First half goal decisive as Tubber surprise Cappincur

Tullamore Court Hotel Senior ‘B’ Football Championship Round 3

Tubber 1-14

Cappincur 0-14

A FORTUITOUS Pauric Robbins goal in the 11th minute proved decisive as Tubber recorded a surprise but richly deserved victory over a Cappincur team who finished with 13 players in Round 3 of the Tullamore Court Hotel Senior ‘B’ Football Championship at Glenisk O’Connor Park last Sunday afternoon.

Robbins’ attempt for a point dipped into the top left-corner of Cappincur stand-in goalkeeper Peter Daly’s net for the opening score of the game and helped Padraig Farrell’s underdogs to a 1-6 to 0-6 lead at the break. Cappincur resumed with four quick points to hit the front for the first time and they looked to have turned it around when Peter Norris made it 0-12 to 1-7 after 39 minutes.

But with 50-year-old former Offaly and Ireland International Rules star Ciaran McManus playing the entire second half and contributing a point from a free, Tubber dug in and outscored Cappincur by 0-7 to 0-2 in the closing stages to register their first win after suffering heavy defeats to Ballinagar and Daingean in the first two rounds.

The Westmeath-border club showed the greater appetite and work-rate, and were full value for their victory. Indeed, their winning margin would have been greater had they not racked up 11 wides compared to five for their opponents. Cappincur’s misery was compounded by a late red card for Bríon Carroll, which was quickly followed by a black card for fellow half back Hubert Healion.

This result sees Tubber join Cappincur on two points after Ger Lynam’s men also lost to Tullamore in the last round following an opening day win over Ballycumber. With difficult games to come against Daingean and Ballinagar, they face an uphill task to reach the semi-finals and Tubber could be the ones to take advantage.

Both teams were understrength for this 12 noon fixture which was slow to come to life. Pauric Robbins eventually broke the deadlock when his speculative shot resulted in the only goal before following up with a point. Peter Daly then came to Cappincur’s rescue when he saved from Padraig McLoughlin and Eoin Murphy was blown for ‘square ball’ from the rebound.

Tubber continued to take the game to the favourites and led by 1-3 to 0-0 after 19 minutes thanks to further points from Ciaran McGuinness and Bernard Allen. Cappincur finally opened their account a minute later when Ciaran Farrell caught Peter Daly’s kickout and soloed forward before splitting the posts.

Allen replied with a 13-metre free which was awarded for a breach before Cappincur finally gained some traction with three points in as many minutes from Ger Treacy (free), P.J. Daly and substitute Jason Gethings. Robbins briefly halted their momentum with a point at the other end before Peter Norris pointed from a free and from play.

Cappincur introduced former county star Eoin Carroll in first half injury-time, but Tubber got the final score through Padraig McLoughlin.

Tubber’s three-point lead was wiped out within six minutes of the restart after Cappincur came flying out of the blocks with points from Sean Courtney, Adam Galvin, Norris and Ciaran Farrell. The ever-dependable Bernard Allen levelled, only for Eoin Carroll and Norris to kick Cappincur into a two-point lead.

At this stage, it looked like Cappincur would pull away, but Tubber refused to read the script and were back in front, 1-10 to 0-12, after Allen converted a free and followed up with his side’s only two-pointer via the inside of the left post.

Suddenly, the orange and blacks had the bit between their teeth again and tagged on four more points through Brian Kelly, Pauric Robbins, substitute Lee Colgan and Ciaran McManus (free) to open up a 1-14 to 0-12 lead with seven minutes of normal time remaining.

Allen was also unlucky to see a point attempt hit the post as Cappincur lost Bríon Carroll to a second yellow card and then Healion to a black to finish with only 13 players. Despite their numerical disadvantage, they almost snatched an unlikely share of the spoils in stoppage time.

Peter Daly landed a two-point free in the 60th minute to reduce the deficit to three before coming forward again in the 63rd minute to drop another long-range free into the goalmouth. Eoin Carroll got his fist to it, but it was caught on the goal-line and the final whistle sounded moments later, much to the delight and relief of the Tubber faithful in the small attendance.

MATCH ANALYSIS

Scorers

Tubber: Bernard Allen 0-7 (2fs, 1x2pt), Pauric Robbins 1-3, Ciaran McGuinness, Ciaran McManus (f), Brian Kelly and Lee Colgan 0-1 each.

Cappincur: Peter Norris 0-4 (1f), Ciaran Farrell and Peter Daly (2ptf) 0-2 each, P.J. Daly, Jason Gethings, Adam Galvin, Ger Treacy (f), P.J. Daly and Sean Courtney 0-1 each.

Teams

TUBBER: James Langan; Ronan Farrell, Nigel Farrell, Hugh Murphy; Ciaran Allen, Sean Farrell, Adam Fox; Enda McLoughlin, Ciaran Kinahan; Eoin Murphy, Bernard Allen, Padraig McLoughlin; Pauric Robbins, Brian Kelly, Ciaran McGuinness. Subs: David Fallon for N. Farrell (19 mins), Ciaran McManus for Kinahan (half-time), Lee Colgan for R Farrell (45 mins), Ciaran Murphy for Kelly (60 mins).

CAPPINCUR: Peter Daly; Ollie Hayes, Darragh Norris, Tommy Leavy; Hubert Healion, Bríon Carroll, Sean Graham; Adam Galvin, P.J. Daly; Ciaran Farrell, Sean Courtney, Brian Norris; Ger Treacy, Igor Daly, Peter Norris. Subs: Jason Gethings for B Norris (9 mins, injured), Eoin Carroll for P.J. Daly (31 mins), Diarmuid Carroll for I. Daly (48 mins), Micheál Fitzgerald for Gethings (48 mins).

REFEREE – Chris Dwyer (Clara).

Man of the Match

Pauric Robbins (Tubber): While he was guilty of taking too much out of the ball at times, Pauric Robbins – wearing number 22 – scored 1-3 in an impressive display for Tubber and gets the nod ahead of fellow attacker Bernard Allen.

Referee Watch

Chris Dwyer handled proceedings very well. He lost his whistle in the first minute before quickly grabbing a spare one from the dressing room.

Moment of the Match

Bernard Allen’s 44th minute two-pointer not only restored Tubber’s lead, but gave them the impetus to go on and take the win.

Venue Watch

The normally pristine O’Connor Park pitch had a number of bare patches after sand was applied just before the dry spell hit. But it’s nothing a drop of rain won’t fix!

Statistics

Wides: Tubber 11 (5 in the first half); Cappincur 5 (4 in the first half).

Yellow cards: Tubber – 0; Cappincur – 2 (both for Bríon Carroll).

Black cards: Tubber – 0. Cappincur – 1 (Hubert Healion).

Red cards: Tubber – 0. Cappincur - 1 (Bríon Carroll).