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Clarets swamped by rampant gaels  By
Larry Cooney
Tir Chonaill Gaels 4-18
St. Clarets 0-3
Senior Football Championship
This match proved to be every bit as one-sided as all the pre-match predictions
suggested.
Tir Chonaill Gaels exposed the gulf in class between two sides by the
end of the first quarter after which they led by 1-5 to no score despite
playing against a stiff breeze at London GAA headquarters.
In boxing parlance this match could have easily be described as a first
round knockout if not a first punch knockout and by the end of the encounter
it was difficult to see what purpose was served for both teams. Gaels,
with seven Senior Championship titles under their belts, played with composure
and accuracy while St. Clarets, who were beaten finalists in 2002, simply
buckled under the constant pressure.
With Declan ‘Dixie’ Meehan and Aidan McGeehan dominating the
midfield exchanges the Gaels attack led by former Parnells stars Fergus
McMahon and Dara Kinneavey wreaked havoc for much of the game and they
ran up a 2-13 to 0-1 lead at half-time. The small crowd in attendance
wouldn’t have been surprised if a towel had been thrown in such
was the sheer and utter dominance of the Greenford men.
Their goals came from Gary Kane at the end of the first quarter and Dara
Kinneavey six minutes before the interval. Martin McQuillan scored St.
Clarets’ solitary point just before referee Beano Collins blew the
half-time whistle.
Marin Hession and Eamon Colleran added points to Clarets’ meagre
tally but these scores were just slight interruptions to a most impressive
Tir Chonaill Gaels display completed by a fourth goal from David O’Brien
after full-back Stephen Boyle also got in on the scoring.
Boyle finished a fine move for the Gaels’ third goal after 52 minutes.
The only real downside to Tir Chonaill Gaels’ performance was the
dismissal of Dixie Meehan for a second yellow-card offence. It will be
interesting to see how Clarets regroup after a day they will want to forget
— a day when they might finally have realised that they are really
punching above their weight in the senior grade.
For Tir Chonaill Gaels they surely won’t have as easy a game again
in this year’s Championship. Still a win is a win and with a number
of players set to come into the starting 15 they will be hotly tipped
to go all the way this year if they avoid injuries to some of their key
players. |
