Match Report: Curraha v Wolfe Tones. Fairyhouse Steel Senior Championship Group B 08/09/2024

Curraha traveled to Walterstown early on Sunday afternoon for their 3rd and final group game of the Fairyhouse Steel Senior Football Championship encounter against Wolfe Tones. After 2 disappointing results in their first 2 outings Curraha were coming into this game to try and build some good ground for upcoming fixtures. This would be an uphill battle for Curraha with the absence of James McEntee from their last game against Gaeil Colmcille. 

The game got underway at 2pm with Walterstowns pitch and facilities in excellent condition. Curraha won the throw up and a superb ball was played from Niall Murphy into the Curraha forward line and Jack O’Connor was fouled in front of the D. Ronan Flynn converted the free to open his account for the day after a minute of play. Wolfe Tones found their feet quickly afterwards with their fast running football resulting in Adrian Crawford being brought down inside the square and Robert Purfield had no other option but to issue a penalty. Caolon Ward stepped up and slotted his shot over the crossbar to level the game after 4 minutes of play. Cian Ward was as dangerous as ever in the forward line and he converted a point from play in the fifth minute. Curraha were struggling to get out of their own half and Fiachra Ward pounced on a loose ball and slotted it to the back of the net to give the Tones a 4 point lead with 6 minutes gone. That would be the final action of the game for almost an hour when disaster struck Curraha in the 7th minute of play. Niall McLarnon, one of the Curraha Midfielders, was going for a ball from the kickout when he collided with a Tones player, unfortunately Niall McLarnon landed badly. The game was immediately halted and Physios from both teams rushed in as well as officials from the Walterstown club to assist. The 2 teams returned to the dressing rooms until Niall McLarnon was  safely removed from the pitch by ambulance. Niall McLarnon was given a round of applause by everyone inside the Walterstown GFC grounds and highlighted just what the GAA is all about. The 2 teams returned to the field and did a short warmup before the game restarted at 2:55pm. Ruairí O’Sullivan replaced Niall McLarnon. Gavin Coyle got the next point in the 10th minute of the half when he turned his man and curled the ball over the bar off his right foot. Wolfe Tones hit 3 unanswered points with the first point coming from Fiachra Ward the second by Niall O’Reilly and the third coming from Oisín Martin with 15 minutes remaining in the half to give his side a 6 point lead. Curraha were made to work hard for their scores but Seán Ronan kicked a monster score when he won the ball on the left wing and cut inside and raised Curraha's first white flag in 7 minutes. Unfortunately for Curraha the wave of Wolfe Tones pressure didn't let up and Thomas O'Reilly converted a free as well as points by Stephen Shepherd and Caolon Ward with 5 minutes remaining. Luke McCarthy was called into action and produced a fine save to deny a shot from Cian Ward. Ronan Flynn kicked a brilliant point from play in the 29th minute after a great turnover in defence. That would be the final action of the half as the scoreboard in Walterstown read Curraha 0.04   

Wolfe Tones 1.08

Wolfe Tones got the first score of the second half when Thomas O'Reilly kicked a free inside 50 seconds to once again extend their lead. Diarmuid Moriarty tried to  keep tabs with Wolfe Tones when he converted a free off his right after some fine build up play. Wolfe Tones had the majority of possession but in the 8th minute of the half Niall O'Reilly made a long run up the field and finished the ball to the back of the net to make it even harder for Curraha. Wolfe Tones extended their lead to 11 points with another point from play. Curraha introduced Mark Jackson for Seán Ronan in the 11th minute of the second half. Diarmuid Moriarty responded to the latest Tones point with a point from a free from a tight angle. Curraha then opted to introduce David Coyle for Gavin Coyle in the 15th minute of the half. Ronan Flynn brought the deficit back to 9 points when he kicked a superb point off his left. Wolfe Tones kicked the next 3 points of the game 2 of which came from Fiachra Ward with 7 minutes remaining. Curraha introduced Conor O’Farrell in the 20th minute when he came on for Conor Joyce. O’Farrell made a great block which led

to the final score of the game coming from a  Ronan Flynn free as the game went into injury time. Robert Purfield sounded the final whistle and it was Wolfe Tones who came out deserving winners. 

A disappointing result for Curraha who will have to dust themselves down quickly and now have to face the relegation quarter final against Trim on Thursday the 19th of September at 8pm in Batterstown. 

Luke McCarthy, Oisín Fay, Matthew Webb, Séamus Hogan, Niall Murphy, Michael John Lavin, Pádraig O’Hanrahan, Niall McLarnon, Diarmuid Moriarty(0.02F) Conor Joyce, Jack O’Connor, Seán Ronan(0.01) Brian Joyce, Gavin Coyle(0.01) Ronan Flynn 0.04(0.02F)