Blackhill 3-11 Rockcorry 3-12

Monaghan Electrial Reserve Football League Division 4 -Wednesday 14th July 2010 

Rock show team spirit to bounce back and claim victory

Team: Jamie Smith, Cathal Sheridan, Rory Carroll, Pauric Reilly, Shane Wynne, Colin Reilly, Ryan Sharkey 0-1,  Liam Connolly 0-2, Barry Patterson 0-1, Keelan Clerkin 1-0, Martin Carroll 0-1, Colin Quinn 1-2, Declan McCullagh, Mark McGuirk 1-4 and Anthony Tate 0-1.

Subs: Conor McGeough for Declan McCullagh.

On Wednesday 14^th July we made the journey to play Blackhill in our seventh game of the Monaghan Electrical reserve football league. Both teams entered the game with high hopes of gaining full points from this contest as each team had enjoyed a good run in the campaign and were both sitting with nine points in the league table.

A shower of rain left underfoot conditions slippery which hindered the play somewhat and Blackhill were the quickest out of the blocks as they registered their first score in the second minute when they converted a free-kick after we were penalized for a hand pass. Martin Carroll kicked wide a couple of minutes later but Blackhill extended their lead when they scored a long range point to go two up. Martin Carroll was brought down in the 6^th minute but surprisingly the normally reliable Mark McGuirk was off target as his effort fell short and Blackhill raced down the field and launched a high ball into our danger zone that deceived our goalie Jamie Smith as it hit the corner of the post and dropped harmlessly into the net.

We had to wait for almost ten minutes before we opened our account that came after some fine grafting by Martin Carroll as he set up Keelan Clerkin who finished a strong piercing solo run by firing to the back of the net and a couple of minutes later Mark McGuirk collected a pass from Colin Quinn and slotted over a lovely point. However, this was immediately cancelled out as Blackhill won the kick-out and broke down the field to score a point. Keelan Clerkin made another terrific run in the 15^th minute as he cut open the Blackhill defence and he off-loaded to Martin Carroll who found Colin Quinn and he confidently struck the ball to the back of the net to take the lead 1-3 to 2-1 and Colin Quinn was in thick of the action a minute later when he curled over a wonderful point to stretch our advantage.

However, our lead lasted just two minutes as a sequence of errors allowed Blackhill in to notch over a fine point and when our defence switched off in the 21^st minute we were duly punished when the ball was struck past Jamie Smith to hit the back of the net to leave the score 2-4 to 2-2. Both teams kicked wides during the 23^rd and 26^th minutes before Ryan Sharkey made a burst up the field and fired over a glorious point to close the gap to a single point but Blackhill replied with two well worked points in the 28^th and 29^th minutes to restore a three point advantage. When Mark McGuirk found himself one on one with the keeper, in the 30^th minute, he fired his shot over the bar and in the final seconds of an entertaining half Blackhill had the last say when they added a point from play to leave the scoreboard reading Blackhill 2-7 Rockcorry 2-4.

During the interval our team management made a number of switches, that raised a few eye brows, with Martin Carroll moving to centre half back role and Colin Reilly slotting into full back position. The second half started similar to the first with Blackhill having the better of the opening exchanges and they scored 1-1 within a couple of minutes to open up a seven point lead and at this stage it looked liked the match was running away from us as we had the proverbial mountain to climb!

Blackhill looked comfortable at this stage but to use the words of Billy Ocean, “when the going gets tough the tough get going” and we slowly managed to turn things around and when Mark McGuirk converted a free-kick in the 5^th minute the wheel of momentum started to move in our direction as we started to enjoy a period of dominance. Our next attack yielded a penalty after Mark McGuirk was hauled down inside the large rectangle and he stepped up to take the spot kick and he coolly placed his shot into the bottom corner to close the deficit back to three points. The ensuing kick-out was broken down by Liam Connolly and when Martin Carroll collected the breaking ball he surged forward and fired over a sweet point to rally the troops. Liam Connolly raised another white flag shortly afterwards following good work by Keelan Clerkin, Pauric Reilly and Martin Carroll, to reduce the deficit to a solitary point.

We were guilty of poor shooting during the 15^th and 16^th minute when Ryan Sharkey and Liam Connolly kicked wides before Blackhill fired over a fine point in the 17^th minute to extend their advantage. Thankfully, we responded in true fashion and when Anthony Tate collected a pass he floated over a wonderful point. As the game entered the final ten minutes we started to affirm more control and when Keelan Clerkin was brought down in the 20^th minute Colin Quinn stepped up to take the free-kick which he sailed between the uprights to leave both teams on 3-9 apiece.

Mark McGurik kicked a free wide in the 23^rd minute, after Ryan Sharkey was fouled but when Jamie Smith cleared with great efficiency in the 25^th minute we swiftly moved the ball forward with some good inter-passing and when Barry Patterson collected the ball he finished in style. The lads were now playing with far greater purpose and confidence and when Anthony Tate gave an intelligent pass into Conor McGeough on the edge of the square he picked out Mark McGuirk who landed an impressive point to increase our lead to two. Our insurance point came a minute later when Liam Connolly skipped past his marker and fired over to open up a three point gap. At this stage Blackhill threw everything at us as they tried to find a late goal but their efforts were in vain as our defence worked tirelessly and held tight as they could only manage to notch over points in the 32^nd and 33^rd minute to leave the final score Blackhill 3-11 Rockcorry 3-12.

Speaking to team selector, Pauric Carroll, after the game he told me he “was pleased with the lad’s performance as they all worked well. We knew we would get nothing easy off Blackhill especially on their home ground and when we went seven points down early in the second half the lads showed great spirit to get back into the game…”, he continued by saying that “there were some anxious moments in the final minutes as they (Blackhill) put us under severe pressure but fair play to the lads for defending well and winning the two points”