Carnaross got back to winning ways in the A league with a hard earned victory over St Vincents on a cold, bright Sunday afternoon in Ardcath.

Carnaross 1-6 St. Vincent’s 1-5

A League (Division 3)

Played in Ardcath – 25/2/2018

The match took place against the backdrop of a clear blue sky and strong sunshine and the recently redeveloped Ardcath pitch was in excellent condition despite the recent inclement weather.

Carnaross played the first half with the aid of a strong breeze and were the first to get off the mark with a pointed free from the in-form centre forward Frank O’Reilly. St. Vincents then took the lead through two frees in quick succession. Carnaross were guilty of some sloppy passing which led to several wasted opportunities in the first half. However, they managed to regain the lead with O’Reilly landing two more pointed frees including an impressive effort from distance on the right side of the field. It was St Vincents though that would take the momentum going into half time with two points to give them a lead of 4 points to 3 at the half time whistle.

St Vincents would continue this momentum at the start of the second half as they scored a goal from a one-on-one situation with Carnaross goalkeeper Shane McNiffe. This score seemed to spark the Carnaross team into life having lacked energy and aggression up to that point. The accuracy of their passing and the sharpness of their movement both improved as they fought to regain control of the game.

O’Reilly chipped in with another point from play before half time substitute Dermot McGee fired over his first point of the game. Carnaross had the upper hand and managed to get a goal of their own as McGee played Michael Brogan through after an impressive team move. Brogan kept his cool as he raced through one-on-one with the keeper and dispatched a low shot to the back of the Vincent’s net. McGee added another point to give Carnaross a two point margin heading into the final minutes of the game.

St Vincent’s began to apply pressure as they sought find a way back into the match. They reduced the gap to 1 point with a free and pressed hard for an equaliser. However, the Carnaross defence remained steadfast and a well-timed interception from midfielder Pierce Fleming relieved the pressure in the dying stages as Carnaross held on for a 1 point victory.

Carnaross: Shane McNiffe; Peter Carpenter, Peter Farrelly, Jack Roche; Cian Yore, Thomas Nugent, Cormac O’Reilly; Tomás Plunkett, Pierce Fleming; Niall McDonnell, Frank O’Reilly (0-4, 3f), Michael Brogan (1-0); Shane Casserly, Stephen Flattery, Patrick McDermott; Subs: Paul Donoghue for Yore, Dermot McGee for Nugent, Peter Mullan for Michael Brogan