Resurgent Shamrocks record second great shock win

SHAMROCKS continued their golden start to the Senior Football Championship with a second shock win over a marquee side, adding the very significant scalp of Edenderry to go alongside that of Ferbane who they surprised in the first round.

Tullamore Court Hotel Senior Football Championship Group 2 Round 2

Shamrocks 1-9

Edenderry 0-11

The format of the championship with every team qualifying for the quarter-finals from the groups means that these wins are not as significant as they would have been in previous years come come with a note of caution but this in no way diminishes what Shamrocks have achieved.

Time will tell if the big guns are keeping their powder dry until the knockout stages but Edenderry's second half performance in their win over Durrow and the way they chased the game right to the end here was certainly not that of a team content to go through the motions.

To go to Edenderry's backyard and win was a terrific achievement for Shamrocks and irrespective of what happens from the quarter-finals on, these games have done them the world of good and will serve them very well.

Coming off the back of a poor 2023 and with first team players such as Paddy Dunican, Shane O'Toole-Greene and Alan Heffernan abroad, they have done far better than anyone expected. It is good to see a fire being lit under this area, a vast sprawling parish that is important for Offaly football, and they showed great character to win it here.

They lived on their wits late on as Edenderry got on top in midfield and threw the kitchen sink at them. The home side had ample chances to have drawn if not won it, though they would have been stealing it with a win, and Shamrocks would have settled for a share of the spoils as it went into injury time.

Level at 0-11 to 1-8 with 57 minutes gone, Edenderry drove fiercely at Shamrocks. Cian Farrell, one of the main reasons Edenderry went so close, held his head in his hands after mishitting the type of free he would normally slot over with his eyes closed, dropping it short while Sean Doyle had a wide, under pressure.

A mixture of heroic defending and less than composed forward play meant that Edenderry didn't get ahead, while they could very easily have been awarded a couple of late frees. Shamrocks had struggled to break out of their half from the 52^nd minute but they finally did so a minute into injury time and made it count spectacularly with sub Padraig Cantwell making a great break forward and doing the right thing by passing to Nigel Dunne who fisted over the bar.

Much to Shamrocks' relief, just three minutes of injury time were played and they held on for a great win.

Edenderry had led by 0-7 to 1-3 at half time after playing with a strong wind and Shamrocks had a great chance. They played some very solid football in the second half without ever looking like pulling away. Edenderry were too good for that to happen but Shamrocks did what they needed to, getting ahead with excellent early points from their two key forwards, Jack Bryant and Nigel Dunne – Bryant's was a wonderful individual score, Dunne's a great left footed shot from out on the wing.

In a gripping, engrossing second half that was fiercely contested, Edenderry got back onto level terms twice before Darragh Bryant, with his second point, and Nigel Dunne from a '45' edged Shamrocks back two points ahead 1-8 to 0-9 with eight minutes left.

In the closing minutes, Shamrocks ran out of steam a bit and Edenderry powered forward relentlessly. Sean O'Toole made a great save to deny Jordan Hayes a goal – his second of the half as he also denied Rory Egan earlier on. Hayes got a point in the 55^th minute, Cian Farrell levelled it up two minutes later and there looked like being only one winner until Shamrocks made that devastating late break.

Shamrocks worked very hard at containing Edenderry against the wind in the first half, pulling men back but breaking forward well and a 0-7 to 1-3 half time deficit had them in with a real chance.

They tried to limit the space in front of Cian Farrell, though the sharp shooter got two of his four points from play as Edenderry worked hard but didn't truly ignite.

Edenderry still found scores that bit easier to find and were motoring well when they led by 0-6 to 0-2 after 24 minutes. They deserved that lead at that stage but a Nigel Dunne penalty goal in the 26^th minute, awarded for a foul on Jack Bryant after good work by Sean Mooney, brought Shamrocks right back into it.

Dunne got all Shamrocks' first half scores, just a point from play, and he levelled it up with a free before Cian Farrell gave Edenderry that half time lead.

