Shrule vs Northern Gaels (WP)

Shrule Glencorrib 5-14

Northern Gaels 1-15

Eoin Horkan 

Shrule 

A hat-trick from Stephen Heneghan helped propel Shrule into the Junior A county semi-final as they overcame Northern Gaels in a high-scoring quarter-final on Sunday afternoon.

The Shrule inside line proved particularly effective throughout, while their ability to make the most of the strong breeze in the opening half laid the foundations for a comprehensive victory.

Shrule settled quickest and were on the scoreboard within minutes of the throw-in when Luke Lydon broke through to open their account.

Evan Cawley then produced an outstanding two-point effort before Shrule had stretched their early advantage to four points.

Northern Gaels responded in style when a long ball into the full-forward line eventually found Ruairí McDonnell, who finished to the corner of the net to give the visitors a foothold in the contest.

Cawley soon restored the Shrule advantage with another well-struck effort, making excellent use of the breeze.

Lydon added another before Heneghan got on the scoresheet as the Shrule forwards continued to trouble the Northern Gaels defence.

James Forde kept the visitors in touch with a long-range free, but the home side  were beginning to find gaps and Heneghan duly punished them when he finished off a flowing team move to raise the first green flag of the afternoon.

Cawley continued to be accurate from placed balls, while Forde was doing his best to keep Northern Gaels within striking distance with another well-taken free from out wide.

The closing stages of the first half saw Shrule pull clear.

Heneghan struck for his second goal before Lydon followed with another major, leaving the home side firmly in control.

Northern Gaels did manage to stem the tide with a point from Marc Munnelly but Cawley had the final say before the interval with another placed ball.

Shrule went into the break holding a ten-point advantage.

Northern Gaels needed a strong start to the second half, but it was Shrule who struck the crucial blow.

Corner-back Joe Hughes surged forward and, finding himself in plenty of space, unleashed a powerful effort from around twenty  yards which flew into the back of the net.

The visitors responded positively and began to put pressure on the Shrule defence.  It was Tommy Clarke opened their second-half account before Munnelly added two more two  pointers  in quick succession.

Shrule introduced fresh legs from the bench and Nathan McGhee made an immediate impact, raising another white flag.

Clarke then produced another fine score from distance, this time from play, as Northern Gaels continued to search for a way back into the contest.

But any hopes of a dramatic comeback were extinguished by Heneghan.

The Shrule corner forward produced the outstanding individual moment of the afternoon, embarking on a mazy run through a number of challenges before calmly slotting the ball beyond the goalkeeper to complete his hat-trick.

From there, Shrule saw the game out in convincing fashion.

Lydon, Heneghan and Cawley all added further points before Northern Gaels midfielder Owen Loughney had the final say on the scoreboard.

It was ultimately a comfortable afternoon for Shrule, who finished with an impressive five fourteen. 

The result sees Shrule progress to the Junior A county semi-final in two weeks' time, with their potent inside line once again proving a major asset.

Heneghan's three-goal contribution, supported by the scoring exploits of Lydon and Cawley, provided the platform for Shrule to advance and keep their county championship ambitions firmly on track.

Scorers Shrule/Glencorrib: Stephen Heneghan 3-2 (1f), Evan Cawley(0-8) (1 2ptf 1 2pt 4fs), Luke Lydon (1-3),Nathan McGhee 0-1

Northern Gaels James Forde 0-3 (1 2 ptf 1 f), Marc Munnelly 0-5 ( 2 2 ptfs,1f),Ruairí McDonnell 1-1 (1f),Tommy Clarke 0-4 (2 2 ptfs),Owen Loughney 0-2 (1 2pt).

Shrule/Glencorrib:John Murray;Joe Hughes,Joe Flood,TJ Canavan;Johnny Naughton,Luke Lydon,James O’Dowd;Shane Mellett,Conor Bohan;Liam Higgins,Paddy Reilly,Garvan Hyland;Evan Cawley,Colin Gibbons,Stephen Heneghan.

Subs Used: Nathan McGhee (for Hyland),Noel Sheridan (for Higgins),John Sheridan (for Canavan),Eoghan Hennelly (for Reilly),Cormac Garvey (for Bohan).

Northern Gaels:Daire Devins;Fergal McHale,Conor McHale,Shane Loughney;Mark McDonnell,Daniel Coleman,Kieran Loughney;Owen Loughney,Craig McCormack;James Forde,Tommy Clarke,Ronan Murphy;Ruairí McDonnell,Cathal Boland,Marc Munnelly.

Subs Used:Liam Ruddy (for Coleman).

Referee:John Finn