| Smith at the double at Colmcilles
beaten Sean Smith was the star of the show for John Mitchels
scoring 2-2 to guide his side to victory over St. Colmcilles in this Senior
Football Championship clash.
Despite a one-sided first-half, the Saints will be pleased with their
second-half efforts as they fought their way back into contention.
The first-half onslaught from Mitchels started early on as Tully Gallagher
turned his marker to send the ball over the bar with five minutes gone.
Soon after Noel Walsh sprinted through the Saints’ back line to
calmly sidefoot the ball past Fergus O’Neill.
Smith then capitalised on a dropped ball to slam home from 10 yards for
his first goal.
Saints did gain a foothold five minutes from the break as a dogged solo
run from Martin Doyle was emphatically struck past Conor Henry, however
at the change of ends it was the Welsh outfit who had it all to do.
Early in the second-half a galvanised Cardiff side sprung to life as corner-forward
Ronan Gregory drove over an excellent score, which was mirrored by Barry
McDonnell’s long range effort soon after.
Yet it was Mitchels who were to strike another clinical blow as a speedy
counter-attack left Smith all alone from five yards to roll the ball into
the net.
Mitchels added their fourth goal to seemingly wrap up proceedings through
Gallagher’s close-range strike. Facing a deficit of nine points,
the Saints rallied once more and two quick goals from Gregory and McDonnell
led the comeback charge that saw Cardiff come to within three points.
However Mitchels were able to find that killer strike when it was needed
and two further scores from Gallagher and Loney from acute angles restored
a five-point cushion to secure the points for the Birmingham side. |
