Great come from behind win secures home knockout game for Colaiste Choilm

A TERRIFIC second half display earned Colaiste Choilm, Tullamore the considerable reward of a home last sixteen game in the Leinster Post Primary Schools Senior Football Championship Br Bosco Cup on Tuesday afternoon.

Leinster Post Primary Schools Senior Football Championship Br Bosco Cup

Colaiste Choilm, Tullamore 4-9

Ardee Community School 1-13

With their big players standing up to be counted, Colasite Choilm overturned a 1-8 to 1-5 half time deficit to send a bitterly disappointed Ardee Community School into a tough showdown away to St Pat's of Navan in the first knockout round.

The Tullamore school face St Joseph's of Rochfortbridge in their next game and they will be showing complete respect to the Westmeath school, they will be delighted to have a home game.

With both sides having beaten Ard Scoil Ris of Dublin in their opener in this three team group and were through, this game was a dead rubber to an extent but the stakes were high enough and it was a genuine championship tussle.

Ardee had beaten Ard Scoil Ris much easier than Colaiste Choilm, who scraped to a win and they certainly wanted to avoid St Pat's. A draw would have earned Ardee top spot on scoring difference and their mentors could be heard shouting this when they trailed by just a point inside the last five minutes but a late 2-1 sealed a really good, encouraging win for Colaiste Choilm.

The Offaly side showed great character. Their strongest players were outstanding in the second half with Eoin Rouse, Darragh Stewart and Paddy Burns powering them to victory – there should be some interesting conversations in the Rouse household in the build up to the next match as Eoin's father John is a former pupil of what was then Tullamore CBS and now teaches in St Joseph's, where he is involved in their football teams..

There was a great work ethic through the team, a good standard and a decent level of play by the winners and they were full value for their win, even if they sailed close to the wind when playing with the wind in the second half.

Colaiste Choilm gave themselves a great chance when they only trailed by 1-8 to 1-5 after a difficult first half. Ardee were the better side by a distance for a lot of the play and their three point half time lead did not reflect their superiority.

The winners had reason to be thankful to goalkeeper Michael McAndrew who denied them three goals with three great saves, all from Oisin Drumgoole in the 5th, 14th and 30th minutes. A couple of them could have been fisted over the bar but they were all goal chances, more or less one on one situations, and McAndrew showed great reflexes to deny him his time.

McAndrew was left exposed by a very porous defence who were way too loose at times in the first half and a few players abandoned their basic man marking duties – they tightened up considerably on that in the second half and that was a big factor in their success.

It looked like it could be a long afternoon for Colaiste Choilm early on as Ardee stormed into a 0-6 to 0-1 lead after nine minutes. Pauric Maguire kicked four of these from two two pointers, one of them a free, and Colaiste Choilm just weren't defending well.

One of their youngest players, Keith O'Rourke kept them alive at the other end of the field. He scored 1-2 in the first half and his 12th minute goal brought them back into it against the run of play, 1-1 to 0-6. He had a very good interchange with Eoin Rouse and got enough power behind the ball to beat Eoghan McEnaney.

It was 0-8 to 1-2 when Ardee finally got a goal in the 21st minute, Tadgh Rooney finishing but crucially, Colaiste Choilm didn't concede again before the interval.

O'Rourke got two points, Rouse tapped over a free and a three point deficit meant it was there to be won for the home side, though we weren't convinced they would do so.

Those doubts increased early in the second half as it was Colaiste Choilm's turn to waste good goal chances. Cian Horkan and Eoin Rouse drew good saves from McEnaney while Horkan was unlucky to rattle the post in the 43rd minute, Darragh Stewart fumbling the rebound with the goal in front of him.

Colaiste Choilm, however, became increasingly dominant as it wore on. Eoin Rouse was excellent at midfield and Patrick Duffy worked so hard beside him, displaying real athleticism. Rouse punched to the net in the 37th minute after great approach play by the superb Paddy Burns to make it 2-6 to 1-10.

Every score was very hard earned and Ardee were 1-11 to 2-7 as it went into the last ten minutes. The visitors were looking for the final whistle too early and with victory within touching distance, Colaiste Choilm were relentless.

Darragh Stewart broke through for a 53rd minute goal to make it 3-7 to 1-11. Charlie McBride tapped over a free to make it a one point game and all Ardee wanted at this stage was a draw. Instead Burns got a crucial point to put two in it with two to go. Two pointers were unlikely against the wind and as Ardee threw caution to the wind, they left gaps at the back.

