GAA: AIB LEINSTER CLUB INTERMEDIATE FC SEMI-FINAL
Rose mount find extra feat to seal Leinster final place
Tone shines as Roses claim hard earned win over Fingallians
ROSEMOUNT………………………………….. 1-13
FINGALLIANS………………………………….. 1-11
(After extra-time)
Daire Walsh
THEY had to dig deep in Lawless Memorial Park on Saturday afternoon, but Rosemount eventually booked their place in the Leinster Club Intermediate Football Championship decider with a gutsy extra-time victory over Dublin’s Fingallians.
With Theo Watts and David Tone leading by example, Rosemount looked set for a place in the upcoming provincial showpiece, but an Oisin Lynch goal deep into stoppage-time forced an additional 20 minutes. However, with Tone and David ‘Dude’ McCormack stepping up to the plate, the visitors ultimately progressed to face St Colmcille’s of Meath.
The Rosemount starting line-up was unchanged from the one that overcame Cappincur last weekend, and with Dublin star Paul Flynn (who has four All-Ireland SFC titles to his name) absent from the Fingallians squad, they fancied their chances of progressing even further in this competition.
Indeed, they enjoyed a bright start to the proceedings, with half-back Boidu Sayeh converting a routine close-range free just 40 seconds into the action. The hosts responded with a similar effort by centre-forward Lynch, but after Declan Mullen split the posts in clinical style, Rosemount delivered a significant blow to their Metropolitan opponents.
The lively Tone turned superbly in the eighth-minute of play, and with space opening up in front of him, he raised a green flag by firing beyond the reach of helpless Fingallians netminder James Cummiskey.
The Dublin IFC holders remained in touch fro much of the half – Lynch added pointed frees in the 14th and 20th minutes respectively – but Tone interrupted this scoring sequence with a fine score from a left-hand angle.
Indeed, an excellent run by the impressive Watts provided the platform for Tone to add another point three minutes prior to the interval. With Cathal Daly taking over from Luke Kelly in the half-forward line, an opening score for David ‘Dude’ McCormack meant that Rosemount were five points to the good (1-5 to 0-3) on the half-hour.
Rosemount were in an ideal position when the action resumed, and despite conceding another free to Lynch early in the second period, Watts and Tone combined once again for the latter’s third point of the contest.
Gerry Hickey’s charges were dropping a number of players back inside their own half during the third quarter, but with Fingallians offering little attacking threat from open play, it was proving to be an effective ploy.
Lynch registered a fifth point from a placed ball on 38 minutes, but this was eventually cancelled out by an outstanding long-range effort from Sayeh.
The game certainly wasn’t beyond Fingallians, however, and thanks to another 0-2 salvo by Lynch, there was just a goal separating the teams moving into the closing stages.
The Swords outfit’s first score from play finally arrived through substitute Ciaran Murtagh in the 59th minute, but Westmeath replied from the subsequent attack with a third successful Sayeh free.
Three minutes of added time offered hope to Fingallians, though, and after Donall Keane (a former Roscommon U21 star) lobbed a high-ball into the square, the reliable Lynch scrambled home at the second time of asking.
This was a potentially morale-sapping moment for Rosemount, but with the sides on level terms (1-8 each), an extra 20 minutes of play were required.
Indeed, Rosemount drew first blood in the additional period with a point by David Malynn, and although Lynch restored parity for the home team, a strong conclusion to the first-half of extra-time edged Rosemount towards the finishing line.
Sayeh (free), Tone and McCormack enhanced their side’s advantage with well-worked scores, and when McCormack claimed his third point after the restart, Fingallians were facing into a four-point deficit with just nine minutes remaining.
Rosemount almost secured a second goal when the raiding Sayeh rattled the crossbar from an incisive move, but in spite of two more points by Lynch (who amassed an exceptional tally of 1-10), it was the Westmeath champions who prevailed.
Scorers
Rosemount: D Tone 1-4, B Sayeh 0-4 (4f), David ‘Dude’ McCormack 0-3, D Mullen, D Malynn 0-1 each. Fingallians: O Lynch 1-10 (0-10f), C Murtagh 0-1.
Rosemount: Eoin Carberry; Damien Carroll, Eamon Boland, TJ Fox; Andy McCormack, Enda Boland, Boidu Sayeh; David ‘DD’ McCormack, Israel Ilunga; Shane Tone, Theo Watts, Luke Kelly; David Tone, Declan Mullen, David ‘Dude’ McCormack. Subs: Cathal Daly for Kelly (27), Darren King for Fox (46), David Malynn for Ilunga (60), Plunkett Maxwell for S Tone (60+3, BC), Daragh Healy for Daly (68), Kelly for D Tone (80).
Fingallians: James Cummiskey; Ray McMenamin, Danny Campion, David O’Brien; Donal Keane, Gary Donnelly, Gavin Campbell; Cillian Power, Cormac O’Neill; Dillon Staunton, Oisin Lynch, David Killeen; Shane Howard, Donal Farrell, TJ Howard. Subs: Neal Dawson for O’Brien (8), Derek Rodgers for Power (26), Ciaran McLoughlin for Staunton (36), Ciaran Murtagh for TJ Howard (44), Power for O’Neill (51), Jack O’Connor for Killeen (54), Niall Quinn for Dawson (68), O’Neill for Rodgers (70), Eamonn Creamer for Farrell (72).
Referee: Fergal Barry (Kildare).
in a nutshell
Man of the match
David Tone (Rosemount)
Rosemount had a number of fine performers throughout the course of a long afternoon in north Dublin, but with a personal tally of 1-4, corner-forward David Tone was hugely influential. In tandem with David ‘Dude’ McCormack, Tone was a thorn in the side of the Fingallians defence, and proved to be a focal point for most of his team’s attacks.
Key moment
With the sides deadlocked at 1-9 apiece heading towards the midway point in extra-time, referee Fergal Barry awarded a free to Rosemount after initially playing advantage. Boidu Sayeh stepped forward from wing-back to point a crucial free, and thanks to quick-fire points by David Tone and David ‘Dude’ McCormack, the visitors were back in the driving seat.