Coach hails St. Mary’s as Spioraid Naoimh outsmarted
For the most part it was a performance rich in quality and one that pleased coach Liam Sammon. The former Galway ace was full of praise for his charges: “We really got it right today, particularly in the closing 20 minutes of the first-half when we played some excellent football.
“Our midfielders were tremendous and, conscious of Spioraid Naoimh putting in long balls with the aid of the strong wind in the second-half, we decided to switch our captain Gareth Bradshaw to full-back. The move worked a treat, although, to be fair, the Cork lads made it tough for us in the closing quarter.”
With Conor Bohan and Edward Hoare giving them a huge edge at midfield - where injured Spioraid Naoimh star Denis Crowley was sorely missed - and a rock solid half-backline of Gerard Joyce, Bradshaw and Keith Sheridan giving the Munster champions little room to manoeuvre, the result looked inevitable at the break as St Mary’s cut Spioraid Naoimh apart.
Their use of possession in the opening half was slick and methodical as some sweet flowing play opened up a shaky Cork defence with Eoin Concannon and 16-year-old Paul Conroy terrific up front.
Yet it was only 0-2 apiece after the opening quarter, Conroy and Philip Lydon on target for St Mary’s with Paul Fitzgerald and Ricky Kenny replying for Spioraid Naoimh. The Munster champions were well in the game but, with Denis Maher failing to do what he did so well against St Brendan’s, St Mary’s took control as Spioraid Naoimh failed to find the target for the rest of the half. Concannon put them ahead with a 16th minute free, Conroy added a delightful point six minutes later and Spioraid Naoimh were lucky when Bohan crashed a drive against the crossbar, Darren Lee getting the point.
Spioraid Naoimh did have their chances. Young Paul Honohan could have had a couple of points with a bit more experience and Kenny had a shot blocked down by corner-back Francis Duggan. But St Mary’s finished the half with aplomb as points from Concannon, Conroy and David O’Connor powered them into a 0-8 to 0-2 half-time lead.
Spioraid Naoimh coach Peter Fagan said, “We did not play well enough to win an All Ireland semi-final. We had plenty of chances to put the ball over the bar, but our guys just didn’t follow orders. And when they built up that healthy interval lead it was always going to be difficult to summon up the mental strength to get back into the game as we did twice in the Munster final.”
Spioraid Naoimh made a few switches after the break. Maher moved to full-forward and Mike Power to centre-back in a bid to curb the influential Rory McCann. And for a while things looked good, Shields kicking a super point and Brian Nunan setting up Maher for a peach. But that’s as good as it got as a huge ‘45 from Hoare and a sweet point from Lydon restored the order.
Then the 42nd minute goal that killed off Spioraid Naoimh, their defence again being opened up and Conroy delivering the goods after Lee’s first attempt was blocked by corner-back Neil Collins. Leading 1-11 to 0-5 entering the final quarter there was no way back for the Munster champions though their heads never dropped. Goalkeeper Ken O’Halloran now assumed the full-forward duties, but there was no passing the brilliant Bradshaw for a badly needed goal. Points from Kenny, substitute Anthony Seymour and corner-back Eoin Byrne showed what CSN were capable of. But there was no denying St Mary’s.
: St. Mary’s: P. Conroy 1-3 (0-2 frees), P. Lydon, E. Concannon (frees), D. O’Connell 0-2 each, D. Lee, E. Hoare (‘45 0-1 each). Spioraid Naoimh: R. Kenny 0-3 (0-2 frees), P. Fitzgerald (free), M. Shields, D. Maher, A. Seymour (‘45), E. Byrne 0-1 each.
: R. Hannon; F. Duggan, J. Ruane, K. O’Connor; G. Joyce, G. Bradshaw, K. Sheridan; E. Hoare, C. Bohan; D. Lee, R. McCann, P. Lydon; P. Conroy, E. Concannon, D. O’Connell.
: K. O’Halloran; E. Byrne, K. O’Driscoll, N. Collins; M. Power, T. Creed, R. Dwyer; M. Shields, E. McCann; K. Corbett, B. Nunan, P. Fitzgerald; D. Maher, R. Kenny, P. Honohan. Subs: M. Collins for Corbett, A. Seymour for Maher, M. O’Donovan for Byrne, C. O’Sullivan for Fitzgerald.
: M. Meade (Limerick).
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