MATCH ANALYSIS

MAN OF THE MATCH

David O'Toole-Greene (Shamrocks): There is a temptation to go for a defender as the Shamrocks backs were so heroic. Corrner backs, Luke Mollloy and the diminutive Sean Mooney were two who really caught the eye here, tackling diligently and getting those important hands in and covering that make such a difference.

Scott Delaney and Dara Bates put in a great shift at midfield with Delaney immense against the wind. Nigel Dunne and Jack Bryant were tightly marked up front but oozed class and contributed powerfully to the win while Darragh Bryant rounded off a refreshingly honest display with two opportunist points – his ability to do the simple thing well commanded respect.

The choice is David O'Toole-Greene, who was superb for the second game in a row. Playing at centre half forward, he got his hands on a lot of ball and used his physicality very well. He charged forward, got back to help out defence and while his influence dwindled a bit late on, he remained important. His return from abroad has made a huge difference to Shamrocks and his all round effort inspired everyone else.

Edenderry will be disappointed at this result and performance. It isn't fatal to them and they remain genuine contenders but it was a wake up call. Jordan Hayes had a very good game for them and was instrumental in their late dominance while Cian Farrell was a bundle of energy in attack. He was often double teamed but still got four of his seven points from play and that was a serious contribution. Dylan Byrne and Eoin Dunne impressed in the Edenderry defence but their attack showed an over reliance on Cian Farrell.

THE SCORERS

Shamrocks: Nigel Dunne 1-6 (goal from a penalty, 3f and 1 '45'), Darragh Bryant 0-2, Jack Bryant 0-1.

Edenderry: Cian Farrell 0-7 (3f), Jordan Hayes 0-2, Sean Doyle (f) and Dylan Byrne 0-1 each.

THE TEAMS

SHAMROCKS: Sean O'Toole; Sean Mooney, Gary Hutchinson, Luke Molloy; Neil Minnock, David O'Rourke, Eoghan Neville; Scott Delaney, Dara Bates; Dan Heffernan, David O'Toole-Greene, Jason Minnock; Darragh Bryant, Nigel Dunne, Jack Bryant. Subs – Gary Merriman for Jason Minnock (38m), Padraig Cantwell for Heffernan (42m)

EDENDERRY: Mark Young; Liam Farrell, Sean Pender, Eoin Dunne; Lee Pearson, David Brady, Dylan Byrne; Jordan Hayes, Jack Brady; Adam Mahon, Rory Egan, Colm Byrne; Sean Doyle, Cian Farrell, Conor McCarthy. Subs – Ciaran Farrell for David Brady (HT), Alex Kenny for McCarthy (39m), Cillian Lowry for Doyle (39m), Darragh Farrell for Pender, inj. (44m), Sean Doyle for Jack Brady (48m).

Referee – Chris Dwyer (Clara).

REFEREE WATCH

Chris Dwyer handled it well with no talking points. There were decisions that both sides complained at but these balanced out while Shamrocks were certainly not complaining at just three minutes of injury time being played.

It is great to see the County Board appointing official linesmen for all senior championship fixtures in both codes. The cost of this is borne by the two competing clubs and their presence is certainly better than the old haphazard method of whoever steps forward on the day taking a flag – and we have all seen plenty of hairy decisions by linesmen who were not neutral over the years.

MOMENT OF THE MATCH

Shamrocks' first half penalty goal from Nigel Dunne was the defining moment.

VENUE WATCH

Edenderry's Gaelic Park was sparkling in the August sunshine. The game was hosted very well with Edenderry clearly taking great pride in their facilities.

WHAT'S NEXT

Edenderry play Ferbane and Shamrocks meet Durrow in round 3.

STATISTICS

Wides: Shamrocks - (5 in first half); Edenderry - (3 in first half).

Yellow cards: Shamrocks – 2 (Luke Molloy and David O'Toole-Greene); Edenderry – 0.

Black cards: 0

Red cards: 0