stephen McCauley, Paddy Harper (0-1); Jim Murray(0-1), Andrew
Doyle(0-2 1f), Adam Tuke (0-1)
Subs
Used: Joe Sinnott for Conor Short, Kian Fluskey for Stephen McCauley, John
Porter for Dean Carter, Jack Murphy for Dean Power.
Referee
James Phelan
