Edenderry leave plenty of room for improvement in hard earned win

ONLY hitting top gear for a brief period in the second half, Edenderry almost won in spite of themselves as they edged out Shamrocks in a tough, tense, tight Senior Football Championship quarter-final in Tullamore on Sunday afternoon.

Tullamore Court Hotel Senior Football Championship quarter-final

Edenderry 1-13 Shamrocks 0-12

It was a long way from vintage stuff by Edenderry and they were there for the taking but Shamrocks completely lost their way in the second half and never truly looked like causing an upset – even if the game was there to be won by them almost the whole way to the end.

It was a disappointingly lacklustre game of football and it never really ignited to life. It was interesting and the issue was in doubt all the time but both sides were cautious and played quite defensively. They didn't attack all out, they seemed afraid to loosen the shackles and it provided fairly mediocre entertainment.

Edenderry didn't play that well on the day and they have left plenty of room for improvement ahead of their semi-final against Tullamore. It was more of a case of Shamrocks not being able to win this game than Edenderry doing anything special to advance.

Shamrocks played better in the first half and deserved to lead by 0-8 to 0-6 at half time but they only managed one point in the first 23 minutes of the second half. They got three late on and they all came from defenders: Daniel Heffernan, Luke Molloy and Alan Heffernan. The two by Daniel Heffernan and Luke Molloy were spectacular but they were the type that wouldn't go over every time and that scoring return really says it all about Shamrocks' second half display.

Prior to those three points, Shamrocks' only second half score was a 37th minute Nigel Dunne free that put them 0-9 to 0-8 ahead. Sean Doyle's 48th minute point gave Edenderry the lead for the first time, 0-10 to 0-9 and the result had an air of inevitability about it at this stage. The reasons for this were twofold: Edenderry moved a bit better and attacked with more menace while Shamrocks' football disintegrated.

They had a couple of bad wides but also delayed on the ball and gave a few very wayward, careless passes. Their goalkeeper Sean O'Toole made a great 42nd minute save to deny Alan Harte in the 42nd minute but Edenderry got going after this. Rory Egan was pivotal to their win in the closing ten minutes. He had been quite anonymous before that but finally began to break tackles and move into dangerous territory from midfield. He fisted over a 51st minute point to put them two in front, Luke Molloy brought it back to a point but 1-1 in the space of a minute in the 55th-56th minute put Edenderry home.

Alex Kenny got the point from a free and Rory Egan got in for a very good goal to make it 1-12 to 0-10. Daniel Heffernan and Alan Heffernan pointed to leave a goal in it but even at that, Shamrocks didn't really throw caution to the wind. Alan Harte got a point that could have been a goal in the 59th minute and Shamrocks were never going to overturn a four point deficit – Sean Doyle got a deserved black card for carelessly pulling down Scott Delaney in the 61st minute but it was too late to affect the outcome.

There wasn't a whole lot to excite the senses in the first half. There was some nice football and both sides were steady but it was lacking in true knockout intensity, never fully igniting.

Shamrocks were the better team in the first half and their 0-8 to 0-6 half time lead was a fair reflection of the way it went.

Nigel Dunne was their main man in the first half, scoring six of their eight points – two from play. Shamocks were clearly the better side in the first quarter and led by 0-6 to 0-2 after sixteen minutes.

Edenderry improved after this and without hitting top gear, they scored four points on the trot to level it up at 0-6 each after 26 minutes. They should have got a goal with Sean O'Toole brilliantly deflecting Sean Doyle's goal shot over the bar in the 20th minute – it was the best chance of a goal in the first half.

Shamrocks rallied again coming up to half time and two Sean Doyle frees gave them that interval lead.

It was a strange game. Considering how tight it was, it just never really got going and some of the better players on the field were either below par or just played in fits and starts. Edenderry will be glad to be in the semi-final while Shamrocks can reflect on what might have been and there was an opportunity for them to record a win here.

MATCH ANALYSIS

MAN OF THE MATCH

Alan Harte (Edenderry): Not easy to pick a man of the match in this one. In fact, some of the better individual performances came from Shamrocks players – Sean O'Toole made some fantastic saves in goals but his kickouts weren't always brilliant while Scott Delaney, David O'Toole-Greene and Nigel Dunne, in the first half, had a big influence on the game. The choice is Edenderry's Alan Harte. He was very good early on and while he died out of the game for an extended period, he finished well and the three points he got from play was a telling contribution.

THE SCORERS

Edenderry: Rory Egan 1-1, Alan Harte, Alex Kenny (2f) and Sean Doyle (1f) 0-3 each, Loughlin Walsh (f), Colm Byrne and Ciaran Farrell 0-1 each.

Shamrocks: Nigel Dunne 0-7 (5f), Daniel Heffernan, Luke Molloy, Alan Heffernan Paddy Dunican, Jack Bryant (m) 0-1 each.

THE TEAMS

EENDERRY: Loughlin Walsh; Darragh Farrell, Sean Pender, Lee Pearson; Adam Mahon, Colm Byrne, Dylan Byrne; Jordan Hayes, Rory Egan; Dan Lowry, Ciaran Farrell, David Hanlon; Alan Harte, Alex Kenny, Sean Doyle. Subs – Eoin Dunne for Dylan Byrne (21m), Bobby Reynolds for Lowry (50m).

SHAMROCKS: Sean O'Toole; Daniel Heffernan, Padraig Cantwell, Luke Molloy; Shane O'Toole-Greene, Scott Delaney, Alan Heffernan; Gary Hutchinson, Andrew Delaney; Eoin Rosney, David O'Toole-Greene, Adam Keyes; Paddy Dunican, Nigel Dunne, Jack Bryant. Subs – Cathal O'Brien for Rosney (51m).

Referee – Fergal Smyth (Kilclonfert).

REFEREE WATCH

Fergal Smyth had a good solid game - he used the advantage rule particularly well and with great consistency.

MOMENT OF THE MATCH

Rory Egan's late goal decided this match.

VENUE WATCH

O'Connor Park was in super shape and the game was well hosted

TALKING POINT

Cian Farrell was named to start by Edenderry but didn't feature. However, he did warm up and is nearly ready to come back from a long lay off with a cruciate injury. Farrell could feature in the semi-final and if his fitness is okay and he can quickly find his old form, he will be a huge asset to Edenderry.

WHAT'S NEXT

Edenderry play Tullamore in the semi-final. Shamrocks' year is over.

STATISTICS

Wides: Edenderry – 5 (4 in first half); Shamrocks – 4 (1 in first half).

Yellow cards: Edenderry – 1 (Eoin Dunne); Shamrocks – 0.

Black cards: Edenderry – 1 (Sean Doyle); Shamrocks – 0.

Red cards: 0.