A tight game sees Gylde Rangers come out victorious over Daingean

AIB LEINSTER CLUB JUNIOR FOOTBALL CHAMPIONSHIP

Glyde Rangers 1-8

Daingean 0-9

In a tight and scrappy affair, you felt that a goal for either side could be the clinching moment, and so it proved in the 53rd minute, when Brian Duffy who showed key leadership when his side needed him, collected an Alan Kirk kick pass, to feed the onrushing Ciaran Sheridan off the shoulder to fire to the net to give the Louth Junior champions the lead for the first time since the opening quarter.

Sheridan’s positioning at the edge of the square has been crucial to the Tallanstown side’s success in 2023, and the rangy forward’s early strikes including a mark put Peter Duffy’s charges ahead by 0-2 to 0-1 inside the opening 8 minutes.

Playing into the first half breeze at Darver’s clubhouse end, Glyde Rangers lost their way after that, with ponderous build up, seeing almost half of their first half attacks turned over by a physically imposing Daingean backline, with Colm Brophy and Adam Bolger double marking, and getting to grips with Sheridan inside, the Louth side were denied that key outlet.

With Conor Sheridan playing his traditional sweeper role, Daingean could afford to place two men on Ciaran Sheridan, meaning that they emerged from defence with the ball on several occasions.

Half backs Casey Evans and Cathal Ryan were also willing to take the game to the opposition, supporting the hard-working Scott Milne in midfield, while Oisin Delaney and Cian O’Reilly provided key options on their own kickout, with Daingean winning all 12 of their restarts.

Whenever the Offaly side bypassed the Glyde sweeper, key forward Shane Teirney who amassed 1-8 in their county final victory a few weeks ago, was a tricky customer for Glyde’s Jack McKeever, with his pace and low centre of gravity.

Three scores from Teirney, along with some sharp shooting from Jamie Hayes and Ciaran McEvoy put their side 0-5 to 0-3 ahead inside 23 minutes.

The only problem for Daingean was that they did not make the most of their dominance, only managing two scores in that second quarter, meaning that Glyde were still in contention, with just two points between the sides heading into the break, while Rangers’ defender Conor McCullagh merits a huge pat on the back for a last ditch challenge on Daingean’s Scott Milne who had eyes for goal in that period.

A much needed free from Alan Kirk left just one between the sides at 0-5 to 0-4 at the break.

Second Half:

The second half carried on from the first, with scores from play being harder and harder to come by, and Glyde were struggling to attain any kind of rhythm in the contest.

A serious question was asked of the Tallanstown side, when further frees from Jamie Hayes and Shane Teirney gave the Offaly side a 0-7 to 0-4 lead, ten minutes after the resumption.

With Glyde struggling to find Ciaran Sheridan with that direct ball, Daingean appeared to have the measure of Peter Duffy’s side at this point.

However, Duffy sprung young and experienced subs in the shape of Oisin Lynch and Trevor O’Brien into the fray, and their impact was immediate, with both getting their names onto the scoresheet through advance marks.

Those two marks, followed a free from Alan Kirk, which saw Glyde grab a hattrick of points in a row to level things up at 0-7 each in the final quarter.

It was the evergreen Trevor O’Brien’s mark which restored parity for Glyde, following a move which saw Ciaran Sheridan veer to the middle sector to win a David Brennan kickout, laying it off to Brian Duffy who found O’Brien for the levelling score.

Daingean had subs of their own to spring from the bench, with Odhran Connolly putting his side ahead from distance, a score which was eventually awarded following consultation between the referee and umpires.

Having appeared in five Junior Championship finals in seven years, Glyde Rangers used all that big game experience, in order to dig deep, with Brian Duffy, Conor Sheridan, Fiachra Sheridan, and of course Ciaran Sheridan all stepping up when needed.

Alan Kirk who was also integral to many Glyde’s scores, finishing with 20 possession overall, found Brian Duffy with a clever kickpass.

Duffy who himself had 31 possession in the match, teed up Ciaran Sheridan. Hurtling road runner-esque off his shoulder, Sheridan did not look back, as he drove low to the bottom corner to give Glyde a crucial lead in the 53rd minute, at 1-7 to 0-8, the key moment of the game, as you felt a goal either way would be the difference maker.

Daingean refused to throw in the towel, and another sub Alan McEvoy, left just a point between the sides, and the possibility of extra time loomed large.

Glyde needed to win possession and they did with Brian Duffy coming to the fore again, after being found by Brennan, which led to a free being awarded, and Ciaran Sheridan converted, to seal victory in this Leinster competition for Rangers, as they can look forward to a trip to Laois to face Annanough in November.

Glyde Rangers: David Brennan; Conor McCullagh, Jack McKeever, Fiachra Sheridan; Tadgh Kellet, Niall Sharkey, Gerard Bourton; Dion Conlon, Brian Duffy; Killian Scott, Aaron Devlin, Lee Finnegan; Alan Kirk (0-3) (2f), Ciaran Sheridan (1-3) (1 mark), (1f), Conor Sheridan.

Subs: Oisin Lynch (0-1) (1 mark) for Finnegan (35), Trevor O’Brien (0-1) (1 mark) for Scott (43).

Daingean: Conan Curley; Colm Brophy, Adam Bolger, Steven Joyce; Oisin Delaney, Cathal Ryan, Casey Evans; Danny Mangan, Scott Milne; Cian O’Reilly, Ciaran McEvoy (0-1), Charlie Hayes; Jamie Hayes, Shane Tierney (0-4) (1 mark) (1f), Jamie Duffy (0-2) (1f).

Subs: Odhran Connolly (0-1) for Duffy (39), Ryan Conway for Mangan (42), Alan McEvoy (0-1) for Charlie Hayes (49).

Referee: Kieran Olwell