Slow start proves costly for Johnnies - St John’s 1-09 v 3-10 St Michael’s 23rd July
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St John’s were slow out
of the blocks last Monday allowing St Michael’s
to build up an unassailable lead before they
got themselves sorted out. Finding themselves
ten points adrift the management made a few
positional switches which brought the team to
life. Although they fought back bravely and
had their visitors rocking mid-way through the
second half they had left themselves with too
much to do ad in the end St Michael’s
were relived to come away with both points.
The home side started with
Conor Burns playing as a sweeper to minimize
the threat posed by Brian Sweeny at full-forward
for the visitors. But he proved too much of
a handful for fullback Joe Savage netting twice
as the visited went into a 2-4 to no score lead.
St John’s had a number of chances in this
period but they amounted to nothing as shots
either went wide or dropped short to the goalkeeper.
To their credit the management
saw the weaknesses in their set up and, more
importantly, directed the changes to turn the
game around. They switched Dan Marmion back
to fill the full back berth and pushed Conor
McCombe to half-forward to restore the traditional
shape of six forwards and six backs.
These changes had immediate
effect as Dan Marmion beat Brian Sweeney to
the ball and played the ball forward via Conor
Burns and Conor Braniff. When his pass found
Brian Fitzpatrick he pointed to open the scoring
for St John’s, with twenty minutes gone.
St Michael’s came back with a point but
St John’s were in the ascendancy now.
Points from Conor Burns and Ryan Gibney, from
a free, were scant reward for their superiority.
No doubt St Michael’s
were warned in the interval that they should
not to let their 2-5 to 0-3 lead make then complacent.
They got an early point, a free from Niall Sweeney,
and Brian Sweeney might have got a hat-trick
of goals had he not been denied by Ciaran McCann.
Ryan Gibney and Niall Sweeney then traded frees.
Damien Murray pointed, having done a lot of
the hard work himself before Ryan Gibney pointed
another free. St John’s were playing good
football and with over twenty minutes left the
seven point deficit did not seem insurmountable.
Not after we had seen Monaghan coming back against
Tyrone.
St Michael’s had made
the gap eight before Damien Murray found the
net. Whilst his early point may have been all
his own work, this goal was the result of good
team work and quick interchange. Midway through
the second period Ryan Gibney sent over a point
to reduce the margin to four as the home side
applied the pressure. The pressure forced errors
in the St Michael’s defence, and they
ceded a penalty. A three-pointed now would make
it a one-point game and with St John’s
tails up …
It doesn’t do to look
too far ahead. The penalty was fired to the
right and wide. The margin remained as it was
and although St John’s got the next point,
the one that would have tied the game if ...
if only. St Michael’s were clearly relived
at their reprieve and shocked by their close
shave. On their next attack they found the net
for the third time. The sides traded points
before the close leaving the final score at
1-09 v 3-10 – a scoreline that looked
comfortable for the victors, but this game was
anything but!
St John’s: Ciaran McCann;
Stephen Magorrian, Joe Savage, John McMullan;
Conor McCombe, Declan Brennan, Dodie Burns;
Dan Marmion, Ryan Gibney; John Fegan, Barry
Russell, Conor Braniff; Brian Fitzpatrick, Damien
Murray, Conor Burns.
