Morgan Fuels Down SFC round one: Clonduff 0-11 Warrenpoint 0-7
IT was clear what it meant to the Clonduff players the second the long whistle went in Kilcoo last night.
As rain fell and a stiff wind blew in off the mountains, the Hilltown men punched the air and celebrated after defying their own personnel issues to see off Warrenpoint on a night when the elements put paid to any hope of flowing football.
Yet the bits of it there were came from Clonduff in the main, with Stephen McConville – who finished up with 0-5, four from play – bringing that touch of composure and class that the ‘Point all too often lacked, especially as one wide followed another down the stretch.
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It may only be a Monday night first-round game in August, but this one meant a fair bit to the Yellas.
The fallout from the ugly scenes at the end of last year’s championship semi-final exit to Kilcoo saw them start this campaign without the services of the experienced Darren O’Hagan, Ross Carr, Eamon Brown and Padraig Wilson.
With star forward Barry O’Hagan out for the year after suffering a second cruciate ligament injury on county duty with Down and Paddy Branagan in Australia, added to the tragic loss of Lorcan Branagan earlier this year, boss Gearoid Adams had to reshuffle his pack and then some.
But, on a night when conditions demanded it, they dug in and got the job done to seal their spot in the next round.
Playing with the wind in the first half at Pairc Eoghan Rua, the Yellas packed their defence and frustrated the ‘Point, with McConville the scorer-in-chief as Clonduff took control.
Seanan Carr got them off the mark with just 10 seconds on the clock before McConville landed his first of the evening a minute later to double their advantage, coolly sweeping over after patient build-up play.
However, Warrenpoint – under player-manager John Boyle, who came into the fray late on – soon started to settle, eventually finding the odd gap in the yellow wall they faced.
A Donagh McAleenan free opened their account before a clever finish from Ruairi McCormack, after winning an Eoghan Byrne ball across the square, brought them level.
And when McAleenan curled over a beautiful free into the wind to edge Warrenpoint ahead, it looked as though Clonduff’s extensive list of absentees might just prove costly.
But, with McAleenan’s radar off for the remainder of the half, the ‘Point failed to register another score after the 12th minute. And, after a Packie O’Hagan effort with the outside of the right levelled things up once more, it was that man McConville who made them pay.
His two scores in-a-row, one from a free, put Clonduff back in the ascendancy, and Jayme Gribben had the chance to leave Warrenpoint with a huge mountain to climb at the break.
The raiding wing-back found himself free in the square as Clonduff countered but, with the goal at his mercy, he shot high and handsome over the bar to leave four in it at the break, 0-7 to 0-3.
Whether that was enough of a lead, given the wind, would be the question.
But Clonduff possessed just enough firepower to finish the job out, Gribben and the impressive Dan Rafferty bagging scores at crucial times while Warrenpoint could never put together a run of scores that might have heaped a bit of pressure on the Hilltown men.
And it was fitting that Stephen McConville, profiting from acres of space deep into added time as the ‘Point went for broke, should send over the game’s final score – letting out a roar of relief as much as anything before punching the night air.
This one mattered. Job done, on to the next one.
