Late points ease Skryne into first Leinster decider

Leinster Club SFC

They beat a disappointing Starlights at St Conleth’s Park, Newbridge yesterday.

With the game entering the final straight, the underperforming Wexford champions were somehow still clinging onto Skryne’s coattails. And when substitute Michael Donohoe kicked over the Enniscorthy side’s sixth point just seconds after coming on, the crowd braced itself for a thrilling climax.

It wasn’t to be. First, man of the match Jamie Jordan kicked over his first point of the day to follow up his earlier goal and five more points followed before the final whistle to leave Starlights punch drunk and out of the championship.

Leading up to the game, most eyes were focused on Starlights’ full-forward John Hudson, who has been in inspirational form in front of the posts this past two months.

Whatever plan Skryne had for the rangy 25-year old though wasn’t at all discernible for the opening 20 minutes as the Wexford side never got within an asses roar of their opponent’s goalposts. You name it, Starlights were incapable of doing it. Skewed kicks, missed catches, sloppy defending - that half the team were wearing different coloured socks was symbolic of how disjointed they actually were. All the eventual winners had to show for their early dominance was a single point after 14 minutes.

Their persistence was better rewarded midway through the half though when Jordan was put free by player-manager Mick O’Dowd for the corner-forward to shoot high into the net. Amazingly, it was the first goal conceded by the south eastern side in all of 505 minutes play.

By now though you felt they might concede one or two more by the end of the afternoon. John McDermott was quietly efficient in midfield but it was Trevor Giles who was pushing all the right buttons alongside him in the boiler room. Only the assured defending of full-back Mark Gahan, seemed to be keeping Starlights from disintegrating completely.

The only way was up for the underdogs though and, sure enough, they gradually forced their way onto a higher plain as the break approached. Hudson finally opened their account with a free 24 minutes in and then Declan Ruth added another point that was only the width of the crossbar from being a goal.

By the interval it was 1-3 to 0-2 and the Wexford men needed a quicker escape from the blocks than had been the case earlier. They just about managed it, outscoring Skryne by two points to one before Hudson heartbreakingly slipped while thundering through on goal. There and then you sensed the win was beyond them.

Seconds later though their luck turned as Russell pulled off a superb flying save from Paul O’Donnell and for a while the game hung in the balance. Giles picked off a fine score amid a flurry of bodies and then came two replies from Hudson and Donohue that shortened the margin to just two.

Then came the final punishing onslaught and though Starlights raged against the dying light - Tomas Mahon saw two shots on goal blocked by keeper Felim Russell - Skryne were already planning the return trip to Newbridge in two week’s time.

“We got a good run going towards the end alright,” said O’Dowd afterwards. “We started throwing the ball around a bit better and it paid off, it really killed off the game. They brought it back to two points at one stage but there’s great character in our lads.

“We had a great first match against Allenwood, which was our first ever win in Leinster. That prepared us well for this. I expected Portlaoise to win the other one. They have a good few county lads on their side but you expect that at this level.

“Anything after this is a bonus for us. We’ll prepare for Portlaoise on Sunday week and we’ll enjoy the day out.”

STARLIGHTS: J Russell; M Donohue, M Gahan, T Wall M Quigley, A Fenlon, L Boland; O Kinlough, R Quigley; T Mahon (0-1), D Ruth (0-1), E Furlong; W Hudson, J Hudson (0-3, 2f), O O’Connor. SUBS: A Russell for E Furlong 44, M Donohoe (0-1) for O’Connor 48, P Mernagh for Kinlough 57, S Deegan for W Hudson 60.

SKRYNE: F O’Rourke; D Rogan, D Donnelly, A Curry; M Mulvaney, J Quinn, N Hamill; T Giles (0-1), J McDermott; J Gibbons, B Smyth (0-2), P O’Donnell (0-2); K Mulvaney (0-1), M O’Dowd, J Jordan (1-4). Subs: A Carty for K Mulvaney 27, K O’Connell (0-1) for Smyth 61.

Referee: G McKenna (Louth).