Elphin lead the way as nine clubs represented in the Roscommon Herald IFC Team of the Week
Seán Trundle and Caelan Bracken battled hard for their respective sides at the weekend.
After a busy weekend of games, Kilbride have earned their first inclusion on the following their gutsy one point win over Pádraig Pearses. Here we select the 15 players who impressed most in an action packed final round of games.
The Elphin goalkeeper gets the nod between the sticks once more in what was the most competitive position on this team.
Pearses’ Jamie Donoghue kicked two points and made a fine save to deny Ryan Dowling while Colm Lavin and Niall Curley also had cases for inclusion.
However, Brady slotted two frees all while helping Elphin gain a stranglehold in midfield as his deployment out the field from opposition restarts continues to cause problems for opposing teams.
Trundle has been his side’s best player in this year’s championship to date. Despite St. Brigid’s being on the wrong side of the result against Strokestown, Trundle could do little more to swing the result his side’s way. He remains a valuable asset in defence and may be tasked with tracking Darren Gately when his side face Creggs in the preliminary quarter finals.
A match-up to whet the appetite for the upcoming preliminary quarter-final.
It was the biggest test of the championship to date for Elphin’s defensive system and one that was passed with flying colours against Shannon Gaels.
Central to Elphin’s strong rearguard was full-back Niall Higgins who restricted the in-form Matthew Bourke to just one score. Bourke had plundered 2-11 in the vhampionship prior to this affair, but Higgins is a tricky customer for any attacker to deal with and he proved that once more with this polished display.
Lyons excelled in defence as Fuerty restricted a dangerous Creggs attack to just seven scores in over an hour of football.
The corner-back’s match-up against Darren Gately saw neither man leave the field with their reputation tarnished.
Despite Gately showing his predatory instincts to net in the first half, Lyons more than held his own and provided the platform for his side to push on and secure a quarter-final spot.
Kilbride’s defence paved the way for their dramatic triumph over Pádraig Pearses.
After moving 1-4 to 0-2 up after 13 minutes, they kicked just one point in almost 40 minutes of football. Yet their defence did enough to keep them within reach.
O’Connor performed best at the back as the wing-back kicked a lovely score off his right to give his side their five-point cushion. He always looked comfortable in possession and performed his defensive duties with the minimum of fuss.
Although Éire Óg kicked 3-12, Connelly was best on show for his side as he battled valiantly against the tide.
The centre-back helped St. Croan’s stay within reach at the break as they trailed by just four points to table toppers Éire Óg.
Connelly kicked a score late on as he refused to surrender even with the odds stacked against his side. St. Croan’s now face into a relegation final and will need their centre-back to step up once more.
Although Éire Óg’s game against St. Croan’s was a dead rubber, it provided those chosen to start with a chance to nail down a starting berth for the quarter-final stage.
Eoghan Walsh did his chances of inclusion next time out no harm as he slotted 1-2 from wing-back. He played a fine ball in over the top that led to Brian Greene netting in the first half while his early brace of scores were vital in helping establish daylight between the sides.
His goal wasn’t a work of art, but it ended the game as a contest.
Shannon Gaels’ midfield had provided the springboard for their emphatic triumphs over Kilbride and Pádraig Pearses but they struggled against a well-polished Elphin outfit.
Central to Elphin controlling the midfield battleground was Luke Mollohan who got through a mountain of work during the contest. He kicked a superb outside of the right-footed point in the early stages and from there his level never dipped.
Colm Neary’s return to championship action saw his side face more problems than expected against a determined St. Brigid’s outfit.
As expected after an injury lay-off, this wasn’t vintage Neary, but he was a key piece in his side’s third successive triumph. It said something about his value to the team that he ended up around the middle for the second half.
Initially lining out at wing-forward, it was fitting that he opened the scoring with an effort from the right wing, and his confidence grew thereafter.
Will be a key player if Strokestown are to rejoin the top table at the first time of asking.
Ronan Cahill produced the most consistent level of performance as Éire Óg maintained their unbeaten run after outlasting St. Croan’s.
With Malachy Gately’s side possessing Richard Thompson and Kevin Lambert in midfield (the pair were in the running for the midfield slots this week), Cahill helped Éire Óg turn up the heat in the second half as he forced turnovers at key times while proving a menace from the breaking ball.
His second-half volleyed goal capped off a fine individual display.
Although St. Michael’s valiant attempts at avoiding the relegation play-offs came up short, Henry did everything possible to help last year’s Junior A champions pull off an upset.
He kicked 1-6 but it was his workrate and willingness to put in the hard yards that caught the eye. He won a fine turnover that led to a Cathal Guckian score with 50 minutes gone, which visibly gave his side belief.
He displayed his clinical edge when burying the ball to the net and showed once more the classy operator he is.
Bracken helped Kilmore avoid a shock defeat as he took his 1-1 with aplomb, all while leaving no stone unturned during a tight affair against St. Michael's.
The youngster showed his instincts in front of goal when gathering possession from a deflected point attempt before slamming to the roof of the net.
He kicked an important score before the break to help his side lead by two and continued to push his charges forward at every opportunity in a tense second half.
Although Pádraig Pearses’ Sean Fahy was unlucky to miss out, Eamonn Bannon deserves his spot.
Bannon showed his versatility as, in the opening half against Creggs, he was utilised predominantly as a sweeper before being pushed further forward in the second period. His trademark surges from deep caused problems and it was one of those bursts forward that culminated in a Darragh Mullen goal.
Won a turnover that led to a Cian Murray score while he earned a critical free after Creggs had found the back of the net. Overall, his contributions were crucial.
With 57 minutes gone in the contest, Kilbride were in deep trouble. Having kicked only two scores from the 13th minute up until that juncture, while trailing 1-10 to 0-10, they looked in danger of falling into a relegation dogfight.
Despite being relatively quiet aside from his well-taken opening half goal, Ryan Dowling exploded into life, kicking the final four points of the contest with his two scores from play as good as any over the weekend given the context.
In other words, Dowling stepped up when needed most.
Although Strokestown didn’t impress in grinding out a four-point win over St. Brigid’s, McGann led the way with six points, half of which came from play.
His impact did not just come on the scoreboard as he showed admirable unselfishness to set up Keith Murphy to palm to the net for the game-clinching goal. His early brace was important in giving Strokestown a four-point lead as he found scores at key junctures.
