Canovee sweep Parteen Meelick aside in Munster Junior Football clash
Daire McMahon Canovee, solos past Cameron DiBenedetto, Parteen Meelick, in the AIB Munster GAA Football Junior Championship. Picture: Brendan Gleeson
It's now 19 years since Canovee edged a Munster Junior Club final in contentious fashion over Clare opposition but there was certainly no doubting the merits of victory for Canovee this time around in Knockalisheen Park in Meelick.
Initially trailing by 0-4 to 0-2 after 10 minutes, the Muskerry side would remarkably outscore hosts Parteen-Meelick by 2-16 to 0-2 over the remainder of the hour to ease into a home semi-final against Tipperary champions CJ Kickhams Mullinahone in a fortnight.
Daire McMahon’s breakthrough goal entering the second quarter proved the decisive score of the tie as up to that point the South East Clare side had laid siege in the Canovee half.
The visitors did raid for the first two points through Sean O’Connor and Jack Kelleher inside 90 seconds of the throw-in. However, with Parteen-Meelick pressing the Canovee restarts, it allowed them to seize control as chief threats Sean Connelly and Jack Meaney converted a brace of points each.
Ewan O’Brien was unlucky to see a goal chance deflected for a 45.
That was as good as it got for the home side though as despite strong resistance from Eoghan O’Connell, Tom Collins and Clare senior hurler Jack Kirwan, they would see the narrative flip on its head for the second quarter.
Daire McMahon clinically picked off 1-1 in the space of four minutes to snatch back the momentum with the goal the product of persistence from the Dodd brothers Conor and Evan at 1-3 to 0-4.
Parteen-Meelick did carve out a glorious chance to wrestle back control in the 25th minute when Conor McInerney picked out Danny Williamson at the edge of the square. However, his attempt would expertly smothered by advancing goalkeeper Frankie Condon to avert the danger.
A missed two-point effort from the hosts would also be punished as Conor and then Evan Dodd arrowed over a two-pointer each on Canovee’s way to a handsome 1-9 to 0-4 interval cushion.
Half-time couldn’t come soon enough for Parteen-Meelick but despite reshuffling their pack and making two substitutions, the script didn’t alter whatsoever on the resumption.
Indeed, with wing-back Eoghan Lehane switched into a more advanced role, his early three-point burst would be accentuated by William Aherne, Jack Kelleher and Daire McMahon to stretch the lead to an unassailable 15-point chasm by the three-quarters mark at 1-16 to 0-04.
By that stage, Parteen-Meelick had lost Danny Williamson to a black card but even the hosts’ first score in 40 minutes through a Sean Connelly free would be emphatically answered by a goal in the 53rd minute when substitute Jason Riordan teed up the outstanding Eoghan Lehane to fire to the net.
With the tie inevitably opening up, Gavin Coleman became the ninth different scorer with a late point but Jason Riordan was denied being the tenth by home goalkeeper Joe Maxwell with a strong save.
His counterpart Frankie Condon successfully protected his clean sheet from Dylan O’Connell while player-chairman Colm Davoren was also agonisingly denied from the rebound by the outside of the left post.
It mattered little as by then Canovee were already plotting the next stage of their latest Munster adventure as they attempt to emulate the 2007 All-Ireland winning team.
Sean Connelly (0-1 f), Jack Meaney (0-2 f) 0-3 each.
E Lehane 1-3, D McMahon 1-2, J Kelleher 0-4 (0-2 f), E Dodd 0-3 (0-1 tpf, 0-1 f), C Dodd 0-2 (1 tp), S O’Connor, A Murphy, W Aherne, G Coleman 0-1 each.
J Maxwell; E O’Connell, C Di Benedetto, D McGlennan; C McInerney, T Collins, D Kenny; J Kirwan, S Connelly; T Egan, D Nolan, S Maxwell; E O’Brien, D Williamson, J Meaney.
J Deedigan for McInerney (HT), D O’Connell for S Maxwell (HT), J Kelly for O’Brien (53, inj), C Davoren for Nolan (56), R Lane for Egan (58).
F Condon; P Buckley, L Kelleher, W Aherne; O O’Driscoll, R Delaney, E Lehane; A Murphy, S O’Connor; J Moynihan, E Dodd, C Dodd; G Coleman, D McMahon, J Kelleher.
M Healy for Moynihan (38), E Cunningham for Buckley (38), E McNabola for Murphy (50), J Riordan for McMahon (50), C Newman for O’Connor (54).
J Bray (Waterford).
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