Colaiste Choilm piled through them. Darragh Stewart got a point and finally settled the issue with a great 61st minute goal, running down Ardee throats and blasting to the net. There was no way back and a late point from Arthur Sands didn't raise their spirits one iota as Colaiste Choilm celebrated a fine win – there will be much stiffer tests ahead and you certainly couldn't say Colaiste Choilm will be around at the tailend of the season on the back of it but it will bring them on a lot, they are in a good place and a quarter-final berth is very achievable in the short term.

MATCH ANALYSIS

MAN OF THE MATCH

Keith O'Rourke (Colaiste Choilm): There were several contenders on the Colaiste Choilm team. Eoin Rouse was one as he put in a serious shift at midfield and the game would not have been won without powerhouse displays from him, Paddy Burns and Darragh Stewart. Daingean man Burns turned in a terrific second half and was at the centre of Colaiste Choilm's best moves while Stewart's powerful running and work rate was also crucial – a finishing instinct was missing early on but he certainly found that when it counted.

We are going to go with a young transition year student, Keith O'Rourke. The Shamrocks man had an excellent first half when he scored 1-2 off very limited possession. He was a huge factor in Colaiste Choilm being alive in the first half and while he didn't score in the second half, he showed well for the ball and used it with simple effectiviness – he was the guilty man for one three man breach in the second half but he displayed a high skillset and contributed powerfully.

Tadgh Kelly did a great body of work when he settled into things at centre half back. Marking Charlie McBride who scored 11 points, including a couple of two pointers, against Ard Scoil Ris, he kept him scoreless from play and did his defensive duty well.

Michael McAndrew's first half saves were pivotal and Robert Burns did some great defensive work.

THE SCORERS

Colaiste Choilm: Darragh Stewart 2-2, Keith O'Rourke 1-2, Eoin Rouse 1-1 (1f), Paddy Burns 0-3 (1 '45'), Stephen Murrihy 0-1.

Ardee CS: Pauric Maguire 0-6 (1 x 2p, 1 x 2pf), Tadgh Rooney 1-1, Charlie McBride 0-3 (1 '45' and 2f), Arthur Sands, Oisin Drumgoole, Jack Martin 0-1 each.

THE TEAMS

COLAISTE CHOILM: Michael McAndrew; Cormac Staunton, Cormac O'Grady, Robert Burns; Sean Finlay, Tadgh Kelly, Stephen Murrihy; Patrick Duffy, Eoin Rouse; Charlie Heffernan, Cian Horkan, Darragh Stewart; Keith O'Rourke, Mark Dunne, Paddy Burns. Subs – Jayden Daly for Dunne (45m), Finn Coleman for Heffernan (45m), Jake Conlon for Staunton (51m).

ARDEE CS: Eoghan McEnaney; Adam Finnegan, Sam Scott, Aodhan Gibbons; Tadgh Gorman, Darragh Murray, Arthur Sands; Jack Ruane, Jake Loughran; Pauric Maguire, Charlie McBride, Oisin Murray; Oisin Drumgoole, Tadgh Rooney, Jack Martin. Subs – Cormac Brennan for Oisin Murray (45m), Davin Mannion for Martin (57m).

Referee – Brian Gavin, Clara.

REFEREE WATCH

Brian Gavin was excellent. He brought neutral umpires and refereed it with complete fairness. He told both teams there was four minutes injury time at the end and there were no issues.

MOMENT OF THE MATCH

Darragh Stewart's 53rd minute goal gave Colaiste Choilm a two point lead at a very important stage and they always looked like winning from here.

VENUE WATCH

Dr Kelly's Field is a great asset to Tullamore GAA Club but it is the third best GAA facility on the Arden Road and it would have been nice to see this game in O'Connor Park or O'Brien Park. There were reasons why it wasn't but hopefully they will get O'Connor Park for the quarter-final. The field was in great shape in Dr Kelly's Field but the dressing rooms were too small for big panels with several players togging out in the area outside them.

WHAT'S NEXT

Colaiste Choilm are at home to St Joseph's of Rochfortbridge in the last sixteen.

STATISTICS

Wides: Colaiste Choilm – 5 (2 in first half); St Joseph's – 5 (4 in first half).

Yellow cards: 0

Black cards: 0

Red cards: 0