Late goals sink Nathy’s ship
Patrick Gaynor and Dean Casey saw St. Nathy's come up short in their quest for national glory.
St. Nathy’s College’s quest to be crowned All Ireland Senior B champions for the first time since 2000 fell short as they were downed by a slick Cnoc Mhuire Granard outfit.
Ultimately, goals from Karl O’Hara and Niall O’Donnell in the 52nd and 55th minutes moved the Longford school out of reach just moments after St. Nathy’s had moved within two points of their foes.
In the end, Cnoc Mhuire Granard possessed the greater spread of threats as they found chances and scores easier to come by over the course of the hour.
The opening half started at a blistering pace as St. Nathy’s moved 1-2 to 0-1 ahead after just four minutes. Dean Casey earned a free that Western Gaels’ goalkeeper Patrick Gaynor stepped up and nailed from outside the arc to give the Ballaghaderreen based school the perfect start.
A searing run by Sean Fagan that resulted in a Cian O’Donnell tap over free was a reminder of the threat Cnoc Mhuire Granard possessed. But, St. Nathy’s possessed threats of their own as after Dean Casey was hauled back just inside the Cnoc Mhuire Granard half, he played a sensational ball over the top to Conor Moriarty, who dummied his shot before firing an emphatic left footed shot to the net.
But, after moving 1-2 to 0-1 up, St. Nathy’s only scored two points in the next 25 minutes as Cnoc Mhuire Granard took over in midfield.
The Longford side issued a warning shot when after Odhran Madden’s shot dropped short and Patrick Gaynor spilled possession, Liam Boyle made a crucial goalline block before Gaynor thwarted Dylan Ledwith.
The Longford side only converted one of their six efforts from outside the arc in the first period which allowed St. Nathy’s hang on. A Jason Puncheon scored helped St. Nathy’s lead 1-3 to 0-4 after 19 minutes but from there Cnoc Mhuire began to find their range.
They kicked 1-4 without reply as Odhran Madden nailed a two-point free to move his side in front for the first time. Moments later Cian O’Donnell set up Aarond Plunkett and the Mullahoran man produced a tremendous finish to the bottom corner of the net.
Conor Moriarty kicked a tremendous score from near the endline but St. Nathy’s still trailed 1-8 to 1-4 at half time.
In the third quarter, the Ballaghaderreen based side began to gain an edge in midfield as they controlled possession and sought to eat into their lead with the aid of the elements.
A pair of Dean Casey frees and a Ryan O’Sullivan effort helped them on their way but Cnoc Mhuire Granard were able to find the scores when required in a rip roaring second half.
A Declan Duffy effort cut St. Nathy’s deficit to just two points, 1-10 to 1-8 after 51 minutes. But Cnoc Mhuire hit back as Karl O’Hara gathered Niall O’Donnell’s long range effort before finding the net.
Three minutes later, Ben Blessington’s palmed effort on goal hit the crossbar before O’Donnell coolly slotted the rebound to the net.
That moved the game beyond St. Nathy’s as despite a late score from Casey, their wait to lift the Paddy Drummond Cup continues.
*Full report and reaction in Tuesday’s Roscommon Herald*
